Organizers

Scott Jensen

Scott Jensen is a physics graduate student at Purdue University. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms involved in water splitting during photosynthesis. Most of his work has been done using time resolved x-ray spectroscopy at Argonne National Laboratory. He spent a year designing a newly commissioned x-ray spectrometer as part of the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program to advance his research. In his free time he enjoys teaching his daughters to play soccer, speak spanish and appreciate science.

Kristina Kelesy

Kristina recently graduated from Purdue University where she received her PhD in Chemistry. Her graduate research focused on finding a novel resistance-reduced treatment for malaria, a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite that is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Following her discovery of a promising malaria treatment, Kristina traveled to Vietnam (2013) and Uganda (2014) to perform studies on fresh malaria infected blood samples to confirm its effectiveness and then traveled back to Vietnam (2015) to spearhead and oversee the human clinical trial that resulted from her discovery. Continuing in the field of infectious disease research, Kristina accepted a position at Purdue in the Biochemistry Department as a postdoctoral researcher in the Mesecar lab, a structural biology laboratory that focuses on discovering and validating new drug targets against cancer and deadly viruses, such as MERS and SARS. She hopes to combine the research skills learned during her PhD and in the Mesecar lab to facilitate the development of novel drug targets against malaria.

Aaron Krabill

Aaron Krabill is a second year graduate student in the Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology department at Purdue University. Originally from Goshen, Indiana, Aaron did his undergraduate studies at DePauw University majoring in Biochemistry. He is currently researching the modulation of UCH-L1 using novel small molecules under Dr. Daniel Flaherty. In his free time, he enjoys watching Netflix, woodworking, and spending time with his wife.

Samantha Lee

Samantha Lee is a graduate student with Dr. Barbara Golden in the Department of Biochemistry, where she studies the structural basis for RNA function. She is originally from Reno, Nevada and attended the University of Nevada, Reno where she received her bachelors in biochemistry and masters in biotechnology. Samantha enjoys teaching undergraduates and has been a mentor for the NSF REU program and the Purdue iGEM Biomakers team.

Emma Lendy

Emma Lendy is a first year graduate student in an interdisciplinary Life Sciences PhD program and is interested in labs that focus on the structural basis for designing novel drugs. She is originally from Wheaton, Illinois and completed her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Purdue where she worked with catalytic RNAs in Dr. Barbara Golden’s lab. In her free time, Emma can be found reading or running around with her dog.

Vatsal Purohit

Vatsal Purohit is a third year graduate student in the Purdue Interdisciplinary Life Sciences program. He is originally from Bangalore, India and did his undergraduate studies at Purdue University in the Physics department. He is currently doing research under Dr. Cynthia Stauffacher on using Time-Resolved Laue Crystallography to detect chemical intermediates in HMG-CoA reductase during the conversion of HMGCoA to Mevalonate. His hobbies include listening to music and podcasts, singing and playing the guitar.

Ngango Yvon Rugema

Ngango Yvon Rugema is a PULSe graduate student in the department of Chemistry working with Dr. Angeline Lyon to discover the structure of PLC enzymes and their interactions. Seeing that His country of origin, Rwanda, needed to develop in areas of scientific research with a focus on biomedical sciences, he decided to pursue a PhD in an American university so that he may learn and apply the knowledge gained to be one of the pioneers of establishing research based education and institutions in his country. He enjoys playing volleyball and guitar for a worship band at his church.