Bioinformatics Scientist

Alexandria D'Souza was born and raised in California, where she did her undergraduate in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics at UC Santa Cruz. She worked in proteomics and drug discovery for 7 years at a non-profit Research for Aging organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2016, she began her Master's in Computer Science at the University of Chicago, focusing on Data Science, Algorithmic proficiency and Machine Learning. Alexandria started working in the Woo Lab September 2019, where she continues her Bioinformatic work of quantitative analysis and creating pipelines for the team to use!

Postdoctoral fellow

yuka_amako(@fas.harvard.edu)

Yuka did her undergraduate studies at Chiba University in Japan and obtained a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the same university under the supervision of Prof. Atsushi Nishida, where she focused on organic chemistry. Her previous research experiences included development of new methodologies using nickel-catalyzed hydrocyanation of allenes. After her graduate studies, she was interested in chemical biology and joined the Woo lab to study the interaction of small molecule in proteome in April 2017.

Postdoctoral fellow

cchang5(@fas.harvard.edu)

Postdoctoral fellow

chanat(@fas.harvard.edu)

Jay was born and raised in Thailand, where he finished his undergraduate study in chemistry at Kasetsart University. He conducted research under supervision of Dr. Pitak Chuawong to develop an acid-cleavable probe to purify specific tRNA. He then became highly interested in chemical biology. In 2013, he began his Ph.D research in Dr. David Chenoweth's lab in the Department of Chemistry and Dr. Michael Lampson’s lab in the Department of Biology, both at the University of Pennsylvania. His project was to develop light-activated chemical inducers of protein dimerization to study protein-protein interactions in living cells. In January 2018, he joined Dr. Christina Woo’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow to develop a new platform for glycoproteomics. In his free time, he likes reading about science, technology, and how to cure cancer. He is also very interested in the chemistry of cooking and traveling around the world.

Postdoctoral fellow

nandini_vallavoju(@fas.harvard.edu)

Nandini was born and raised in Hyderabad, India. After her master’s degree she worked in pharmaceutical company for few years. In 2010, she moved to Fargo, North Dakota to pursue her doctoral studies. Her graduate studies focused on design and synthesis of atropisomeric compounds as both catalysts and substrates in photochemical transformations. After graduation, she moved to Boston University for a postdoctoral position in Center for Molecular Discovery under guidance of Prof. John Porco where she developed novel natural product-derived analogs and probes for the use in studying macrophage activation toward the treatment of tuberculosis. She was interested in chemical biology, she joined the Woo lab to study the interactions of small molecules within the context of cellular proteome.

Postdoctoral fellow

yunge(@g.harvard.edu)

Yun received her Ph.D. in Chemical biology at Peking University, China. She conducted research under supervision of Prof. Peng Chen, focusing on developing tools to manipulate protein activities and capture cell-cell interactions. Her projects included applying bioorthogonal cleavage reactions on unnatural amino acids and evolving better enzymes for protein labeling. After her graduation, she joined the Woo lab as a postdoctoral fellow to study and regulate glycosylation in October 2018.

Postdoctoral fellow

boyang(@g.harvard.edu)

Bo received his Ph.D. in bio-analytical chemistry at University of Missouri-Columbia. He conducted research under supervision of Prof. C. Michael Greenlief and Prof. Grace Y. Sun, focusing on the application of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and proteomics, especially in the areas of phytochemicals and their impact on oxidative/inflammatory responses in the mammalian systems. After his graduation, he joined the Woo lab as a postdoctoral fellow to study glycolproteomics in April 2019.

Postdoctoral fellow

saki_ichikawa(@fas.harvard.edu)

Saki is originally from Tokyo, Japan and obtained a BS in Chemistry from the University of Tokyo (2014), where she conducted undergraduate research in the laboratory of Professor Eiichi Nakamura. In 2019, she received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from MIT, under the guidance of Professor Stephen L. Buchwald. While at MIT, she focused on the development of copper-catalyzed carbon–heteroatom bond forming reactions. After graduation, she joined the Woo lab as a postdoctoral fellow to study small molecule–protein interactions. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking as well as eating, and listening to classical music and musical soundtracks. Her favorites are Beethoven Symphony 6 (a great healing effect!) and La La Land.

