The Protein Benders!
Join us!
Members
We welcome new collaborative and enthusiastic members!
Check our awesome team below. If you're interested in seeing a timeline of who worked in our lab, check our lab's timeline!
Please contact ParisaH if you are interested.

Parisa Hosseinzadeh (She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Professor
parisah 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Protein and peptide design, Computational methods in biochemistry, Biosensors and enzymes, Machine learning
Background:
B.Sc University of Tehran, Iran
PhD University of Illinois at Uraban-Champaign
Advisor Yi Lu
Postdoc Univeristy of Washington, Seattle
Advisor David Baker
Other interests:
science outreach, justice in STEM, reading, sports, crafting
hssnzdh2

Benjamin Gonzalez (He/Him/His)
Lab Manager
bengonza 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Protein design, regenerative medicine, advanced light microscopy and its applications
Background:
B.Sc Arizona State University
PhD Arizona State University
Advisor Page Baluch
Other interests:
Fermentation, brewing, baking, growing mushrooms, gardening, hiking

Kevin Harnden (He/Him/His)
Postdoctoral Scholar
kharnden 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Protein design, bionorganic chemistry, machine learning, alternative energy, bioremediation, green catalysis
Background:
B.Sc Sonoma State University
PhD University of Illinois at Uraban-Champaign
Advisor Yi Lu
Other interests:
Volunteering, outreach, traveling, film, music, video games, books, Brazilian jiu jitsu, yoga, art
harndenk

Suchetana Gupta (She/Her/Hers)
Postdoctoral Scholar
sugupta 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Simulation of biomolecules, Protein and peptide design
Background:
B.Sc University of Calcutta, India
M.Sc Jadavpur Univeresity, India
PhD Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
Advisor Sanjib Senapati
Postdoc Indian association for the cultivation of science
Advisor Partha Basuchodwdhuri
Other interests:
Music, Reading, Traveling
suchetana-g

Edin Muratspahíc (He/Him/His)
Postdoctoral Scholar
edinm 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Computational peptide and protein design with applications in medicine; structure, function and pharmacology of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs)
Background:
B.Sc University of Vienna, Austria
M.Sc University of Vienna, Austria
PhD University of Vienna, Austria
Advisor Christian W. Gruber
Other interests:
Playing and watching sports, going to the gym, hiking and singing
edinmuratspahic

Noora Azadvari (She/Her/Hers)
BioE Graduate Student
eazadvar 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Solving biological problems by any tools in design and computation, structural biology
Background:
B.S. University of Tehran, Iran
Other interests:
Photography and film making, Reading, Running, Birding, Sustainability and zero waste, Minimalism, Science communication, Poetry, Cooking
NooraAz

Andrew Powers
BioE Graduate student
apowers4 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Computational protein engineering, machine learning, protein design, cyclic peptide design, and developing computational tools
Background:
B.S. Psychology, University of Minnesota
M.Sc. Bioinformatics and Genomics (KCGIP),
University of Oregon
Other interests:
Wrestling, Olympic Weightlifting, learning languages, traveling, hiking, scuba diving, and coding
SpacePope

Karly Fear (She/Her/Hers)
BioE Graduate student
kfear 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Protein design for precision medicine application, computational biology and bioinformatics
Background:
B.S. Biology, Chemistry minor
Class of 2022
Other interests:
Supporting women and minorities in STEM, Fostering science engagement in younger generations, Traveling, Yoga
karlyfear

Alonso Cruz (He/Him/His)
Undergraduate Research Assistant
alonsoc 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Using protein design and gene-editing methods to discover new disease treatment options that will improve the prognosis and quality of life
Background:
B.S. Human physiology, Chemistry minor
Class of 2023
Other interests:
Public health, drumming/music, diversity in the STEM workforce, playing sports, cooking, outdoor related endeavors

Ben Burress-Irving (He/Him/His)
Knight Campus Undergraduate Scholar
bburress 'at' uoregon.edu
Research interests:
Biochemistry, Protein design for biomedical applications
Background:
B.S. Biochemistry
Class of 2024
Other interests:
Playing electric and upright bass in various ensembles, traveling, playing video games

Zack Mawaldi (He/Him/His)
Rosetta undergraduate intern
mawaldiy 'at' vcu.edu
Research interests:
protein design for bioanalyte sensing applications
Background:
B.S. Chemistry, Minor in CS and math
Class of 2023
Other interests:
Running, working on side project, working on my radio show, hanging out with friends
zackmawaldi

Your Name Here!
Lab Alumni
Name Position Current Position
Christian Topete Research Assistant Scientist, BMS Seattle
Anh Nguyen Rosetta Summer Intern Undergraduate, Saint Luis University
Burke Wilebski Undergraduate Researcher Moss Adams Wealth Advisor, LLC
Saud Zaidan Undergraduate Researcher
Beatrice Pavesi Graduate courtesy research assistant Master student, University of Pavesi
Zack Mawaldi Rosetta Summer Intern Undergraduate, VCU
High School Interns
Name School Year
Melodie Chiu Camas high school Summer 2021
Maxwell Soh Tesla STEM high school Winter 2021
Rotation Students
Name Program Year
Christian Li Chemistry and Biochemistry Spring 2022
Matt Nardoci Biology Winter 2022
Justin Svendsen Chemistry and Biochemistry Fall 2021