Summer Research Program in Biological Sciences and Chemistry

Fabia Battistuzzi

Rasul Chaudhry

Mi Hye Song

Dr. Song’s lab is interested in understanding molecular and genetic mechanisms of Centrosome biogenesis; Mitotic spindle assembly and function; Cell cycle regulation using the nematode C. elegans model. Our research will contribute to further our knowledge of human diseases including cancer, microcephaly and neurodegenerative disorder. We use a combination of advanced techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9, RNA-seq, RNAi, and high-resolution confocal imaging.

Lan Jiang

Mechanisms of biological tube formation using Drosophila trachea as a model organism. jiang23@oakland.edu

Zijuan Liu

To study role of ZIP8 in regulate manganese homeostasis and neurological disorders. liu2345@oakland.edu

Tom Raffel

Raffel lab research focuses on the ecology of parasitic diseases in aquatic animals. Current projects are focused on applying metabolic theory based mathematical models to describe the temperature dependence of a fungal disease of frogs and salamanders, and on determining ecological drivers of snail-borne parasitic diseases of humans and wildlife. Students planning to select Dr. Raffel as a preferred PI should contact him at raffel@oakland.edu before submitting their application.

Luis Villa-Diaz

Randal Westrick

Pathologic blood clotting (thrombosis) leading to heart attacks, strokes and venous thromboembolism is the leading cause of death in the USA. While the risk of developing thrombosis is known to be 60% heritable, only a few of the responsible genes have been identified. Our laboratory in using mouse heart attack and venous thromboembolism models to identify the genes involved in thrombosis. Students planning to select Dr. Westrick as a preferred PI should contact him at rjwestrick@oakland.edu before submitting their application.

Faculty Name

Research Areas

Adam Avery

The research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that control morphogenesis and maintenance of intricate neuronal structures, and how these mechanisms are disrupted to cause neurological disease.  The lab employs protein biochemical, and genetic and live imaging approaches using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly).   Students in the lab have the unique opportunity to explore questions in neurobiology at both the single molecule and whole organism level.

Kodiah Beyeh

It is very challenging to develop new materials with well-defined properties based on specially designed properties of the molecular constituents for the translation of the intrinsic properties of molecules into material properties. It is therefore essential to have control over the molecular interactions and orientation to create function in the material. In our group, we work on designing supramolecular materials through high-affinity and selective binding of several bioanalytes with synthetic supramolecular receptors possessing defined cavities. As a Summer Student in our group, you would perform cutting-edge experiments in a dynamic research environment. You would learn how to prepare different receptor-substrate assemblies and investigate their chemical and physical properties with the use of novel experimental techniques such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Mass spectrometry, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) etc).

Ferman Chavez

In animals, carotenoids yield essential precursors for vision, embryonic development, cellular homeostasis, and immunity (Vitamin A). Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenases (CCDs) are enzymes capable of producing carotenoid derivatives. They generally catalyze the cleavage of carotenoid carbon-carbon double bonds. The ferrous ion is coordinated to 4 histidine nitrogens. In this work, we aim to probe the structure-reactivity relationship for the CCD active sites using small molecule model compounds. 

Roman Dembinski

• Novel Synthetic Methods
• Nucleoside (DNA/RNA) Analogs
• Bioorganic and Organometallic Chemistry
• Fluorous Chemistry

Alexander Rusakov

Dr. Rusakov's research is in the area of chemical theory and computation with an emphasis on heavy elements. Combining bespoke approaches of relativistic quantum chemistry and condensed-matter physics with efficient algorithms and massively parallel computations, his group focuses on predictive modeling of complex and experimentally challenging heavy-element systems. Of particular interest are heavy radionuclide compounds for targeted alpha-particle cancer therapy and theoretical insights into cutting-edge experiments on the identification of superheavy elements. The Summer Research Program in Rusakov's group will introduce students to the development of modern computational chemistry methods and their application to modeling complex heavy-element systems of fundamental and practical interest. Ideally, students would pursue publishing their results in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Michael Sevilla

• Mechanisms of Radiation Damage to DNA
• Electron Spin Resonance Analysis for Free Radicals
• Quantum Chemistry Calculations of Free Radical Properties and Structure

David Szlag

Specific problems that we are investigating utilize qPCR to quantify and identify changes in aquatic microbial communities.  These methods can be applied to recreational water quality, invasive species, and the problems experienced by Toledo and other Lake Erie Water Treatment Plants.  We are also developing new mass spec methods for endocrine disrupting chemicals and cyanobacterial toxins.

Evan Trivedi

• Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry
• Tetrapyrrole and lanthanide coordination chemistry; synthetic methods
• Luminescence spectroscopy; solid state and near-infrared
• Therapeutic development in vitro; tissue culture and fluorescence microscopy
• Drug development in vivo; molecular imaging in small animal models

Colin Wu

The primary research focus is to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which DNA repair enzymes function and to investigate how their defects contribute to the early onset of genetic disorders. In particular, how the FANCJ DNA helicase and the BRCA1 tumor suppressor carry out their DNA repair activities. Mutations in FANCJ and BRCA1 are strongly linked to the onset of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and Fanconi anemia. A combination of biochemistry, single-molecule biophysics, and structural approaches to use to gain a detailed understanding of the macromolecular interactions involved in this DNA repair network.  Work in the lab involves:

• Protein-DNA interactions
• Enzyme mechanisms
• DNA repair
• Cancer metabolism

Ziming Yang

• Biogeochemical transformation of organic carbon in soils, rivers, and lakes
• Organic-mineral/metal interactions in the environment
• Kinetics, mechanisms, and thermodynamics of organic reactions in hydrothermal systems
• Mineral-catalyzed reactions in green chemistry

Xiangqun Zeng

The research focus is the study of fundamental and applied interfacial phenomena, particularly the design and control of molecular characters and characterizations of the dynamic reactions at electrode interfaces. Current projects in my lab are: (1) Understanding the interfacial composition, structure and properties of ionic liquids and conductive polymers for sensor, electrocatalysis and energy storage applications; (2) Applying principles from chemistry and biology for directed assembly or synthesis of thin films of conductive polymers, biological molecules (peptides, proteins and carbohydrates), cells and inorganics on electrode surfaces; (3) Developing miniaturized analysis platforms that combines high performance, miniaturized electrodes and instrumentation electronics with multi-transduction-mode sensor array devices by collaboration with engineers. All these projects are interdisciplinary in nature that involves the use of multiple electrochemical, spectroscopic and microscopic techniques in order to determine the composition, structure and dynamic interfacial reactions and/or properties at electrode interfaces