PI: Kevin Drew PhD
I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the department of Biological Sciences. Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow in Edward Marcotte’s Lab and John Wallingford’s Lab at UT Austin. My main research interests involve protein interactions and protein complexes specifically understanding their structure, function and ways of modulating their activity.
I received my PhD from New York University where I worked in the lab of Richard Bonneau. My thesis involved two components: 1) the Human Proteome Folding Project and 2) Peptidomimetic design. The Human Proteome Folding Project (HPF and HPF2) was a genome wide function annotation of 100 genomes using Rosetta protein structure predictions produced on IBM’s World Community Grid. My work on peptidomimetic design was done in collaboration with the Arora Lab at NYU Chemistry and involved developing code with in the Rosetta software suite to design inhibitors of protein protein interactions.
Members:
Akshaya Rajaraman
Akshaya Rajaraman joined the Drew lab after completing her Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology from Anna University in India. Prior to this, she spent three years in the Okkema laboratory studying the development of C. elegans pharynx. Drawing on her background in developmental biology and her interests in machine learning and mass spectrometry, she aims to map the protein complexome of pluripotent stem cells and their differentiated counterparts at the single-cell level. Outside of her scientific pursuits, Akshaya enjoys crocheting intricate patterns, a hobby that reflects her interest in complex networks.
Sam Fischer
Sam is a PhD student that joined the Drew Lab in March 2022. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and Chemistry from Concordia University Chicago. Prior to UIC she spent time collecting ecological data in eastern Oregon as a research intern for the Bureau of Land Management, preparing specimens from human cadavers as a laboratory technician, and performing chemical analyses as a QA Technologist at Solvay Chemical. Sam’s current research passion includes elucidation of macromolecular structural information to uncover disease mechanisms, and the use of novel molecules to modulate disease pathology.
Andi Rosner
Andi Rosner (They/Them) joined the Drew Lab in the spring of 2023. They completed their undergrad at the University of Chicago with a Bachelor's of Arts in psychology, their Masters of Science in Biology at Illinois Institute of Technology. Then back at Uchicago's Malamy Lab for 4 years of research on wound healing and signaling in the jellyfish clytia hemisphaerica. All while being a professional performer since 2010. Andi is currently exploring proteomics in fungi, specifically candida auris.
Vedanti Joshi
Vedanti is a student at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) working through the Student Inquiry and Research (SIR) Program. After winning Scholastic's "Hardest Math Problem Student Contest'', Vedanti's love of science and math eventually led her to discover that many intersectional fields exist, including computational biology. Vedanti has worked on several projects in the Drew Lab including an investigation of the efficacy of a potential therapeutic for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and clustering high throughput proteomics data to identify the wiring diagram of biological macromolecular assemblies. She is currently working on developing high quality datasets for training sophisticated machine learning algorithms to identify novel biological macromolecular assemblies, an important and challenging task in the field. In her spare time, she loves to teach competitive math through her non-profit organization.
Former Members:
Eliza Stierle - Masters Student
Carlos Merlos - Undergraduate Researcher, now: RosettaCommons PostBac Scholar (Northwestern University)
Erin Claussen - Visiting Research Specialist
Adeline Fredrick - Undergraduate Researcher, now: Medical School
Honors Capstone:
A. Fredrick, Identifying Ciliary Proteins in Mammalian Retinas using a Gentle Extraction Method (2023)