BIOCHEMISTRY STUDENT AMBASSADORS
Welcome to our biochemistry student ambassador web page! We are a group of students at Indiana University who would like to assist you by answering any questions you have about the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Graduate Program and about living in Bloomington, Indiana. We invite you to join us at Indiana University-Bloomington and become part of our exciting program.
We look forward to hearing from you!
| Name | Level | Lab | Status |
| Adam Johnson | Ph.D. | Pratt | Fifth year |
| Zack Kaur | Ph.D. | DiMarchi | Fifth year |
| Mark Pawlicki | Ph.D. | Tolbert | Fifth year |
| Valery Benton | Ph.D. | Bradshaw | Fourth year |
| Fan Cheng | Ph.D. | Mukhopadhyay | Fourth year |
| Angela Berger | Ph.D. | Danthi | Third year |
| Qian Dong | Ph.D. | Bauer | Third year |
| Rohini Kohli | Ph.D. | Hardy | Third year |
| Chenglei Li | Ph.D. | Chen | Third year |
| Robert Vaughan | Ph.D. | Kao | Third Year |
My name is Adam Johnson, and I am a fifth year Ph.D candidate in the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Program. I am not a traditional biochemist; I came to Indiana University to pursue research in astrobiology. My lab is located in the Department of Geological Sciences working with Professor Lisa Pratt, head of the Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee NASA Astrobiology Team. Using laboratory experiments and natural analogue sites, my research focuses on the preservation potential of biomolecules in the types of evaporitic minerals recently detected on the surface of Mars.
Data from the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER's) and orbital spectroscopic equipment show geological and chemical evidence consistent with the for the periodic presence of liquid water on the surface of Mars. Outcrops explored by MER's contain igneous rocks and sedimentary strata that are finely laminated to cross-bedded and containt substantial amounts of evaporitic minerals such as gypsum (CaSO 4 -xH 2 O) and jarosite (FeSO 4) in various hydration states. These features are consistent with deposition in a large, shallow body of water undergoing evaporation. Large lakes could have served as habitable environments for halophilic bacteria similar to those found in saline lakes on Earth today. Data sent back by the Viking landers in the late 1970's gave no indication of organic residues in the top 1cm of Martian regolith. Further studies suggest that high influx of UV radiation combining with the 0.03% water vapor in the Martian atmosphere and generate a highly oxidizing environment where organic molecules decompose in a matter of years. Therefore, detection of biologically relevant molecules would requires sampling of materials shielded from UV radiation and oxidation; either burial below the surface or by the presence of UV-absorbing mineral structures.
Given the high abundance of evaporitic minerals on the Martian surface and the high UV absorbance of iron, I designed a set of experiments combining Martian analog brines with selected amino acids and exposing these mixtures to a diurnal cycle in an environmental chamber that mimics the Martian atmospheric pressure, composition, UV cycle and temperature regime. Reaction products from the Mars chamber experiments are characterized using gas chromatography, HPLC-coupled mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction to analyze the samples. I specifically monitor amino acid degradation, racemization, localization and polymerization with respect to organic molecules bound to mineral surfaces and trapped with mineral inclusion. Experimental data will be used to model and predict the fate of amino acids on Mars, as well as the potential peptide synthesis on early Earth associated with sulfate minerals. Once we understand the potential for un-racemized amino acids to be preserved on or near the Martian surface, then astrobiology-related sampling sites can be identified and methods for sampling and transporting Mars samples can be developed.
Feel free to write me at adpjohns(at)indiana.edu should you have any questions about the program, research or life here at Indiana University . I look forward to hearing from those of you interested in the program.
My name is Zack Kaur and I'm a fifth year graduate student in the Biochemistry. I currently study peptide synthesis under the direction of Dr. DiMarchi. Specifically, I work with the insulin-like growth factor one (IGF-1) and insulin. I came to Indiana University from Wabash College , a small liberal arts college in Crawfordsville, IN. What I enjoy so much about Indiana University is the way different research labs help each other and all the resources available to graduate students. If you have trouble with something, there is always someone to help you understand what to do. I also like variety of things there are to do in the beautiful city of Bloomington.
Please feel free to contact me at zkaur@indiana.edu.
My name is Mark Pawlicki and I am currently in my fifth year in the Ph.D. Biochemistry program here at IU. I grew up in Warren, MI, just outside of Detroit. I went to college at a very small private school (less than 800 students) in northern Wisconsin called Northland College. It is a private, environmental liberal arts college. It was not as big of a shock as I thought it would be, moving from such a small school to a Big Ten university. I was able to fall right into the trend of things.
As for my work, I am in Dr. Tolbert's group. We work on glycoengineering of glycoproteins. This kind of work has called for quite a bit of molecular cloning, protein/glycan purification, and mass spectrometry. Currently I am conducting binding studies on immunologically relevant glycoproteins to determine the importance of glycosylation for immune response. The future may entail turning to multidimensional NMR or X-ray crystallography for binding characterization.
My time here at IU thus far has been busy, but terrific. I have come a long way in my understanding of biochemical systems since undergrad, thanks to a good balance of course curriculum and lab research. I feel I have been able to really find my specific calling after spending a year here. I came to IU with the purpose of becoming a biochemist, but I am finding more and more every day why I chose this profession.
Please feel free to contact me at mpawlick@indiana.edu if you have any questions.
Hi, my name is Valery Benton and I am currently in my fourth year in
I earned an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from Goshen College. It is a small Mennonite liberal arts college located in Northern Indiana. The biggest difference between attending a small college versus a Big Ten University is how far you have to walk to get anywhere and the great facilities located right on the campus. The staff and faculty of the graduate program are so interested in your progress and development as a grad student that it still seems as if I attend a small college.
