Current members

Engin Özkan

Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Neuroscience Institute
The Institute for Biophysical Dynamics

Natalie Tsang

Lab Manager
Synaptic targeting and remodeling

Viola Nawrocka

Graduate Student (Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics)
Cellular signaling of neuronal wiring receptors in D. melanogaster

Elena Cortes

Graduate Student (Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics)
Structural biology of novel axon guidance receptor-cue complexes

Jessica Priest

Graduate Student (Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics)
Repulsive axon guidance receptors

Indya Weathers

Graduate Student (Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics)
Cross-talk between axon guidance pathways in the nematode nervous system

Indya Weathers

Sebastian Machera

Medical Student/Research Assistant
Dendrite morphogenesis in C. elegans

Asaf Lebovic

Undergraduate Student
Rational design and engineering of neuronal wiring receptors in the fruit fly

Past members

Yeonhee Jenny Park

Lab Technician and Manager
Crystallography and Biophysics of fruit fly proteins in synapse specification.

Next Position: UIC College of Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy Program

Elana Baltrusaitis

Lab Technician and Manager
Protein interaction screening.

Next Position: UPenn, Ph.D. Program

Shouqiang Cheng

Post-doctoral Scholar
Cell surface Protein Interactomes regulating synapse formation.

Next Position: Abbott, Senior Scientist

Jing Wang

Post-doctoral Scholar
Crystallography of axon guidance protein complexes.

Joseph Pak

Graduate Student (Committee on Neurobiology)
Axon guidance and coalescence in the mouse nervous system

Agnieszka Olechwier

Master’s Student
Crystallography and Biophysics of fly and worm protein complexes controlling axon guidance

Next Position: Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland), Ph.D. Program

Patryk Poliński

Master’s Student
Structural Biology of secreted synaptogenic factors

Next Position: Centre for Genomic Regulation (Spain), Ph.D. Program

Justyna Kurleto

Master’s Student
Biophysical rules and evolution of immunoglobulin superfamily proteins involved in neuronal identity and connectivity

Next Position: UT Southwestern, Ph.D. Program

Nathan Canniff

Undergraduate Student
Cell surface Interactomes and Synapse Specification

Next Position: UMass Amherst, Ph.D. Program

Brad Lee

Undergraduate Student
Extracellular Matrix proteins involved in controlling synapse formation

Next Position: Northwestern University, Medical (M.D.) Student

William Mallen

Undergraduate Student
Signaling pathways involved in synapse formation and maturation

Next Position: Columbia University, Ph.D. Program

Zainab Aziz

Undergraduate Student
Structural Biology of secreted proteins in synapse formation and axon guidance

Next Position: Columbia University, M.D./M.S. Program

Raunak Kundagrami

Undergraduate Student
Molecular evolution of axon guidance complexes in early vertebrates

Next Position: Harvard University, Ph.D. Program

Justin Lee

Undergraduate Student
Rational design and engineering of neuronal wiring receptors in the fruit fly

Isabel Ojeda

Lab Technician and Manager
Biochemistry of novel axon guidance receptor-cue pairs

Next Position: Research and Development Scientist, Abbott

Michael Clark

Rotation Student (MSTP, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics)

Christina Roman

Rotation Student (Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics)

Marta Borowska

Rotation Student (Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics)

Nicole Ladd

Rotation Student (Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics)

Matt Reyer

Rotation Student (Biophysical Sciences)

Matt Rosen

Rotation Student (Computational Neuroscience)

Shuo Huang

Rotation Student (Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics)

For a view of what we do in and around the lab, see our Picture Gallery.