Current Investigators
Sarah Walker, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences
Research Project Leader: Modulation of STAT3 activity by STAT5 in triple negative breast cancer
Sarah Walker leads research on the roles of STAT transcription factors in breast and ovarian cancer using 3D cell culture and bioinformatics to identify druggable targets with the potential to overcome chemotherapy resistance.
Jingwei Cheng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences
Research Project Leader: Targeting PRMT5 to combat cancer drug resistance associated with neuroendocrine differentiation
Dr. Cheng investigates the oncogenic mechanisms of small DNA tumor viruses—especially Merkel cell polyomavirus—by integrating genomic, epigenetic, and CRISPR-based approaches to uncover druggable targets in neuroendocrine cancers, with broader implications for MYC-driven malignancies.
Alumni
Sergey Charntikov, Associate Professor of Psychology, leads a behavioral neuroscience lab that uses preclinical models to study the neurobiology of substance use disorders, focusing on individual differences in addiction vulnerability and relapse prevention through translational drug self-administration paradigms.
Xuanmao Chen, Associate Professor in Neurobiology and CIBBR Assistant Core Director, investigates how neuronal primary cilia regulate cortical development and hippocampal memory formation. Combining molecular genetics, imaging, and behavioral analyses, his team investigates how ciliary signaling shapes neuronal positioning, neural circuits and cognition.
Feixia Chu, Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, conducts research using advanced mass spectrometry and chemical cross-linking techniques to investigate the structural dynamics and molecular recognition mechanisms of protein assemblies, with a particular emphasis on posttranslational modifications and chromatin organization in cellular processes.
Maria Carlota Dao, Assistant Professor of Human Nutrition, conducts interdisciplinary research on obesity and cardiometabolic risk in health disparity populations by integrating dietary, psychosocial, and gut microbiome data to inform scalable lifestyle interventions.
Sean S. C. Edington is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. His laboratory uses infrared spectroscopy to investigate ion binding, solvation, and biological signaling with the goal of understanding fundamental metal coordination processes and revealing how mutations in signaling proteins contribute to diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
Sherine Elsawa, Associate Professor and Chair of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences at UNH, studies the role of GLI transcription factors in Waldenström macroglobulinemia and inflammation, aiming to develop novel cancer therapies through epigenetic and cytokine signaling analyses in the tumor microenvironment.
Jeffrey Halpern, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering and Professor of Chemistry, leads the Surface Enhanced Electrochemical Diagnostic Sensors (SEEDS) Lab. The SEEDS Lab uses dynamic surface (bio)polymers and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for real-time sensing applications in biomanufacturing, disease diagnostics, and other applications.
Kyung Jae Jeong, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at UNH, designs biomaterials and injectable hydrogels for tissue engineering and drug delivery, focusing on microstructured and multifunctional platforms that mimic biological environments for regenerative medicine.
Vicki Jeffers, Assistant Professor in Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences and CIBBR Assistant Core Director, investigates epigenetic regulation and transcriptional mechanisms in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, with a focus on bromodomain proteins as potential antiparasitic drug targets.
Linqing Li, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, develops microstructured hydrogels for tissue engineering, focusing on mechanobiology, angiogenesis, and regenerative strategies using polysaccharide and polypeptide based biocomposites and liquid-liquid phase-separated systems.
Nate Oldenhuis, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, creates biomaterials from bioreactor-derived DNA to mimic tissue mechanics, focusing on supramolecular hydrogels and topologically defined polymers for applications in regenerative medicine and wound healing.
Edward Song is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He develops biosensors and lab-on-a-chip technologies for real-time detection of neurotransmitters and biomarkers, with applications in understanding neurodegenerative diseases.
Krisztina Varga, Associate Professor in Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, uses NMR spectroscopy to study protein structure and interactions, with research spanning antifreeze proteins, chiral nanoparticles, and bacterial cell polarity mechanisms.
Harish Vashisth, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, applies computational biophysics and molecular simulation methods to study complex macromolecules (proteins, nucleic-acids, polymers, lipids, colloids) and their applications in therapeutic design, molecular engineering, and materials discovery.
Affiliates
Andrea Ayala is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. She investigates avian disease ecology, focusing on pathogen transmission between wild birds and domestic poultry, the environmental factors influencing outbreaks, and the factors that exert pressures onto pathogens to spillover into humans from the livestock-avian interface.
Adam Brockett is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. His research explores how experiences like exercise and drug use influence cognitive flexibility and brain health across the lifespan using systems and molecular neuroscience techniques.
Anyin Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry. His research centers on advancing electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, particularly in ultra-low current regimes, to improve sensitivity for biomolecular and environmental analyses.
Matt MacManes is a Professor of Genome Enabled Biology in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences. His research combines physiology and genomics to study desert-adapted mammals, focusing on how they survive extreme environments without water.
Roy Planalp is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry. He specializes in medicinal and environmental inorganic chemistry, designing metal-based probes to study cellular metal metabolism and developing sensors for biomedical and environmental applications.
Kostas Sousounis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences. His lab studies tissue regeneration in salamanders, particularly eye lens regeneration, to uncover mechanisms that could inform regenerative therapies in humans.
Brittany White-Mathieu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry. She develops novel fluorescent molecules and super-resolution strategies using organic chemistry to study cellular membranes aiming to improve biological understanding of signaling pathways.
Qi Zhang serves as Assistant Core Director of the Data Science Core at CIBBR and Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics. Dr. Zhang specializes in high dimensional data analysis, causal inference, mediation analysis, machine learning, hierarchical modeling and statistical computing to advance biomedical and genomic research.
