People

People


PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR


Rohit V. Pappu, PhD

Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor in Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
Director, Center for Biomolecular Condensates (CBC), Washington University in St. Louis
Member of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine

Contact: pappu@wustl.edu
Phone: (314) 935-7958
Office: Brauer Hall, Room 2015a

CV (last updated February 2024)


EDUCATION AND TRAINING


Postdoctoral Training, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Postdoctoral Training, Washington University School of Medicine
Ph.D. Biological Physics, Tufts University, John F. Burlingame Graduate Fellowship
B.Sc. Physics, Electronics, Mathematics, St. Joseph's College, Bangalore India, National Merit Scholarship


PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS


July 2022 - current Director, Center for Biomolecular Condensates (CBC), James McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
September 2021 - current Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor in Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
January 2018 - June 2022 Director, Center for Science & Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), James McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis
March 2015 - August 2021 Edwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
September 2012 - December 2018 Director, Center for Biological Systems Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
January 2013 - January 2018 Co-Director, Center for High Performance Computing, Washington University in St. Louis
January 2011 - current Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
March 2007 - current Member, Hope Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine
July 2007 - December 2010 Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine
February 2009 - August 2010 Director, Center for Computational Biology, Washington University School of Medicine
May 2002 - August 2010 Member, Center for Computational Biology, Washington University School of Medicine
September 2001 - June 2007 Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis

EDUCATION

1998 - 2001: Postdoctoral Training, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1996 - 1998: Postdoctoral Training, Washington University School of Medicine
1996: Ph.D. Biological Physics, Tufts University, John F. Burlingame Graduate Fellowship
1989: B.Sc. Physics, Electronics, Mathematics, St. Joseph's College, Bangalore India, National Merit Scholarship

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

July 2022 - current: Director, Center for Biomolecular Condensates (CBC), James McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
September 2021 – current: Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
July 2018 - June 2022: Director, Center for Science & Engineering of Living Systems (CSELS), James McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
March 2015 – current: Edwin H. Murty Professor of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
September 2012 – December 2018: Director, Center for Biological Systems Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
January 2013 – January 2018: Co-Director, Center for High Performance Computing, Washington University in St. Louis
January 2011 – current: Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
March 2007 – current: Member, Hope Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine
July 2007 – December 2010: Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine
February 2009 – August 2010: Director, Center for Computational Biology, Washington University School of Medicine
May 2002 – August 2010: Member, Center for Computational Biology, Washington University School of Medicine
September 2001 – June 2007: Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis




RESEARCH SCIENTISTS

Dr. Kiersten M. Ruff

Kiersten Ruff

Contact: kiersten.ruff@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Computational and Systems Biology, Washington University in St. Louis (2017)

Research:
Molecular and cellular biophysics properties of polar tracts and their impact on cellular homeostasis and functions; Advanced machine-learning methods for modeling IDPs, linkage processes in phase separation, and mechanisms of aggregation and phase separation.







POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Dr. Gaurav Chauhan

Gaurav Chauhan

Contact: cgaurav@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2022)

Research:
Thermodynamics and dynamics of phase transitions of associative polymers in multicomponent mixtures; Understanding the contributions of condensate interfaces & interiors to regulation of biochemical reactions.





Dr. Samuel R. Cohen

Samuel Cohen

Contact: samuel.cohen@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, University of Maryland, College Park (2021)

Research:
Postdoc on the T32 training grant in regenerative medicine working on the structures and dynamics of network fluids in the context of biomolecular condensates, the physics of aging in viscoelastic materials, and adaptation and improvement of complex coacervation formalisms for describing nuclear bodies.





Dr. Matthew R. King

Matthew King

Contact: matthewking@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Princeton University (2019)

Research:
Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA (F32) Postdoctoral Fellow who is working on biochemical reconstitutions of fibrillar centers and dense fibrillar components of nucleoli to uncover how the molecular handoff model is applicable for describing rRNA fluxes within nucleoli; Design of novel thermoresponsive materials based on polyampholytes.

Homepage





Dr. Min Kyung Shinn

Min Kyung Shinn

Contact: mshinn@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Physics (BioPhysics), Washington University in St. Louis (2020).

Research:
CBC Postdoctoral Fellow in the McKelvey School of Engineering who is working on the evolution of IDRs, computational modeling and experimental reconstitutions of bacterial condensates and nuclear speckles, and the development of novel methods for investigating the impact of evolved sequence fingerprints on IDR functions.






Dr. Dylan T. Tomares

Dylan Tomares

Contact: dylant@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh (2023).

Research:
Physico-chemical determinants of compositional specificity of RNP granules and the effects of charge regulation on the driving forces condensation in protein-RNA mixtures.







GRADUATE STUDENTS

Vicky Liu

Vicky Liu

Contact: liu.vicky@wustl.edu

Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering
BS Physics (dual-major in Physics and Quantitative Sciences), Emory University (2022)

Research:
Evolution of stickers and spacers and the driving forces for phase separation coupled to percolation in linear multivalent proteins.



Avnika Pant

Avnika Pant

Contact: a.pant@wustl.edu

Ph.D. Student, Yoram Rudy Graduate Fellow, in Biomedical Engineering
M.Tech in Polymers and Biosystems Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (2022)
B.Tech in Biotechnology, Amity University (2020)

Research:
Principles of phase transitions in protein-RNA mixtures mimicking nuclear and cytosolic bodies.




