Who We Are

Prof. Huong T. Kratochvil

Principal Investigator | Assistant Professor at UNC-CH

Affiliations: Department of Chemistry at UNC-CH, Molecular and Cellular Biophysics Program

I am a biophysical chemist who has always been interested in protein structure and function. I combine protein design and biophysical approaches to address questions of protein function and to develop new, functional proteins for materials and therapeutic applications.

Likes: Pokemon, boba, travel

Dislikes: scary movies, spiders 

Postdoctoral Scholars

We're looking for talented postdocs who want to join the team!

Graduate Students

Vincent (Vinnie) Silverman

Started: Jan 2023

Email: vsilverm@unc.edu 

Awards: T32 CBI Training Fellowship

Vinnie grew up near New Haven, Connecticut before moving to Pittsburgh, PA to attend Carnegie Mellon University. As an undergraduate, he worked with Dr. Ryan Sullivan on projects using LC-MS to identify and degrade pollutants in various environmental samples. After graduating in 2020, Vinnie moved back to Connecticut to work at Sanofi in Meriden. At Sanofi, Vinnie got his first exposure to biological chemistry working on process development for COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccines. After two years, Vinnie moved to North Carolina to work on understanding the protein-protein interactions responsible for food allergies. When he's not in the lab, Vinnie spends most of his time playing board and trading card games. 

Start your PhD with us! Positions for graduate students available!


Undergraduate Students

Arora Rohrbach

Major: Chemistry

Email: arohrbach@unc.edu 

Arora is currently a sophomore from Durham, NC studying biochemistry with minors in neuroscience and creative writing. She hopes to go to graduate school to further study protein function with pharmaceutical applications. Outside the lab, she likes to travel, knit, and go ice skating!

Gautham Ravindran

Major: Biology

Email: gauthamr@ad.unc.edu 

Gautham is currently a sophomore from Cary, NC majoring in biology and minoring in neuroscience and EXSS. He hopes to go on to medically school in the future and pride a career in orthopedics and potentially orthopedic surgery. Outside the lab, he loves playing and watching all sports!

Joshua Lopez

Major: Biochemistry

Email: joslopez@unc.edu

Josh is a biochemistry major, who is also interested in studying music, statistics, and sustainable urbanization. He likes to flip around (literally), go down YouTube and Wikipedia rabbit holes, and play video games. There's not much he dislikes except the phylum Arthropoda.

Celeste Reeves

Major: Chemistry and Medical Anthropology

Email: laurencr@unc.edu

Celeste is a rising junior who is majoring in chemistry and medical anthropology. She is a proud Durhamite (Durham, NC) and loves to explore new food joints around the city. In her free time, she likes to bake, write, or hone her photography skills. In the future, Celeste wishes to continue her studies in chemistry to help solve problems in the realm of medicine. 

Gavin Wiltshire

Major: Biomedical Engineering

Email: gaadewi@unc.edu 

Gavin is currently a sophomore from San Antonio, TX majoring in biomedical engineering and on the Pre-med track. He plans to pursue a MDPhD following undergraduate and has interests in a variety of fields of research ranging from protein dynamics to drug delivery. A few hobbies of his are playing the cello and watching his favorite soccer team Arsenal!

Mia Brazeau

Major: Biology

Email: mbrazeau@unc.edu 

Mia is a sophomore from Greensboro, NC majoring in biology with a minor in Spanish. Her plan is to attend med school and pursue a career as a pediatrician. Outside of the lab, I enjoy rock climbing, eating at restaurants, and going to concerts!

We have opportunities available for undergraduate students to gain hands-on experience in the lab! Please inquire!