Rebekah Rothacher — Graduate student
Alma mater: Park University
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Research interests: RNA/RBP interactions, RNA-targeted therapeutics, biochemistry
Favorite food: Tacos, burritos, queso... anything Mexican or Tex-Mex really!
Hobbies: Lifting, volleyball/basketball, baking, piano
Caleb Rosenblad — Graduate Student
Alma mater: Hardin-Simmons University (B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Hometown: Rotan, TX
Research interests: Studying rRNA folding as it moves through the nucleolus
Favorite food: Steak
Hobbies: Love to hike, read, and watch movies
Joshua Meehan — Postdoctoral Associate
Alma mater: Texas A&M University (PhD, Genetics and Genomics); University of North Texas (B.A., Biology and Chemistry (minor)).
Hometown: Spring, TX
Research Interests: RNA structure in disease and development, Single-cell analysis, RNA therapeutics.
Favorite food: Flautas, Sushi, Curry, Ramen, anything really spicy. My dad’s crawfish etouffee.
Hobbies: Hiking, playing with my pets, traveling, collecting vinyl records, horror movies, cooking, and video games.
Thomas Miller — Bioinformatic Analyst/Lab Manager
Alma mater: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (BS)
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Research interests: RNA biology, cancer biology, computational biology
Favorite food: Penne arrabiata, along with many other Italian dishes
Hobbies: Skiing, travel, hiking, aviation, video games
Ritwika Bose — Graduate student (CPSB)
Alma mater: University of Richmond (BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Psychology (minor)).
Hometown: Bahrain (although I was born in West Bengal, India)
Research interests: Chemical biology and development of molecular tools
Favorite food: Ice cream (but I am lactose intolerant), sodas, other sweet/unhealthy stuff that you can think of.
Hobbies: Copious amounts of Netflix, YouTube spirals, trying to do the splits (it has been 3 years)
Khoa Dao — Graduate student (CPSB)
Alma mater: Texas Christian University (BA)
Hometown: Vietnam
Research interests: Computational biology, high-throughput assays
Favorite food: Anything and everything sweet (boba, cake, pastries…), Korean Fried Chicken, home cooking (most of the time)
Hobbies: Going on a walk with my cat, gym, tennis, salsa, video games
David Mitchell III — Postdoctoral Associate
Alma mater: Penn State University (postdoc); University of Texas at Austin (PhD, biochemistry); Morehouse College (BS, biology)
Hometown: Houston, TX
Research interests: In vivo RNA structure and biochemistry, developing methods and tools to elucidate in vivo RNA structure
Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese
Hobbies: Video games, watching anime, writing
Irfana Saleem — Postdoctoral Associate
Alma mater: University of Nebraska Medical Center (PhD, biochemistry); Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali (BS/MS)
Hometown: Kerala, India
Research Interest: RNA biology, Biochemistry, Cancer biology
Favorite Food: Chicken 65, banana fitters, and whatever my mom cooks.
Hobbies: Dancing, reading thriller novels and binge-watching thriller series
Anthony Mustoe — Principal Investigator
Alma mater: University of North Carolina (postdoc); University of Michigan (PhD, biophysics); Washington University (BS, chemical engineering & math)
Hometown: Evanston, IL
Research interests: Building an amazing research team, RNA folding and dynamics, RNA biology, technology development, cancer biology
Favorite food: Everything. Ice cream is high on the list though.
Hobbies: Playing with my daughter, cooking, traveling, hiking
Alumni
Jennifer Cotter (Research Associate)