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OUR TEAM

Scientific Minds

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Principle Investigator

Gül obtained her Ph.D. from Lehigh University in 2017. After working for four years at Princeton University as a postdoc, she joined UH Chemical Engineering faculty in January 2022. 

Outside being a traditional chemical engineer, she is a master in almost all kinds of card games (former professional bridge player), enjoys yoga and martial arts, has a secret love of playing classical Turkish musical instruments and baking. 

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ASGHAR SEPHERI

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Asghar, also known as Aliasghar, earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Louisiana State University in 2018. He completed a four-year postdoctoral fellowship at the City College of New York and a one-year postdoctoral position at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences. In September 2023, he joined the group, where he is currently developing Monte Carlo methods for the nucleation of biomolecules.

 

In his free time, Asghar enjoys engaging in discussions and debates on social media.

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AYUSH GUPTA

Graduate Student

Ayush completed his B.Tech in Chemical Engineering at IIT Kanpur and joined our lab in January 2022. He is interested in investigating the phase separation of IDPs via coarse grained models and machine learning techniques. 

 

Outside the lab, he enjoys swimming, dancing, cooking, playing air hockey and absolutely doesn’t claim to be an expert in either of these. In his room, you will mostly catch him reading fiction novels or watching Friends.

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KARIM MALEKZADEH

Graduate Student

Karim obtained his BSc degree in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and joined the lab in January 2022. He is studying RNA structure and dynamics in a variety of contexts, ranging from ribonucleoprotein assemblies to viral replication, using high-resolution computer models and advanced sampling techniques.

Outside the lab, Karim is highly focused on self-exploration in trying to find his true self 🤓🧐

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KOSAR RAHIMI NASRABADI

Graduate Student

Kosar got her BSc and MSc in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology and joined the lab in January 2022. She is working on strategies to back-map the course-grained trajectories of protein condensates on the atomistic scale using machine-learning techniques.

She is interested in hiking, traveling, psychology, and genuinely looking for new experiences.

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EDUARDO AYALA MEDRANO

Graduate Student

Eduardo obtained his BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Zacatecas and joined our lab in January 2023. He is studying transcriptional condensates to develop multiscale simulations and machine-learning techniques to tackle condensate pathologies.

You will always find him trying different food and new places. He enjoys swimming, cycling, playing volleyball, and any other kind of outdoor activity, especially riding a motorcycle.

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NEHIL SHREYASH

Graduate Student

Nehil completed his B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology in 2021. Currently, he is studying the working mechanisms of human transcription factors and their interactions with their transactivation domains using coarse-grained molecular simulations. 


In his leisure time, he likes to watch movies, sing his favorite genre of songs, and play cricket.

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ALBERT HALBING

Graduate Student

Albert earned his B.S. from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2019, after which he worked as a process engineer at Intel in Phoenix, AZ for 4 years before joining the team in January 2024. He is working on a collaborative experimental/computational project with Dr. Richard C. Willson to understand liquid-liquid phase separation behavior of biological macromolecules.

He's always ready to discuss recent sports happenings and loves a good story in any format: film, television, video games, anime, etc. He enjoys travel and is constantly seeking new places to go so let him know if you find anywhere nice. Nothing is more soothing to him than a leisurely walk while zoning out to some music.

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ALEJANDRO VELIZ

Graduate Student

Alejandro completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech University and joined the lab in January 2024. He is currently working on developing models and understanding the mechanisms of polymorphism in molecular crystals.

 

Outside the lab he is either attending various concerts, playing the guitar, or reading fantasy/sci-fi books.

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ALI ENAN

Undergraduate Student

Ali is a junior majoring in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Houston. He joined the lab in the Fall of 2024, where he collaborates with Eduardo and Zoubida on an innovative project focused on transcriptional condensates.

 

Ali enjoys physical activities outside the lab such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, soccer, and volleyball. He also loves to travel and try new things with friends and family.

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ZOUBIDA REZKI

Undergraduate Student

Zoubida is a rising senior majoring in Computer Science at the University of Houston. She joined the lab in June 2024 and is working alongside Eduardo to create simulations to tackle condensate pathologies.

In her free time, she enjoys cooking, baking, and web development.

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SAMANTHA ADELAN

Undergraduate Student

Sam obtained their A.S. Degree in Engineering from San Jacinto College in 2021 and is currently working towards a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at University of Houston. They joined the lab in Fall 2024 and is working alongside Albert and Eduardo on MYC condensates with crowders.

 

Outside the lab, Sam is a freelance digital artist and also streams video games and art. They also enjoy character design and like to study art theory. They hope to one day find a middle ground between art and science.

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LAB ALUMNI

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ALEXANDER SILALAHI

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Alexander earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Florida State University in 2011 and joined the team in April 2023. He worked on the development of a continuum model and its integration into a multiscale framework to simulate liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in the context of biological systems. Understanding LLPS better provides us with a clearer picture of phenomena such as transcription regulation and neurodegenerative diseases due to pathological aggregates.

He spends leisure time with his family, works on some data science projects, and enjoys outdoor activities.

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ATANU BAKSI

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Atanu has earned his Ph.D. from Jadavpur University in 2021 and  joined the team in January 2022.  He was working on a computational project where we aim to understand the molecular picture of a vital phenomenon in biological complexity: liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in crowded environments.

 

He is curious about almost everything, always ready to learn and he consciously strive to become a better person each day. He wishes to put his scientific efforts towards making our environment a better place for all the living species not only for the 'hoomans'.🙂

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FORMER MEMBERS

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MINH NGOC NGUYEN

Undergrad Student

Minh was a rising junior (as of Summer 2022) at the University of Houston studying Biochemistry. She was working on back-mapping the coarse-grained portrayed aberrant TF condensates on atomistic resolution.

In her free time, she works on her online graphic design courses and reads mystery-solving novels. She is a very curious person and is interested in every little mystery of life.

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IBAD SIDDIQUI

Undergrad Student

Ibad was a sophomore Honors Chemical Engineering undergraduate student at the University of Houston. He joined the lab in July 2022 and was working on a computational project studying the endocytic pathways of carbon nanotubes for drug delivery systems.

 

Outside of the lab, he has a passion for watching and playing sports including cricket, football, basketball, and table tennis, among others. He strives to give achieve the best that he can in whatever opportunities he is given.

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MELISSA UNLU

Undergrad Student

Melissa is a senior in Computer Science at the University of Houston. She joined the lab in August 2022 and was there until December 2023 to work on intrinsically disordered proteins

she is also an opinion columnist at the Cougar magazine and at the Cooglife magazines at UH. She also enjoys reading, playing piano, movies, and competitive tennis

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