Lab Members
Heather Pinkett, PhD PI Associate Professor
Undergraduate institution: Connecticut College
Graduate Institution: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Postdoc: California Institute of Technology
Research interest: ABC transporters, Transcriptional regulation, Host-pathogen interaction
E-mail address: h-pinkett@northwestern.edu
Valentina Dimitrova, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Undergraduate institution: Agnes Scott College
Graduate institution: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Interest: structure and function of bacterial transporter proteins, mechanism of ABC transporter regulation, evolutionary link between ion channels and transporters, bacterial physiology
E-mail address : valentina.dimitrova@northwestern.edu
Evan BuechelGraduate Student
Undergraduate institution: University of Wisconsin Madison
Research Interest: How the transcription factors regulate the expression of ABC transporters responsible for pleiotropic drug resistance in S. cerevisiae.
In particular, I am interested in understanding how PDR1 binds to small molecules which in turn may regulate the expression of multidrug resistant pumps.
Undergraduate institution: University of South Florida
Research Interest: Structural and functional studies of ABC transport regulatory domains
Alexandra Karagiardi
Graduate student
Undergraduate Institution: Grinnell College
Research Interest: Research interest: complex assembly and transport mechanism of the Sap ABC transporter, sensing mechanisms employed by NTHi in acquiring heme, link between ABC transporters and AMP neutralization
E-mail: alexandrakaragiaridi2025@u.northwestern.edu
Chloe Jackson
Graduate Student
Undergraduate Institution:University of South Carolina
Research Interest: Structural and functional studies of the transcription factors Pdr1 and Pdr3 and the interactions of transcription factors involved in the pleiotropic drug response in S. cerevisiae.
Julia Greenwood
Undergraduate researcher
Undergraduate Institution: Northwestern University
Research interest: Structure and selectivity of ABC transporter substrate binding protein HI-0310, computational docking studies to identify potential inhibitors for substrate binding proteins.
E-mail: juliagreenwood2023@u.northwestern.edu
Vir Patel
Undergraduate researcher
Undergraduate Institution: Northwestern University; Biological Sciences major
Research Interests: Structure and Function of the ABC transporter, ProU. Specifically, how the Cystathionine-β-synthase(CBS) domain of ProU functions in osmoregulation.
Future Goal: Medical School
Other Activities: Fundraising Chair of GlobeMed, Peer Health Mentor, Nu Wildside, Peer-Guided Study Group Leader, Purple Preview Host
Alumni
Saemee Song, PhD- Korean Research Institute of Chemical Technology
Austin Rice, PhD- Genentech
Kari Tanaka, PhD- Abbott
Kevin Lu- Case Western Reserve School of Medicine
Mikhail Attaar- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Jerry Luo-The University of Illinois College of Medicine
Meagan Read- University of Oklahoma’s College of Medicine
Michael Fagan- Columbia University
Linda Xiong-The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Jazib Gohar-Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Andrew Meheley – The College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University
Justine Hung- New York Medical College
Nell Ann Borys-Cornell
Julia Greenwood- The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.