Postdoctoral fellow

dachengshen(@g.harvard.edu)

Dacheng was born and raised in Zhejiang, China. After he got his BS from University of Science and Technology of China in 2013, Dacheng joined Biao Yu's group in Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, where he first entered the field of sugar chemistry and in June of 2016, he got MSc in organic chemistry. After graduation, Dacheng joined the Seeberger group in Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and Free University Berlin, working on the development of chemical synthetic vaccines and obtained Dr. rer. nat. in March, 2020. In June of 2020, Dacheng joined Dr. Christina Woo's lab as a postdoc and he is now focusing on the study of O-GlcNAc related chemical biology.

BBS Graduate Student

danielramirez(@g.harvard.edu)

Daniel is a second-year PhD student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) program at Harvard. His previous research experience involved studying the role of SUMOylation on Influenza virus infection in the lab of Dr. Germán-Rosas Acosta at The University of Texas at El Paso. He also worked on the crystallization of nuclear pore associated proteins in the lab of Dr. Günter Blobel over the 2014 and 2015 summers at The Rockefeller University as part of the HHMI EXROP and Capstone programs. In 2016, Daniel joined the Woo lab to develop new tools to study glycosylation and probe their functions.

CCB Graduate Student (G6)

hflaxman(@g.harvard.edu)

Hope is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology PhD program. She received a BS from MIT with majors in Chemistry and Biology and minors in Economics and History. While at MIT, she studied the metal-binding and redox properties of the human immune protein S100A15 in the laboratory of Dr. Elizabeth Nolan. She joined the Woo lab in 2016 to study small molecule-protein interactions.

MCO Graduate Student (G6)

pschwein(@g.harvard.edu)

Paul is a graduate student in the Molecules, Cells & Organisms PhD program. He received his BS from MIT in Biology, with minors in Chemistry and Music. While at MIT, he trained in the labs of Laurie Boyer, Jean-Francois Hamel, and Jing-Ke Weng working on various projects in molecular and cellular biology. Paul joins the Woo lab in 2017 to study the role of post-translational modifications in cellular function.

CCB Graduate Student (G6)

avwest(@g.harvard.edu)

Alex is an aspiring young graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology PhD Program. He received his BS in Chemistry from Indiana University, where he trained in the lab of Dr. Michael VanNieuwenhze synthesizing dynamic fluorescent probes. He joined the Woo lab in 2017 to conquer the mighty diazirine and improve the methods used to study small molecule-protein interactions.

Postdoctoral fellow

davidmiyamoto(@g.harvard.edu)

David received his BS from UC Berkeley in Chemistry while working in the lab of Dr. Daniel Nomura where he worked on covalent ligand discovery for new cancer targets. He joined the Woo lab in 2017 to study small molecule-protein interactions.

CCB Graduate Student (G5)

zhilin(@g.harvard.edu)

Lindsey grew up in Shanghai, China and obtained her BS from Peking University in 2017 where she conducted her undergraduate research with Prof. Peng Chen developing novel transition metal catalyst-mediated bioorthogonal cleavage reactions and multi-functional super-resolution imaging probes for CLEM (Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy). As a senior, she was co-advised by Prof. Yadong Li at Tsinghua University to develop a modified palladium nanocrystals for intracellular reactions. Outside Peking University, she studied the peptide substrate of a P. falciparum proteasome inhibitor in Prof. Matthew Bogyo’s lab at Stanford and also studied perlene dyes for organic field effect transistor (OFET) devices in Prof. Zhaohui Wang’s lab at Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS), China. Now, Lindsey is interested in studying the small molecule-protein interactome in the Woo lab. In her spare time, Lindsey likes to play piano, go to live concerts, and watch her favorite shows: Doctor Who, Orphan Black, and Game of Thrones.

