Organizers

Duy Phuong Hua

Duy Phuong Hua is the chair of the organizing committee, and is a graduate student in Dr. Carol Post’s lab in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, where she uses molecular dynamics simulations to study the sampling of protein structures. You can learn more about her work here, where she was recently published! Duy grew up in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, and moved to the United States in 2006. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Ohio Wesleyan University. Duy is a voracious reader, endurance runner, and loves to cook dishes from all around the world.

Satchal Erramilli

Satchal Erramilli is a graduate student in Dr. Cynthia Stauffacher’s lab in the Department of Biological Sciences, where he studies the structural biology of ABC Transporters. He is originally from the small town of Razole in the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh in India, but grew up mostly in Singapore and Texas. Satchal has bachelor’s degrees from both the University of Texas at Dallas and the Illinois Institute of Technology. When he’s not in the lab, Satchal loves to write, and once contributed to the blogs of Scientific American an article on 100 years of X-ray crystallography, as well as to the Biophysical Society (one of our sponsors!).

Adriano Mendes

Adriano Mendes is a graduate student in Dr. Richard J. Kuhn’s lab in the Department of Biological Sciences, where he studies Molecular Virology, particularly of Sindbis Virus. He is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa and, prior to Purdue, received his B.Sc in Microbiology and Biochemistry and his M.Sc in Microbiology from Rhodes University. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship! Adriano is professionally interested in all things virus-related, so feel free to ask him about Ebola. When he’s not in the lab, you can find Adriano on the pitch or following his favorite sports some where. He’s an avid musicophile and loves reading non-scientific books, and his favorite ice cream flavor is bubble gum.

Brendan Sullivan

Brendan Sullivan is a graduate student in Dr. Yulia Pushkar’s lab in the Department of Physics, where he studies metalloproteins in the brain – read about it here – and pursues the development of synchrotron techniques for biological characterization, including X-ray imaging of brain cells. Feel free to ask him all of your X-ray related questions! He is originally from Chicago, IL, and completed his B.Sc in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When he’s not playing with high-energy X-rays, Brendan is enthusiastic about cooking – he’ll be happy to whip you up some of his favorite dishes! Like many scientists, Brendan’s drink of choice is coffee.

Phillip Rushton

Phillip Rushton is a graduate student with both Dr. Nicholas Carpita and Dr. Cynthia Stauffacher in the Department of Biological Sciences, where he studies the structure and function of plant cellulose synthase and cellulose synthase-like protein domains. Originally from Cicero, Indiana, he developed a passion for botany through leisure gardening and greenhouse management. He received his bachelor’s of liberal arts degree in Biology from Wabash College. Phillip is an active member of the C3Bio Center for the Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels. He owns two beautiful Siberian huskies and enjoys hiking, camping and skijoring (weather permitting) with his dogs. Phillip also enjoys tending to his large indoor tropical plants and aquascaping his freshwater community fish tank.

Sakshi Tomar

Sakshi Tomar is a graduate student in Dr. Andrew Mesecar’s lab in the Department of Biological Sciences, where she studies aspects of the MERS coronavirus. She is originally from New Delhi, India, and received her M.Sc in Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee. Sakshi is interested in target-based drug design for the treatment of coronavirus infections; you can read (and hear!) all about her work here. When she’s not working in the lab, Sakshi loves to paint abstract art. Her favorite festival is Diwali.

Carol Beth Post

Dr. Carol Beth Post is our faculty advisor and is a professor in the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Sciences. After receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona, Dr. Post went to the University of California at San Diego for her doctoral studies with Professor Bruno Zimm, where she studied the polymerization of DNA. She then pursued her post-doctoral training with Nobel Laureate Dr. Martin Karplus at Harvard University before joining the faculty at Purdue University. Dr. Post studies a wide range of biological problems using techniques in computational chemistry and biological NMR. In 2013 she was given the Chaney Faculty Scholar Award, the highest award given to faculty of Purdue’s College of Pharmacy, for recognition of her outstanding work in protein-protein interactions related to signaling and viruses. Dr. Post is the President-Elect of the Protein Society (one of our sponsors!).