Department of Biochemistry
Biochemistry Alumni
The date reported after each name is the date the degree was conferred. The name of the thesis advisor is given in parentheses. The academic year is defined as September 1 through August 31.
2005-06 Academic Year
Julie Akana, Ph.D.
Bradley Baas, Ph.D.
Melanie Cheng, Ph.D.
Won-Tak Choi, Ph.D.
Hywyn Churchill, Ph.D.
Natanya Civjan, Ph.D.
Kathryn Flavin, Ph.D.
Jill Grimme, Ph.D.
Rajarsi Gupta, Ph.D.
Dan Han, Ph.D.
Jennifer Hsu, Ph.D.
Surtaj Iram, Ph.D.
Michael Lasker, Ph.D.
Cheri Millikin, Ph.D.
Kevin Nelson, Ph.D.
Thomas Pfister, Ph.D.
Karson Putt, Ph.D.
Mary Thomas, Ph.D.
Stanley Wang, Ph.D.
Yangming Wang, Ph.D.
Emily Waters , Ph.D.
Wei Xie, Ph.D.
Lai Lai Yap, Ph.D.
2000-01 Academic Year
- Agree, Andrea October 2000 (Jonas)
Thesis title: Probing the structure of apolipoprotein AI by specific fluorescent Labeling of introduced cysteine residues. - Karatan, Ece October 2000 (Ordal)
Thesis title: Characterization of The Response Regulator Chev And Its Role In Bacillus subtilis Chemotaxis.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Eli Huberman, Biomedical Research Program, Argonne Nat'l. Lab., Argonne, IL - Kershnar, Eric October 2000 (Chiang)
Thesis title: The Role of Phosphorylation in Modulating PC4 Function as a General Cofactor. - Westfall-Taron, Barbara October 2000 (Orlean)
Thesis title: Yeast Mutants That Require the GPI Biosynthetic Gene GPI1 for Growth.
Position: Postdoctoral, Institute of Proteomics, Department of BMCP, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA - Yu, Aimee October 2000(Jonas)
Thesis title: Structural Characterization of the Amino-and Carboxy-Terminal Domains of Troponin C by High Pressure Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
Position: Medical Student, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL.
1999-00 Academic Year
- Cao, Zuojun October 1999 (Horwitz)
Thesis title: Identification of a Domain on the Alpha 5 Integrin Subunit Implicated in Cell Spreading and Signaling.
Position: Information Technology, Sei Company, Chicago, IL. - deHaan, Georgius October 1999 (Shapiro)
Thesis title: The Estrogen Response Element and the KRAB Repression Domain as Modulators of Estrogen Receptor Action.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Susan Fitzpatrick, Women's Health Research Inst., Wyeth-Ayerst Research, Radnor, PA. - Jensen, Irene E. May 2000 (Orlean)
Thesis title: Chitin Synthesis-Related Proteins in the Chitin-Less Yeast Schizosaccharomyces Pombe.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Deborah Leckband, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, U. of Illinois, Urbana, IL. - Kostova, Zlatka October 1999 (Orlean)
Thesis title: Characterization of the Yeast Gpi3 Protein, the Catalytic Subunit of the First Enzyme Complex in GPI Anchor Biosynthesis.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Dieter Wolf, Institut for Biochemie, Universitat Stuttgart, Germany. - Murphy, Frank V. May 2000 (Churchill)
Thesis title: Structural Studies of HMG-D-DNA Interactions.
Ph.D. Award: Biochemistry Trust of Urbana Award recipient; seminar held Oct. 27, 2000.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Mair Churchill, Dept. of Pharmacology, U. of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO. - Pecoraro, Catherine M. May 2000 (Gennis)
Thesis title: Biochemical Studies on the Catalytic Cycle of Cytochrome C Oxidase in Rhodobacter Sphaeroides.
Position: Postdoctoral, Dept. of Crop Sciences, U. of Illinois, Urbana, IL. - Szegedi, Sandra S. May 2000 (Gumport)
Thesis title: DNA and Ligand Binding and Kinetic Properties of Wild-Type and Mutant RsrI [N6-Adenine] DNA Methyltransferases.
Ph.D. Award: Anne A. Johnson Work Award recipient; seminar held Mar. 2, 2001.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Janet Rowley, Dept. of Medicine, Sect. of Hematology/Oncology, U. of Chicago, Chicago, IL. - Taron, Christopher H. October 1999(Orlean)
Thesis title: Complexity of the Late Stages of GPI Anchor Biosynthesis in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.
Position: Staff Scientist, New England Biolabs, Inc., Beverly, MA. - Tsatsos, Panagiota H. May 2000 (Gennis)
Thesis title: Structure-Function Relationship Studies of the Cytochrome Oxidases.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Andrei Mirzabekov, Biochip Technology Center, Argonne Nat'l. Lab., Argonne, IL. - Zhang, Chengcheng October 1999(Shapiro)
Thesis title: Expression of Human Estrogen Receptor and Studies of Estrogen Receptor-Mediated Transcription and Apoptosis.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. David Shapiro, Dept. of Biochemistry, U. of Illinois, Urbana, IL.