CCB graduate student (G5)

mleonduque(@g.harvard.edu)

Mark is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Ph.D. program. He earned his BS in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he worked in the lab of Mingxu You to develop novel RNA-based sensors for intracellular imaging of small molecules. He joined the Woo lab in 2019 to study the small molecule-protein interactome of opioid drugs to uncover the biomechanical basis of drug addiction. In his free time, Mark enjoys binge watching TV shows for an unhealthy amount of time, annoying his co-workers, and hanging out with his friends and family.

CCB graduate student (G5)

wenqingxu(@g.harvard.edu)

Wenqing was born in Japan and raised in China. She received her BS from UC Berkeley where she trained in professor John Hartwig's lab working on the directed evolution of metalloenzymes for abiological catalysis. She joined the Woo lab in 2019 to study post-translational modifications and E3 ligase biology using chemical biology and proteomic approaches. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, listening to music, and visiting museums.

CCB/CB graduate student (G5)

scheng1(@g.harvard.edu)

Steven is a graduate student joint between the Chemistry & Chemical Biology and Chemical Biology PhD programs. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University (2019), where he conducted synthetic organic chemistry research on strained ring systems and halogenation under the supervision of Prof. Noah Burns. In 2017, Steven also worked in the lab of Prof. Nediljko Budisa at the Technische Universität Berlin as a DAAD RISE Scholar, studying proteome-wide incorporation of non-canonical amino acids. Steven joined the Woo lab in 2019 to develop tools for manipulating glycosylation and to study its physiological roles. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music from the 19th century and watching movies from the 20th century.

Lab Technician

Nate is a recent graduate from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Biochemistry and Computer Science. He previously studied cytochrome c biogenesis as a model system for heme trafficking proteins in the Kranz lab and has collaborated with the Baker group (UW) to update the Rosetta modeling software and model membrane protein-ligand interactions. Currently, Nate is supporting projects which elucidate the protein targets and binding sites of specific small molecules. Outside of research, he enjoys staying active, cooking new recipes, and performing diabolo.

Konstantin is a visiting scholar from ETH Zurich. He was born and raised in Berlin, Germany and received his BS from ETH Zurich in chemistry (2018). He is currently pursuing a MS degree at the same university, where he worked in the labs of Professor Renato Zenobi, Professor Gunnar Jeschke, Dr. Alexander Leitner and Professor Ruedi Aebersold on projects in the areas of analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and proteomics. He joined the Woo lab in 2020 to study small molecule-protein interactions.

Undergraduate student

zehanzhou(@college.harvard.edu)

Zehan Zhou grew up in Vancouver, Beautiful British Columbia, Canada, and he is currently pursuing a concentration in Chemical and Physical Biology, with a secondary in Government and a citation in French. His past research encompassed determining evolutionary differences between virulent and non-virulent strains of Proteus mirabilis bacteria and the role of chromosome 2 in determining mouse cerebellar volume. He joined the Woo lab in the summer of 2020 to study alternative ways to target the proteasome. In his free time, Zehan can be found skiing black diamond runs, attempting to perfect his latke recipe (the key is lots of eggs!), or even curling up to a David Attenborough nature documentary!

CCB graduate student (G4)

hlloyd(@g.harvard.edu)

Hannah is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology PhD program. She graduated from Brandeis University in 2020 with a MS in Biochemistry and BS with majors in Biochemistry and Chemistry, specializing in Chemical Biology. While at Brandeis, she studied cytochromes P450 in soil bacteria in the lab of Dr. Thomas Pochapsky. She joined the Woo lab in 2021 to study protein-protein interactions and regulation of protein degradation.

CCB graduate student (G4)

amody(@g.harvard.edu)

Alison is a graduate student in Chemistry and Chemical Biology Ph.D. program. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry and minor in Mathematics from Villanova University, where she trained in the lab of Dr. Dennis Wykoff studying the regulation of thiamine metabolism in Candida glabrata. She joined the Woo lab in 2021 to study O-GlcNAc related chemical biology.

