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 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!
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
Packard Summer Research Fellow (2023)
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 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 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!