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AZIZ RANGWALA Graduate student in Molecular and Cellular Biology, MSTP Fellow Hometown: Westford, MA Favorites: Exercise, board games, building computers Aziz received his Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Brown University in 2017. During his undergraduate research career, he studied a novel mechanism of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and antibiotic resistance mechanisms. He joined Markus Seeliger’s lab in May 2019 and will be investigating Abl kinase resistance mutations and drug binding kinetics. |
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HANNAH PHILIPOSE Undergraduate Researcher, Biology Hometown: Jericho, NY Favorites: Running, painting, boba Hannah is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Biology and aiming to concentrate in Quantitative Biology & Bioinformatics. She joined the Seeliger Lab in September of 2019 and is studying the molecular determinants of initial protein-drug interactions. She hopes to pursue an MD/PhD in the future. |
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VICTORIA MINGIONE Graduate student in Molecular and Cellular Biology Hometown: West Islip, NY Favorites: Golf, skiing Victoria received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Emmanuel College in 2018, where she characterized the functions of mutant proteins belonging to the Mitotic Exit Network in S. cerevisiae. She joined Markus Seeliger’s lab in May 2019 and will be investigating drug binding kinetics. |
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YITING PAUNG Graduate student in Chemistry Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan Favorites: Jessica Vilas-Boas, Dogs, Cats, and Art YiTing received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Visual Arts at Union College in 2017. She joined Dr. Seeliger’s Lab and worked on kinetic and thermodynamics of kinases. |
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AGATHA LYCZEK Graduate student in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, MSTP Fellow Hometown: NYC Favorites: Cats, meats, riding velocipedes Agatha received a Bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Chemical Engineering where she worked on neuroimaging research. In 2013, she entered Stony Brook’s MSTP program, and she joined Markus’ lab in the fall of 2015. Agatha received her NIH F30 grant for studying the binding kinetics of Abl kinase and how mutations lead to imatinib resistance. |
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MANISH KUMAR THAKUR Postdoctoral Fellow Hometown: India Favorites: Cricket, Hindi movies Manish holds a Ph.D in Biochemistry from the University of Mysore, India, and has co-authored 8 publications in peer-reviewed international journals. Prior to joining Stony Brook University, he worked with Jubilant Biosys as Senior Research Scientist and his functional expertise includes gene cloning, protein expression, protein purification and macromolecular crystallography. Manish is working on understanding the structural basis of small molecules binding to their target enzymes. |
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GRACE TAN Graduate student in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Hometown: Singapore Favorites: Bird cams, cooking & travel Grace received her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at Vassar College. She was a research technician at Weill Cornell Medical College studying the role of Her2/neu signaling in breast cancer before joining the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at Stony Brook as a PhD candidate. |
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IGOR BUNDALEVSKI Undergraduate Fellow, Biology Hometown: Skopje, Macedonia Favorites: Traveling, chocolate, swimming, Macedonia Igor Bundalevski is an international student from Macedonia studying Biology at Stony Brook. He joined Dr. Seeliger’s lab in May 2012 and is currently working on understanding Src kinase dynamics. Igor has aspirations in pursuing an MD/PhD career. |
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JEVON FRAGOSO Undergraduate Fellow, Pharmacology Hometown: Queens, New York Favorites: TTX, Oxtail, Action movies Jevon graduated from the Pharmacology program at Stony Brook in 2014. He is aspiring to become a doctor – either of the scientific or the medical variety. |
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ZACK FODA Graduate Student in Molecular and Cell Biology, MSTP Fellow Hometown: Stony Brook, NY Favorites: Van Morrison, Rugby, Quality Barbecue Zack received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Dartmouth College. In 2009 he entered Stony Brook’s MSTP (MD/PhD) program. In the fall of 2011, after the first 2 years of medical school, he joined the Seeliger lab full time and started his work as a doctoral candidate in the Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program. Zack is currently completing his residency in Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. |
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GEORGE GEORGHIOU Graduate student in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Hometown: Medford, New York Favorites: History, Cooking, Music, and playing Bass Guitar George received his bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology from Stony Brook University in 2009. During his undergraduate career, he conducted research in the laboratory of Dr. Stella Tsirka on the role of tissue plasminogen activator and it’s role in memory and learning (2005-2009). George joined the lab of Dr. Markus Seeliger in January 2010 for his graduate work as gradstudent Nummer 1. He studies the structure and function of protein kinases. |
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LAURA GOLDMAN Undergraduate Fellow, Pharmacology Hometown: Syosset, New York Favorites: Soccer, reading and sushi Laura is an undergraduate student at Stony Brook pursuing a degree in Pharmacology. She hopes to fulfill her dreams of attaining an MD/PhD degree. |
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MAJA KORNAJ Undergraduate Fellow, Pharmacology Hometown: Wroclaw, Poland Favorites: Snowboarding, traveling, Yorkshire Terriers, Hawaiian Pizza Maya moved to the United States from Poland in 2010. Her goal is to pursue a PhD after she graduates from Stony Brook University. She hopes to work on drug research and development in the future. |