CCB graduate student (G4)

ncurnutt(@g.harvard.edu)

Nicole is a graduate student in the chemistry and chemical biology PhD program. She received her BA from Washington University in St. Louis in Biochemistry and French Studies. While at WashU, she worked in Dr. Timothy Wencewicz’s lab on synthesizing siderophore dimers to probe their mechanism of import. She joined the Woo lab in 2021 to develop therapeutically relevant small molecules and to study small molecule-protein interactions.

Undergraduate student

sfrome(@college.harvard.edu)

I am from Buffalo, New York, and will be pursuing a Master’s degree this year through the AB/AM Program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. I joined the Woo lab in the summer of 2020 to study how E3 ligases can be used to expand the targetable proteome. When I am not in the lab, I enjoy watching or playing sports, cooking, and playing the guitar.

Postdoctoral fellow

t.sonobe(@ono.co.jp)

I was born and raised in Saitama, Japan. I got Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo in 2015, where I worked in Prof. Motomu Kanai’s laboratory to develop new organometallic catalysis. After Ph.D. course, I joined ONO pharmaceutical CO., LtD. and worked as a medicinal chemist. In 2021, I joined Woo lab to study and develop new methodology to degrade protein of interest.

CB graduate student (G5)

fmk(@g.harvard.edu)

Farah is a graduate student in the Chemical Biology Ph.D. program. She received her B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she trained in the lab of Dr. Hadley Sikes to develop paper-based, rapid diagnostic tests for Zika and malaria. She also worked at Elektrofi, Inc., in high-concentration, low-viscosity formulation of monoclonal antibody therapeutics. She joined the Woo lab in 2021 to study target protein degradation, molecular glue design, and chemoproteomics. In her free time, she enjoys rock-climbing, listening to books & podcasts, and trying new cuisines.

CCB graduate student (G3)

vdippon(@g.harvard.edu)

Vanessa is a graduate student in the chemistry and chemical biology Ph.D. program. She received her BA in chemistry from Columbia University in 2021. While at Columbia, she worked in professor Tomislav Rovis’s lab studying the directed evolution of monomeric streptavidin rhodium (III) artificial metalloenzyme. She joined the Woo group in 2021 to study small molecule-protein interactome. Outside of lab she enjoys spending time with friends, family and her cats, reading, relaxing in the sauna, and champagne.

CCB graduate student (G3)

asoltys(@g.harvard.edu)

Anna grew up in New Jersey and received her A.B. in Chemistry with a certificate in Materials Science and Engineering from Princeton University in 2021. At Princeton, she worked in the Schoop lab on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of layered and 2D materials. Anna joined the Woo lab in 2021 to work on synthesizing and studying molecular glues and related small molecules.

Undergraduate student

kkitarovic(@college.harvard.edu)

Katarina is a third-year undergraduate studying Chemistry with a secondary in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She joined the Woo lab in the fall of 2021, and her research interests include protein degradation and small molecule design. In her free time, she enjoys reading, figure skating, and sewing.

CCB graduate student (G3)

angelni(@g.harvard.edu)

Angel received her undergrad degree from UCLA, where she majored in Chemistry and minored in Biomedical Research. With Rachelle Crosbie as a faculty mentor, she did research on the effect of the extracellular matrix on cardiac fibroblasts in the context of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. She joined the Woo lab in 2022 to study targeted protein degradation.

Undergraduate student

matthewsu(@college.harvard.edu)

Matthew is an undergraduate from San Antonio, Texas pursuing a double concentration in chemistry and computer science at Harvard. He is interested in exploring the intersection between organic synthesis, molecular biology, and data science/machine learning. In his spare time, Matthew enjoys speedsolving the Rubik’s cube, juggling playing cards, and building software.

