Current Lab Members
Principal Investigator
ZD Bonner Professor of Chemical Engineering at UT Austin
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BA, Human Biology with Honors, Stanford University
PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
Postdoc, Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford University
* National Academy of Inventors, senior member
* American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineers Fellow
* University of Texas “Emerging Inventor of the Year” Award
* Texas Exes Teaching Award for the College of Engineering
* Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Award
* Packard Fellowship, David and Lucile Packard Foundation
* Dreyfus New Faculty Award
* National Research Service Award, NIH F32
Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Annalee W. Nguyen
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Director, CPRIT Advanced Protein Therapeutics Core
BS, Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
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UT Austin Distinguished Scholar
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Women in Engineering Program Distinguished Female Engineer
PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara
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NSF GRFP award
Post-doc, Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
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NIH NRSA F32 award
Research Associates
Dr. Brant Gracia
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BS, Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M
PhD, Biochemistry & Structural Biology, UT Austin
Post-doc, Genetics & Systems Biology, MD Anderson
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NIH NRSA F32 award
Mathew Soto
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BS Biology: Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, UT-Austin
Graduate Students
Alison G. Lee
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BS, Molecular Biology/ Biochemistry, University of Pittsburgh
PhD Candidate, Cell and Molecular Biology (defending March 2025!)
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Samuel Blackman
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BS, Biological Engineering, NC State University
MS, Chemical Engineering, UC Boulder
PhD Candidate, Chemical Engineering (5th year)
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NSF GRFP
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Kelli Hager
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BS, Animal Science, Ohio State University
MPH, Infectious Disease and Vaccinology, UC Berkeley
PhD Candidate, Microbiology (4th year)​​
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McKenna Flynn
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BS, Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry (4th year)​​
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Charlie Johnson
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BS, Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M
MSE, Biomedical Engineering, UT Austin
PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering (4th year)
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Agata Turula
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BE Chemical Engineering, The City College of New York
PhD Candidate, Chemical Engineering (3rd year)
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​(co-supervised with Lydia Contreras)
Yakendra Bajgain
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BS Biology, Troy University
MS Biology, Villanova University
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry (3rd year)
Kate McConnell
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BS Biochemistry, Western Washington University
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry (3rd year)
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Truong Nguyen
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BS Molecular, Cell & Dev Bio, University of Washington, Seattle
Cell & Molec Biology PhD program (2nd year)
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Mica Cabrera
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BS Biochemistry, Cal State East Bay
Cell & Molec Bio PhD program (2nd year)
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Marguerite Murray
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BS Biomedical Engineering, University Minnesota Twin Cities
Biomedical Engineering PhD program (1st year)
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Undergraduate Researchers
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Anna Prestwood, ChE class of 2025
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Grace Lai, ChE class 2025
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Shruthi Garla, BME class 2025
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Alina Garcia, ChE class 2025
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Jay Dileep, ChE class of 2025
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Gaby Bastidas, ChE class 2025
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Saeha Lee, ChE class of 2026
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Kailey Pittman, Computational Bio, class of 2026
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Ashley Hardy, Chem class of 2026
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Esdras Lopez, ChE class of 2025
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Irene Alapatt, Biochem class of 202x
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We periodically seek undergraduate research assistants to help with our efforts. If you are an undergraduate interested in joining the lab, please complete the google form here. We will review these and reach out as needs arise. Thank you for your interest!
