Arash was born and raised in Ahvaz, a southern town in Iran, before moving to Tehran to attend Sharif University of Technology for his undergraduate studies. There, he grew an interest in biochemistry and biophysics, leading him to the Chemistry program in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Under Prof. Martin Gruebele, he studied intrinsically disordered proteins using various biophysical methods such as spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. In UNC, Arash is going to harness protein design to both answer fundamental biophysical questions about the mechanism of membrane transport and develop membrane proteins with desirable transport properties. When he is not in lab, he enjoys running and backpacking.

Julia grew up in a small college town in Ohio before moving to a small college town in Indiana to study chemistry at Taylor University. She then moved to yet another college town in North Carolina for the Chemistry PhD program at UNC—Chapel Hill. Under direction of Prof. Gary Pielak, she studied dry protein structure and desiccation protection using multidimensional NMR, calorimetry, and enzyme assays. Besides research, Julia enjoys reading, cycling, and family time.

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. 

Nolan is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For undergraduate studies, he attended The Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Here he studied intrinsically disordered proteins under Dr. Scott Showalter. He used NMR and Fluorescence Anisotropy to understand interactions between transcription factors involved in insulin production. After graduating, Nolan moved to North Carolina where he is now interested in studying ligand-gated channel proteins. Outside of research, Nolan enjoys hiking and swimming.

Solomon, originally from Nigeria, West Africa, developed an interest in life sciences during an internship at a national veterinary institute (NVRI) in north-central Nigeria, where he had his first laboratory experience. He pursued this interest further, earning a Master's in Structural Biochemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) in Israel, under the mentorship of Prof. Julia Shifman. Currently, Solomon's research focuses on protein design, with a particular emphasis on studying Protein-Protein Interactions (PPI) in the context of allergies. Outside the lab, Solomon enjoys playing soccer.

Perin grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, where he also attended Marshall University and received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry. At Marshall University he did research in a proteomics lab under the supervision of Dr. Leslie Frost. In the lab he focused specifically on protein binding partners of the Apolipoprotein-A1 pro-peptide using mass spectrometry (LCMS, GCMS, MADLI-TOF). He has moved to North Carolina and is now interested in membrane protein channels and their incredible potential utility. In his free time, Perin enjoys swimming, playing volleyball and soccer, listening to audiobooks, and playing Xbox.

Kendall grew up near San Diego, California where she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and majored in biology-chemistry. In her undergraduate research, she worked with Dr. Matthieu Rouffet to design and synthesize metalloenzyme inhibitors with antimicrobial properties. She then interned at Mirati Therapeutics where she synthesized small molecules for cancer drug discovery campaigns. Here at UNC, she is interested in designing proteins with environmental applications. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running with friends, reading, and painting.

Zubair was born and raised in Queens, New York. He studied chemical engineering at the City College of New York. While there he performed research in the laboratory of Dr. Raymond Tu centered on self-assembling peptide biomaterials. After graduating Zubair worked as a formulation scientist at AstraZeneca where he developed stable formulations and drug delivery strategies for vaccines and antibody-like drugs. At UNC he is applying protein design and immunology principles to study the protein-protein interactions involved in allergies. Outside of research, Zubair enjoys baking, weightlifting and spending time with family.

Owen is a current freshman (‘27) from Baltimore, MD studying biochemistry with a minor in Chinese. At UNC, he is part of the wind ensemble, playing clarinet, and goes on frequent hikes and runs with the Outing Club. He hopes to use biochemistry to further medical research and pharmaceutical development.

Avery is a rising junior from Beijing, China, majoring in Chemistry and Biology at UNC. She is interested in learning about structural elements that govern protein dynamics and flexibility. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking, creative writing, and drawing.