Undergraduate student

astavropoulos(@college.harvard.edu)

Hi! My name is Alexi Stavropoulos and I am from Menlo Park, California. I am currently a Junior at Harvard pursuing a concurrent Master’s degree in Chemistry, and I hope to continue my passion for science either through medical school or a PhD program. In my free time I love to produce music, play soccer, spend time with friends, scuba dive, and eat Greek food. On campus I’m involved with the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, the Hellenic Club, and the Club Soccer team.

Postdoctoral fellow

zhenguangzhao(@fas.harvard.edu)

Zhenguang was born in Shanxi, China. In 2017, he obtained a master’s degree in organic chemistry from Jiangxi Normal University, China (supervised by Professor Junfeng Zhao) and Nanyang Technology University, Singapore (supervised by Professor Chuanfa Liu). Afterward, he moved to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem for PhD study under the guidance of Prof. Norman Metanis. In Jerusalem, he focused on developing new selenium chemistry to facilitate the chemical synthesis of challenging protein (especially selenoproteins) and Sec/Cys-specific modification for functional and potential therapeutical studies. In 2022, he joined the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University as postdoctoral fellow to work on degrons for target protein degradation under the supervision of Professor Christina Woo.

Postdoctoral fellow

qianzhu(@fas.harvard.edu)

Qian (Chace) was born in Sichuan Province, China. In 2017, he received a BS in pharmaceutical engineering from China Pharmaceutical University. In the same year, he joined the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and conducted research under the guidance of Prof. Biao Yu. At SIOC, he was mainly engaged in the chemical synthesis of natural glycans. After receiving Ph.D. in 2022, he joined Christina Woo's research group in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University as a postdoctoral fellow, engaging in targeted protein degradation related research.

CCB/CB graduate student (G2)

asvoysky(@g.harvard.edu)

Abigail is a graduate student joint between the Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Chemical Biology PhD programs. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a BS in biochemistry, a BS in biological sciences, and a BA in Russian language and literature. While at Maryland, she studied novel photoacid generators with solvent-modulated reactivity in the lab of Dr. Daniel Falvey. She also conducted research in cell competition as an Amgen Scholar in Dr. Laura Johnston’s lab at Columbia University Medical Center. Abigail joined the Woo lab in 2022 to delve into glycoscience and use chemical approaches to study the biological roles of O-GlcNAc.

Postdoctoral fellow

ryvon(@fas.harvard.edu)

I was born and raised in rural western Massachusetts. My first experience in scientist came as a high school student while doing a summer internship with professor Gabriel Birrane during which I learned the ins and outs of protein purification and was introduced to the fundamentals of biochemistry. From this experience, I went on to earn a bachelors degree in Biochemistry and a doctorate degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst under the mentorship of professors Alice Y. Cheung and Hen-Ming Wu. During my time in the Cheung lab, I uncovered a novel phase separation mechanism that underlies a diverse range of extracellular signaling in plants.

CCB graduate student (G2)

abigailscott(@g.harvard.edu)

Abigail was born and raised in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. She received her B.S. in Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2022, where she investigated the structure of proteins involved in the cytosolic assembly and delivery of iron-sulfur clusters in the lab of Professor Catherine Drennan. She joined the Woo lab in 2022 to study relatively unexplored E3 ligases.

Undergraduate student

ialkuraya (@college.harvard.edu)

Hello everyone! My name is Ibrahim Alkuraya, and I am an undergraduate at studying Chemical and Physical Biology, with the hopes of going to grad school in the not-so-distant future. I am currently working on small molecule synthesis for protein degradation. In my free time, I love taking hikes and biking around the Boston area. I am involved with Harvard Prescriptions and HUNICEF.

CCB Graduate Student (G2)

lyang2(@g.harvard.edu)

Lucy is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology department. Born and raised in Santa Rosa, California, she graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2022 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.S. in Biological Sciences. While at UCI, she worked with Professor Andrej Lupták studying the biochemistry of functional RNAs in the context of the Origins of Life and the RNA world. She joined the Woo lab in 2023 to study targeted protein degradation and small molecule-protein interactions. Outside of lab, Lucy enjoys reading, drawing, making music, watching figure skating, and eating food with friends.