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THERESA (CHIA-YU) KUNG Undergraduate Fellow, Biochemistry Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan Favorites: Basketball, Asian Dramas Theresa is an international student from Taiwan, and is a junior studying Biochemistry at Stony Brook University. She joined the Seeliger lab in Jan 2014, and is eager to pursue a PhD after graduation. |
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IVAN LEBEDEV Graduate student in Biochemistry and Structural Biology Hometown: San Diego, California Favorites: California, being outdoors and tinkering with cars Ivan received a Bachelors of Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Biomedical Engineering where he worked on designing an ‘atomizing’ pipette tip and improving a dimensional stem cell-scaffold seeding device for dimensional tissue regeneration research. He went on to work for the nonprofit MassBiologics in the Boston area for a year before coming to Stony Brook University in the Fall of 2012. He is currently investigating a novel role of p53 in the cell. |
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MICHAEL PULKOSKI-GROSS Undergraduate Fellow, Pharmacology Hometown: Brentwood, New York Favorites: Bowling, Sushi, Classic Rock and Roll Michael received his B.S. in Pharmacology from Stony Brook University in May 2012. His undergraduate research in the Seeliger Lab focused on the specificity of Src kinase inhibitors for regulated Src kinase. Upon graduation, Michael joined the Ph.D. program in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at SBU and now studies cancer biology. |
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SAMANTHA SCIBELLI Undergraduate Fellow, Pharmacology Hometown: Wantagh, New York Favorites: The beach, hiking, french fries Samantha is an undergraduate at Stony Brook University, majoring in Pharmacology. She would like to pursue a career in research and drug development. |
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ROBERT SHROYER Senior Resident, Department of Radiology, Stony Brook University Hospital Hometown: Denver, Colorado Favorites: Animal rescue, SCUBA, skiing Robert received his Bachelor’s degree in from the University of Utah and attended medical school at Stony Brook University. He joined the radiology residency training program at Stony Brook Hospital in 2012. |
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JESSICA TOM Undergraduate Researcher, Biology and Women Studies Hometown: Flushing, NY Favorites: Music, Stand-up Comedy, and Crime Shows (Major Crimes!) Jessica is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Interdisciplinary Biology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Stony Brook University. She aspires to become a physician in the future with a focus on women’s health and oncology. She joined the Seeliger Lab in February 2017 and is currently working on imatinib resistant mutations in BCR-Abl. |
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PETER ALSALOUM Undergraduate, Biochemistry Hometown: Yonkers, New York Favorites: Basketball, swimming, football Peter’s goal is to attend medical school after completing a Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry at Stony Brook University. He is interested in becoming an Infectious Disease Specialist as well as continuing his career in research. |
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EMILIE BOUDA Doctoral Student in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Hometown: Burkina Faso Favorites: Family, Cooking and Exploring. Emilie graduated High School in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and received a BA in Biochemistry from Hunter College, CUNY. As an undergraduate, she had the opportunity to work with Dr. Choudhary at Brown University to investigate the potential of Anoctamin-1 as a target for treating Pulmonary Hypertension using small molecule inhibitors. In 2015 she entered Stony Brook Pharmacology PhD program and is currently working on understanding the structural basis of small molecules binding to their target enzymes. |
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DIANA HU Masters student in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Hometown: Brooklyn, NY Favorites: weight-lifting, traveling, cooking Diana graduated from Stony Brook with a Bachelors in Pharmacology, working with Dr. Takemaru on Chibby and ciliogenesis. Post-graduation, she worked as a analytical chemist at Cipla Pharmaceuticals before joining Stony Brook Pharmacology Masters program. |
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MICHAEL TONG Postdoctoral Fellow Hometown: London, UK Favorites: Manchester United, hot food and bodybuilding Mike received his BA in Biochemistry from University College London and his PhD in Structural Biology from Birmingham University. Michael is working on the solution dynamics of protein tyrosine kinases. |
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JESSICA VILAS-BOAS Position: Undergraduate Researcher Hometown: Central Islip, NY Favorites: YiTing Paung, traveling, outdoors Jessica is a junior biochemistry major that started working in the laboratory in February 2017. She is interested in drug discovery and had an independent project utilizing enzyme binding kinetics. |
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TERRENCE JIANG Undergraduate Researcher, Biology Hometown: Queens, NY Favorites: Photography, lacrosse, cooking Terrence is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Biochemistry. He joined the Seeliger lab in January 2021 and is working on methods development for massively parallel ligand screens. He is passionate about street photography, fusion cuisine, and spending time with his cat, Kimchi. He hopes to pursue an MD/PhD in the future. |
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JEROME BELFORD Undergraduate Researcher, Biology Hometown: East Patchogue, NY Favorites: Running, cooking Jerome is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Biology. He joined the Seeliger Lab in November of 2019. He is interested in pursuing an MD/PhD and drug discovery in the future. |
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EIMAN NAWAZ Undergraduate Researcher, Biology |
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LILA IHAB AMER Undergraduate Researcher, Biology Hometown: Newburgh, NY Favorites: Reading, long walks, extreme pipetting Lila is a junior pursuing degrees in Biology and Human Evolution. Her interest in cancer biology led her to join the Seeliger Lab in May 2023, where she is creating protein constructs for biochemical and biophysical characterization. In her free time, Lila enjoys hiking and reading fantasy novels. |
