Our group members come from a wide array of backgrounds, including chemistry, biology, engineering, and materials science!
Milan Mrksich
Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Chemistry
Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | B.S. Chemistry (Steven C. Zimmerman)
California Institute of Technology | Ph.D. Organic Chemistry (Peter B. Dervan)
Harvard University | American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow (George Whitesides)
Lab Administrators
Brianna Bullock
Senior Program Coordinator
University of Chicago | B.A. East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Brianna manages Mrksich Group administrative projects which take place within the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry, and the Center for Synthetic Biology, handles financial processes, and coordinates events for our group.
Research Staff
Eric Berns
Research Associate Professor, Lecturer
Northwestern University | Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering (Samuel I. Stupp)
H Foundation Post-doctoral Fellow/Research Assistant Professor Award
Research: High-Throughput, Cell-Based Assays with SAMDI; Megamolecule-Based Imaging Agents and Therapeutics for Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease
Eric is using SAMDI to evaluate large libraries of nanomaterials in order to discover design rules governing cancer vaccine efficacy. He is pairing SAMDI with microfluidics and localized electroporation to temporally measure cellular responses. He is using the megamolecule platform to develop imaging agents and therapeutics that more selectively target cancer cells, cancer neovasculature, or beta amyloid aggregates for Alzheimer’s Disease.
POSTDOCTORAL
Justin Modica
Research Associate
The University of Chicago | Ph.D. BioOrganic Chemistry (Milan Mrksich)
Research: Modular Synthesis of Next-Gen Biologics
Richard Wang
Research Technologist
South China University of Technology | Master’s Chemical Engineering
Research: Megamolecules
Postdoctoral Researchers
Rahul Kumar
Postdoctoral Researcher Since 2021
UGC Centre for Advanced Studies, GNDU, Amritsar, India | Ph.D. Organic Chemistry
Rammana Fellowship
UGC UPE Fellowship
Research: Megamolecules
Graduate Students
Alexandra Barajas
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2020
University of California, Santa Barbara | B.S. Chemistry and Biochemistry
MARC U STAR Scholarship
Research: Megamolecules
Zhaoyi Gu
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2020
University of California, Berkeley | B.S. Chemical Biology
Jack and Birthe Kirsch Prize (UC Berkeley)
Research: Megamolecules
Deborah Kovalczuk
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2024
Trinity International University | B.S. Chemistry
NAIA Scholar Athlete
Research: Megamolecules
Timmy Mansfield
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2024
Rice University | B.S. Chemistry
Research: Megamolecules
Grace McLaughlin
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2023
University of Massachusetts Lowell | M.S. Chemistry
Research: Megamolecules
Sichen Mu
Chemistry Master’s Student Since 2024
Beijing University of Chemical Technology; State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry | B.S. Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering
Research: Megamolecules
Tori Seto
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2020
Miami University | B.S. Chemistry
Chemistry of Life Processes Trainee
Research: Megamolecules for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Tori is developing Megamolecules that specifically target proteins overexpressed on cancer cells in order to deliver diagnostics and therapeutics directly to those cells. She is designing molecules that are tailored for prostate cancer and glioma.
Bethel Shekour
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2019
Williams College | B.A. Chemistry
Chemistry of Life Processes Trainee
Research: Megamolecule Assembly
Bethel is developing new chemical methods for connecting Megamolecule building blocks. Additionally, she is exploring the use of Megamolecules for targeted drug delivery.
Sraeyes Sridhar
Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Student Since 2018
Cornell University | M.S. Biomedical Engineering
Research: Engineering Megamolecule-based T-Cell Recruiting Antibody Scaffolds.
Sraeyes is engineering megamolecule-based multivalent antibody scaffolds towards the development of next-generation immunotherapies. Additionally, he’s working on creating cytokine-based megamolecule scaffolds for investigation within inflammation-based diseases.
Grace Watkins
Chemistry Ph.D. Student Since 2023
University of Northwestern - St. Paul | B.S. in Biochemistry, B.S. in Biology
Research: Megamolecules
Undergraduate Students
Adam Elsharkawi
Undergraduate Student Since 2022
Northwestern University | Biomedical Engineering
McCormick Summer Research Award
Research: Megamolecules