Postdoctoral fellow

tengfanglong(@fas.harvard.edu)

Tengfang was born in Hunan Province, China. She received a BS degree in Chemical biology at Sun Yat-sen University in 2018, under the supervision of Prof. Zong-Wan Mao. In the same year, Tengfang joined Prof. Huan Wang’ group at Nanjing University to pursue the PhD in Chemistry, where she focused on chemical modification of peptides and proteins, as well as the discovery of bioactive peptides via phage display. In 2023, she joined Christina Woo's research group at Harvard University to explore the post-translational modification in protein damage pathway and discover optimal ligands for protein degradation.

CCB graduate student (G1)

eyfeng(@g.harvard.edu)

Ethan originally hails from the California Bay Area. He received his B.A. in chemistry and philosophy from Columbia University in 2023. At Columbia, he worked with Prof. Ruben Gonzalez to study the mechanistic details of protein synthesis, illuminating the function of a universally conserved translation initiation factor. Now with the Woo lab, Ethan is interested in gaining new insight into the native function and mechanistic details of cereblon. When he’s not working, you can find him raving about his love for intricate small objects, including watches and Lego!

CCB graduate student (G1)

xtao(@g.harvard.edu)

Xavier is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology PhD program. He received his BS in chemical biology with a minor in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley, where he worked in the lab of Prof. Daniel Nomura discovering and characterizing covalent ligand inhibitors for proteins implicated in cancer. He also worked in the lab of Prof. Jay Keasling improving computational tools for engineering natural product biosynthetic pathways. Xavier joined the Woo lab in 2024 to develop small molecules with therapeutic potential and study small molecule-protein interactions.

CCB graduate student (G1)

yulili(@g.harvard.edu)

Yuli is a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology PhD program. Born and raised in Dalian, China, he graduated from Tianjin University in 2022 with a B.S. in Chemistry. At Tianjin University, he worked with Prof. Yanfeng Dang and Prof. Guangwei Wang studying computational organic chemistry. Then he became a visiting undergraduate in Prof. Kendall Houk’s lab UCLA, where he did remote research for 3 years. Yuli joined the Woo lab in 2024 to study new post translational modifications.

Undergraduate student

orancu(@college.harvard.edu)

Hi! My name is Oliver, and I’m in the Class of 2025 at Harvard College studying Chemistry, hoping to pursue either a PhD or MD in the future. I’m currently working on understanding enzymatic catalysis of C-terminal Asn and Gln cyclization as degrons recognized by the E3 ligase substrate adaptor Cereblon. In my free time, I’m also involved in PBHA’s HARMONY program and chemistry outreach at Harvard.

Undergraduate student

yewonlee(@college.harvard.edu)

Yewon is an undergraduate concentrating in chemistry with a secondary in history. She joined the Woo lab to explore her interests in the chemistry of selective protein modifications and metabolic processes. In her free time, she enjoys performing with Asian American Dance Troupe and mountain biking. On campus, she serves as an EMT and Y2Y case manager and organizes the HCAP cultural exchange conference.

Undergraduate student

tiffanywang(@college.harvard.edu)

Hi everyone! My name is Tiffany, and I'm a junior at Harvard originally from Wellesley, Massachusetts. I am concentrating in Chemical and Physical Biology and pursuing a secondary in statistics. In my free time, I am involved with dance, Camp Kesem at Harvard, and the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.

Undergraduate

dicleezgi_ekinci(@college.harvard.edu)

Hello everyone! My name is Dicle, and I am a junior at Harvard College, studying Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in Economics. I am from Diyarbakir, Turkey. After graduation, I hope to pursue a Ph.D. In my free time, I am involved in the Harvard International Student Club (Woodbridge) and the Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment Program.