Jonathan A. Kirk, PhD
Associate Professor & Vice Chair
Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Jonathan received his B.S. in Bioengineering at Washington State University (Go Cougs!), his Ph.D. in Bioengineering at University of Pittsburgh (Go Panthers), and his post-doctoral training in the division of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (go... blue jays, I think).
Mary Papadaki, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
mpapadaki@luc.edu
Education: BSc, MRes, Ph.D. at Imperial College London
Research Interests: Diabetes and heart failure
Hobbies: Running, eating, going to the beach
Fun fact: Before science, Mary wanted to become a theater producer!
Christine Delligatti
Graduate Student (PhD)
cdelligatti@luc.edu
Education: B.S. in Biological Sciences from Webster University
Research Interests: Glycation PTM crosstalk and the functional consequences
Hobbies: Hiking and traveling, cooking, videogames and tabletop games, and reading.
Fun fact: Christine always restarts from her last save in Skyrim whenever her dog companion, Meeko, meets an untimely end.
Nitha Aima Muntu
Graduate Student (MS)
naimamuntu@luc.edu
Education: B.S. in Microbiology from Washington State University
Research Interests: A little bit of everything at the moment
Hobbies: Hiking, exploring new places, and cooking.
Fun fact: Nitha likes "experimenting" with cooking.
Ahmed Zied
Graduate Student (MS)
azied@luc.edu
Education: B.S. in Kinesiology & Health from Iowa State University
Research Interests: Human Bcl2-associated athanogene (BAG3) and its role in cardiac myofilament health for translational research
Hobbies: Cooking, watching soccer, hiking, travelling/road trips, watching documentaries
Fun fact: Ahmed once paid a guy to let him climb the first few steps of the Great Pyramid of Giza
Michaela Door
Lab Manager and Research Technician
mdoor@luc.edu
Education: B.S. in Biopsychology from University of California, Santa Barbara
Research Interests: Regulation of GSK-3beta activity at the sarcomere
Hobbies: Snowboarding, camping, and crochet.
Fun fact: Michaela has seen over 60 artists live in concert.
Laura Sherer, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
lsherer@luc.edu
Education: BA from the College of Wooster, MS and PhD from the University of Minnesota
Research Interests: The regulation of BAG3 in cardiomyocytes and how it changes in heart failure
Hobbies: Running, reading, traveling, failing miserably at learning Bengali
Fun fact: When Laura was growing up, she owned two goats named Padme and Anakin.
Henry Gong, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
hgong@luc.edu
Education: BS from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, PhD from Illinois Institute of Technology
Research Interests: BAG3 and its role in protein quality control of the heart
Hobbies: Reading, cooking, and playing League of Legend
Fun fact: Henry is really bad at playing League of Legend
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Lab Alumni
Parth Dasai
Liz Ai
Andrei Zlobin
Edith Perez
Hana Pak
Kiela Willis
Chutima Rattanasopa