Scientific Programmer & Systems Administrator for the Center for Biomolecular Condensates (CBC) in the McKelvey School of Engineering

Dr. Jared M. Lalmansingh

Contact: jared.lalmansingh@wustl.edu

Ph.D. in Physics, Washington University in St. Louis (2021)
MS in Physics, Texas A&M University-Commerce (2015)
BS in Physics, South Carolina State University (2011)






Research Engineer

Olivia Lazorik

Olivia Lazorik

Contact: l.olivia@wustl.edu

BS in Physics, Washington University in St. Louis (2023)







UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

If you are interested in rotating within the lab, please contact Rohit Pappu (pappu@wustl.edu) for more details.




LAB ALUMNI

FORMER GRADUATE STUDENTS

Nikita Gupta

Ph.D. student in Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
September 2022 - April 2024


Furqan Dar

Ph.D. in Physics
July 2022


Andrew Z. Lin

Ph.D. in Plant & Microbial Biosciences
September 2023


Mina Farag

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
May 2023


Megan C. Cohan

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
December 2020


Tyler S. Harmon

Ph.D. in Physics
April 2017


Alex S. Holehouse

Ph.D. in BioPhysics
May 2017


Nicholas Lyle

Ph.D. in Computational and Systems Biology
May 2013


Albert H. Mao

Ph.D. in Computational and Molecular Biophysics
August 2012


Scott L. Crick

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
June 2011


Aditya Radhakrishnan

B.S. / M.S. in Biomedical Engineering
May 2011


Matthew A. Wyczalkowski

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
December 2009


Tim E. Williamson

M.S. in Molecular Biophysics
May 2009


Andreas Vitalis

Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics
June 2009


Alan A. Chen

Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics
April 2009


Hoang T. Tran

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering
December 2007




FORMER RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSORS AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS

Martin J. Fossat

Lab Member: March 2017 - December 2023


Ammon Posey

Lab Member: July 2014 - August 2023


Garrett Ginnell

Lab Member: August 2018 - August 2019


Mary Richardson

Lab Member: August 2017 - June 2018


Kanchan Garai

Lab Member: August 2013 - May 2014


Rahul Das

Lab Member: December 2009 - September 2015




FORMER POSTDOCS

Xiangze Zeng

Lab Member: March 2018 - December 2022


Louis Smith

Lab Member: September 2020 - June 2021


Max V. Staller

Lab Member: January 2015 - December 2020


Alex S. Holehouse

Lab Member: May 2017 - December 2019


Jeong-Mo Choi

Lab Member: August 2016 - April 2019


Sang Eun Jee

Lab Member: Oct 2016 - Nov 2017


Rajni Verma

Lab Member: Oct 2015 - June 2016


Anu Mittal

Lab Member: February 2012 - October 2014


Siddique Khan

Lab Member: April 2012 - May 2013


Anil Kumar

Lab Member: November 2010 - August 2011


Dennis G. Thomas

Lab Member: June 2006 - December 2009


Xiaoling Wang

Lab Member: September 2004 - February 2008


Alexander N. Drozdov

Lab Member: September 2002 - June 2004




FORMER PROGRAMMERS

Adam T. Steffen

Lab Member: August 2009 - December 2010




FORMER STAFF

Kasia Kornacki

Lab Member: August 2018 - October 2022




ACADEMIC VISITORS

Jason Wagoner

Laufer Fellow, Stony Brook University
Visting CBSE Fellow
Spring 2015


Lauren Ann Metskas

Visting graduate student from the Rhodes lab
Summer 2014


Susana Barrera Vilarmau

Visting graduate student from the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (IQAC-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
Fall 2016




FORMER UNDERGRADUATES / SUMMER STUDENTS


Olivia Lazorik

Summer 2021 - Spring 2022


Kaitlyn Hardesty

Summer 2020 - Spring 2022


Alex Keeley

Summer 2019, Summer 2020


Anna Eddelbuettel

Summer 2018 - Spring 2020


Jeffrey Marek

Summer 2019 - Spring 2020


Kourtney Kroll

Summer 2017 - Summer 2018


Mary Richardson

Summer 2013, Spring/Summer 2015, Spring 2017


Krish Bharat

Fall 2016, Spring 2017


Minerva Pappu

Summer 2015


Lauren Bedell

Summer 2014


James Ahad

Summer 2012, Summer 2013 - Summer 2014


Tony Wang

Summer 2012


Carter Palmer

Summer 2012


Drew Sinha

Spring 2012


Marta Wells

Summer 2011 and 2012


Jordan Nick

Summer 2011



Kelly Culhane

Summer 2011


Nil Gural

Fall 2010 - Spring 2011


Samir Unni

Spring 2011


Alex French

Summer 2009 and 2010


Caitlin Chicoine

Fall 2009 - Spring 2010


Amanda Spencer

Summer 2009


Jose Pulido

Summer 2008


Jonathan Breshears

Summer 2007


Magdalena Fus

Fall 2004 - Spring 2005



Tirath Patel

Fall 2004 - Spring 2005