People

Principal Investigator

Dr. Lauren J. Webb
Joseph & Jeanne Lagowski Professor in Chemistry
Associate Dean for Graduate Education

A.B., Bowdoin College, 2000
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 2005
NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, 2005 – 2008

Office: FNT 2.104A
Email: lwebb@cm.utexas.edu

Student office: FNT 3.134

Robert Ellis

B.S., Brigham Young University, 2021

Email: robertellis@utexas.edu

Robert grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon and attended Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, graduating with a BS in Chemistry in 2021. While at BYU with Dr. Kara J. Stowers, he researched different heterogeneous catalysts for the hydrogenation reaction of ammonia borane. In the Webb group, Robert is interested in the study of protein fibrillization and how it can be controlled on gold surfaces.

Diane Madeksho

B.S., University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2021

Email: dmadeksho@utexas.edu

Diane grew up in Memphis, TN and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry in 2021. At UTC, she worked with Dr. Jisook Kim to study lysozyme modifications induced by naphthoquinones. After a brief stint working in industry, Diane joined the Webb group in Fall 2022 to study biomimetic surfaces for enzyme-based sensing. 

Taylor Hays

B.S., St. Edward’s University, 2023

Email: tayhays@utexas.edu

During her undergraduate studies, Taylor investigated the aberrant role of superoxide dismutase in the formation of aggregates associated with amyloid lateral sclerosis. She also participated in a research experience for undergraduates (REU) at UT Austin in the summer of 2022, where her research involved engineering E. coli to produce itaconic acid. She graduated with a B.S. in chemistry in 2023. She joined the Webb group in the spring of 2024, where she studies how membrane composition and peptide structure impact the permeation capability of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs).

Haley Sachse

B.S., UT Dallas, 2023

Email: hs26936@my.utexas.edu

Haley grew up in Dallas, Texas and received a BS in biochemistry at the University of Texas at Dallas. As an undergraduate, she used 13-carbon NMR to study metabolic pathways of in vitro cervical cancer cells, endometriosis cells, and glioblastoma cells under the supervision of Dr. Lloyd Lumata. Haley joined the Webb group in the Spring of 2024. She is interested in developing membrane-based synthetic cell models to study peptide and nucleic acid permeation of a variety of diseases and organisms. 

Rowan Serena Kassim

B.S., University of Texas at San Antonio 2021

M.S., University of Texas at San Antonio 2024

Email: rowan.s.kassim@utexas.edu

Rowan is from the Middle East. She received her B.S. in biochemistry in 2021 and her M.S. in chemistry in 2024. During her master’s, she studied molecular mapping of in situ lipids within EAE tissue using MALDI-TOF MSI. She joined the Webb group fall of 2024 and is interested in continuing her work with MALDI by using it to characterize protein fibrilization on bioinorganic surfaces.

Shashank Sahu

B.S., Hansraj College, Delhi University, 2023

M.S., Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, 2025

Email: shashanksahu@utexas.edu

Shashank is from Chhattisgarh, India. After completing his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Hansraj College, Delhi University, he pursued his master’s at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. For his master’s thesis, he worked under the mentorship of Prof. E. Arunan on theoretical studies of hydrogen-bond potential in HCN/HNC complexes and conducted ignition time-delay experiments in the Shockwave Laboratory. Shashank joined the Webb Group in fall 2025, where his project is to study electrostatic fields at protein–protein interfaces using Vibrational Stark Effect spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Undergraduates

Jessica Hector

Jessica grew up in Cedar Park, Texas, and is currently pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry and a certificate in forensic science at the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the Webb group in the Fall of 2023 to study sterols in lipid bilayer vesicles.