1998-99 Academic Year
- Bondos, Sarah E. October 1998 (Sligar)
Thesis title: High Pressure Protein Denaturation: Description of a High Pressure Intermediate and Effects of Mutations on Pressure Stability.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Kathleen Matthews, Dept. of Biochemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX. - Chusacultanachai, Sudsanguan May 1999 (Shapiro)
Thesis title: Selection and Characterization of a Steroid Receptor DNA Binding Domain Based Repressor of Estrogen Response Element Containing Promoters.
Position: Jr. Scientist with Dr. Yongyuth Yuthawong, Nat'l. Center for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, Nat'l. Science & Technology Development Agency, Bangkok, Thailand. - Costello, Lisa C. October 1998 (Orlean)
Thesis title: Biosynthesis and Characterization of Early Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Anchor Intermediates in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.
Ph.D. Award: Anne A. Johnson Work Award recipient; seminar held Apr. 21, 2000.
Position: Medical Resident, Internal Medicine, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN. - Fuentes, Ernesto J. January 1999(Wand)
Thesis title: Stability and Dynamics of Apocytochrome b562.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. A. J. Wand, Dept. of Biochemistry & Biophysics, U. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. - Kahler, Andrea E. May 1999 (Switzer)
Thesis title: Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of the Heteromeric Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase from Bacillus Subtilis.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Gordon Hager, Lab. of Receptor Biology & Gene Expression, Nat'l. Cancer Inst., NIH, Bethesda, MD. - Katsonouri, Andromachi May 1999 (Gennis)
Thesis title: Exploring the Structure-Function Relationships and Dynamics of the Heme/Copper Oxidase Superfamily Using Cytochrome bo3 from Escherichia Coli as a Model System.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Peter Brzezinski, Dept. of Biochemistry, The Arrhenius Laboratories for Natural Sciences, U. of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden. - Kuntz, Martin A. January 1999 (Shapiro)
Thesis title: Role of Dimerization in Binding of Estrogen Receptor to the Estrogen Response Element.
Position: Medical Student, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. - Osborne, Jeffrey P. May 1999 (Gennis)
Thesis title: Structure and Function Relationships in Cytochrome bo3 Oxidase and Cytochrome bd-I Oxidase from Escherichia Coli.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Lawrence Wackett, Dept. of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. - Purves, J. Todd October 1998 (Sligar)
Thesis title: Protein Monolayers: Molecular Recognition, Stability, and Imaging Studies.
Position: Medical Student, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. - Sanders, Kevin E. October 1998 (Sligar)
Thesis title: Recombinant Hemoglobin Variants: Structure Function Analysis and Oxygen Therapeutic Design.
Ph.D. Award: Biochemistry Trust of Urbana Award recipient; seminar held Nov. 19, 1999.
Position: Medical Student, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. - Short, James H. October 1998 (Wand)
Thesis title: Solution Structure of the Apocalmodulin/Neuro-P Complex.
Position: Medical Student, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. - Wieczorek, Stacey J. January 1999 (Gerlt)
Thesis title: Galactonate Dehydratase: Exploring the Frontiers of the Enolase Superfamily.
Position: Clinical Chemistry Fellow with Dr. Alan Wu, Dept. of Pathology, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT.
1997-98 Academic Year
- Adimoolam, Shanthi January 1998 (Jonas)
Thesis title: Probing the Structure and Function of Lecithin Cholesterol Acyltransferase by Site-Directed and Deletion Mutagenesis.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. John Cooke, Div. of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. - Budihas, Scott R. May 1998 (Gerlt)
Thesis title: Mechanistic Investigations of Mandelate Racemase: The Electrophilic Catalysts.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Seymour Kaufman, Lab. of Neurochemistry, N.I.M.H., NIH, Bethesda, MD. - Cho, Bryan K. October 1997 (Kranz)
Thesis title: Engineering Antibodies to Control T Cell Function.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Herman Eisen, Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, MA. - Ehrhardt, Mark R. January 1998 (Wand)
Thesis title: Calmodulin and Calmodulin-Peptide Interactions: Structure, Energetics, and Dynamics.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. A. Joshua Wand, Dept. of Chemistry, State U. of New York, Buffalo, NY. - Kirby, John R. May 1998 (Ordal)
Thesis title: Regulation and Role of Methylation During Chemotaxis in Bacillus Subtilis.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. David Zusman, Dept. of Molecular & Cell Biology, U. of California, Berkeley, CA. - Kuntz, Elizabeth E. January 1998 (Shapiro)
Thesis title: Human Estrogen Receptor α Activity on Estrogen Responsive, Integrated Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase (CAT) Reporter Constructs in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) Cells. - Manning, Thomas C. May 1998 (Kranz)
Thesis title: Antigen Recognition by an Alloreactive T Lymphocyte Clone.
Position: Resident Physician, Dept. of Neurological Surgery, U. of Washington, Seattle, WA. - Ni, Xinhai May 1998 (Hager)
Thesis title: Methyl Chloride Transferase: Isolation, Characterization, cDNA Cloning, and Expression.
Position: Postdoctoral with Dr. Howard Schachman, Dept. of Molecular & Cell Biology, U. of California, Berkeley, CA.