Currently I am working in Dr. Heather Bradshaw's Lab located in the Psychology Building. The Bradshaw Lab studies lipid signaling molecules and how they may be involved in reproductive pain. These signaling molecules have been found to either increase or dampen pain that may be associated with the contracting of the uterine muscle. We hope that by understanding the interaction between these molecules and contractions will help to improve the current therapies for patients that suffer from chronic pelvic pain.
If you have any questions about the program or just want to hear more about life in Bloomington in general, feel free to contact me at howardvm(at)indiana.edu.
Hello! My name is Fan Cheng and I am the fourth-year doctoral student in Biochemistry Program. Prior to coming to IU Bloomington, I received my BS degree in Biology and then served as Research Assistant for the Institute of Advanced Materials in Fudan University in Shanghai. Now, I am working in Tuli Mukhopadhyay's lab, studying the function of alphavirus core-like particles. It is a very interesting project which gives me a lot of oppotunities to work with people from different research groups.
If you have any questions about the Biochemistry Program, the life in Bloomington or anything else, please feel free to contact me at fancheng(at)indiana.edu.
My name is Angela Berger and I am a third year graduate student in the Biochemistry program. I received my BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University. I work in the Danthi Lab in the Biology department here at IU. I work with reovirus, a dsRNA virus in the Rioviridae family. My project focuses on how reovirus causes apoptosis in host cells. Specifically I am looking at the activation of NF-κB via an unusual route involving IKKa and IKKγ resulting in host cell apoptosis. Currently, I am characterizing the IKKγ protein interactions needed to activate NF-κB.
What I like about the graduate school here is that it offers a wide variety of research topics to study as well as supportive faculty and staff that are willing to help out.
If you have any questions about anything here in Bloomington please feel free to contact me at akberger(at)indiana.edu.
Hi! I am Qian Dong, a third year graduate student in Interdisciplinary Biochemistry program. I am now studying cyst formation in R. centenum in Bauer lab. Specifically, I am working on the structure and function of guanylyl cyclase. I came to IU from Nankai University, China, where I got my BS degree. IU is a very beautiful place, and a perfect place to do research.
If you have any question, feel free to contact me at dong3(at)indiana.edu. I will be more than glad to help!
Hello. I am Rohini Kohli and I am currently in my third year of graduate studies in the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Program at Indiana University , Bloomington . I earned my B.S and M.S degrees in Biochemistry from India before coming here to pursue doctoral studies in the same field.
I am currently working with Richard Hardy and my project involves taking a proteomic approach to understanding alphavirus infection and persistence in host cells. I enjoy working here and more so since now we have moved to the new science building Simon Hall, where there are scientists from every discipline and hence exchanging thoughts and ideas with chemists and physicists is a more feasible option now making the program interdisciplinary in the true sense. I also like the campus atmosphere and Bloomington in particular. It is a very student oriented town with everything that I need in close proximity and so much to do that I never really miss being in a big city. The people here are also very friendly and helpful and it was impossible for me to be homesick here for too long in spite of the fact that I am so far away from home. I totally understand that you would have several questions and anxieties about this place so please feel free to email me at rrkohli(at)indiana.edu and I will try my best to help.
My name is Chenglei Li and I just entered my third year as a Ph.D student in the Biochemistry Program. After I received my BS and MS in China, I decided to pursue my Ph.D degree in a more professional and well-equipped university. I then found this fantastic interdisciplinary biochemistry program in Indiana University, Bloomington. It has great scientists from various research areas and provides sufficient resources and supporting staff to help students to get through their research projects. Besides, the brand new home for this program—Simon Hall—has improved the research environment to a higher level. Beyond the study and research, the beautiful scenery and nice people in B-town also give people a good reason to enjoy a graduate life here. Currently I am working in Lingling Chen’s lab, mainly focusing on protein biochemical studies.
Feel free to contact me at li70(at)indiana.edu if you want to more details of this program or life here.
My name is Robert Vaughan and I am in my third year in the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry PhD program here at Indiana University. I grew up in California and Texas, so the move to Bloomington for my graduate work has been quite an adjustment for me as I finally had to buy a winter coat! I can’t imagine a place more suitable for me to earn my PhD. Between the top notch faculty and all the resources available to graduate students, it is easy to see why everything runs smoothly here. The only thing more beautiful than the new science building is the view it has of campus of the rich vegetation and the incredible limestone buildings. Bloomington is famous for its limestone rock quarries, and offers several sites that are ideal for fossil hunting.
I received my B.S. at Texas A&M University in Molecular and Cell Biology. As a student worker in the protein chemistry service laboratory, I gained 3 years of valuable lab experience on many different projects, as well as acquired my first taste of biochemistry; while I tried other disciplines, I knew biochemistry is what interested me the most.
At Texas A&M I began my graduate work under Dr. Cheng Kao. His lab studies RNA viruses, viral nanotechnology, and innate immunity receptors. Shortly after joining the lab Dr. Kao was offered a position here at IU, and after visiting the campus and meeting the faculty I was eager to make the move here with him! My project focuses on Hepatitis C virus NS3 protein and its interaction with the innate immune system. This project suits my background well because it has required quite a lot of mass spectrometry based approaches that I learned as a student worker at Texas A&M, and it allows me to utilize Indiana University’s first-rate mass spectrometry facilities.
I would be glad to answer any of your questions about the program or about living at IU. Please feel free to contact me at robvaugh(at)indiana.edu and I will try my best to help.
