Marie Heffern
Principal Investigator
Ph.D. Northwestern University, Chemistry
B.S. University of Southern California, Chemistry
Email me: mcheffern@ucdavis.edu
Learn more About Marie.
Staff
If interested in a staff position, please contact Dr. Heffern!
Graduate Students
Samantha Ono
Graduate Candidate, joined January 2023
B.S. University of California-Los Angeles, Biochemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Email me: sgono@ucdavis.edu
Jacob Padilla
Graduate Candidate, joined January 2023
B.S. Sonoma State University, Biochemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Email me: jadilla@ucdavis.edu
Manish Bhatta
Graduate Candidate, joined January 2024
B.S. Washburn University, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Email me: mbhatta@ucdavis.edu
Nora Spuler
Graduate Candidate, joined January 2024
B.S. Colorado School of Mines, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Email me: nkspuler@ucdavis.edu
Jamie Leckrone
Graduate Student, joined January 2025
B.S. University of California, Santa Barbara, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Email me: jkleckrone@ucdavis.edu
Allan Sanchez
Graduate Student, joined January 2025
B.S. University of California, Irvine, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
Email me: aortegas@ucdavis.edu
Alissa MacLoon
Graduate Candidate, joined January 2025
B.S. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Nutrition
Pursuing: Nutritional Biology, Ph.D
Email me: almacloon@ucdavis.edu
Ayush Mehta
Graduate Student, joined January 2026
B.S. University of Houston, Biochemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D
Email me: Ameh@ucdavis.edu
Joshua Frommeyer
Master Student, joined January 2026
B.S. Eckerd College, Biochemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Master’s
Email me: jrfrommeyer@ucdavis.edu
Undergraduate Students
Justin Bushman Guillen
Undergraduate Student
Major: Human Biology B.S
Email me: jdbushman@ucdavis.edu
Former Lab Members
Jennifer Park (Postdoctoral Researcher, 2026), currently working as an assistant professor at Rhodes College, Memphis TN
Kylie Lou (Undergraduate Researcher), Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design B.S. and Science & Technology Studies B.A. UC Davis (2026), currently working as an associate researcher at Cytokientics
Amanda Caceres (Ph.D. Student, 2025), currently working as a Scientist at Star Therapeutics
Aizelle Yen Argete (Master’s Student, 2025)
Christian Davalos Gutierrez (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. from UC Davis (2025), Currently pursuing a Ph.D in the Program in Biomedical Science (PIBS) from University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Amanda Liu (Undergraduate Researcher), Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2025), Currently working as Medical Assistant at Cornerstone Primary Care
Kaila Donato (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. Minor in Psychology from UC Davis (2025), Currently working as Research Associate at Meadowhawk Biolabs
Estely Carranza (Ph.D. Student, 2025), Currently working as Scientist, Global Quality Control at Gilead Science
Justine Reyes Retana Lopez (Undergraduate Researcher), Biotechnology, B.S. Emphasis in Microbiology from UC Davis (2024), Currently working as Research Associate at Gladstone Institutes
Praneeth Chadalapaka (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. from UC Davis (2024)
Rebeca Fernandez (Postdoctoral Researcher, 2024), currently working as a Senior Development Scientist at Scientific Protein Laboratories, LLC
Richard Tran (Master’s Student, 2023), Chemistry, Master from UC Davis, Currently working as a Lab Analyst at Mt. View Sanitary District
Sonia Roedersheimer (Undergraduate Researcher), Currently working as an undergraduate researcher with Sabeeha Merchant at UC Berkeley
Daniella Delgado (Summer Undergraduate Researcher, NSF REU) Currently completing undergraduate degree at New Jersey Institute of Technology
Jewel Wilson (Summer Undergraduate Researcher, UC LEADS Program) Currently completing undergraduate degree at Sacramento State University
Samuel Janisse (Ph.D. Student, 2023), Currently working as a postdoc in the Kelleher Lab at Northwestern University
Vanessa Lee (Ph.D. Student, 2023), Currently working as a Scientist at Agenus
Nathaniel Harder (Ph.D. Student, 2023), Currently working as a Scientist at OneSkin
Jessica San Juan (Ph.D. Student, 2023), Currently working as a Platform Chemistry Scientist at Kimia Therapeutics
JJ O’Sullivan (Ph.D. Student, 2023), Currently working as a Discover Chemistry Scientist at Kimia Therapeutics
Chantel Mao (Master’s Student, 2022), Currently working as a Senior Research Associate at Gilead
Vibha Sharma (Undergraduate Researcher), Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2022), Currently working as a Medical Assistant/Scribe at Washington Hospital
Hannah Lee (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. from UC Davis (2020), Currently pursuing an M.D. at St. Louis University School of Medicine
Michael Stevenson (Postdoctoral Researcher), Currently working as an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco
Joey AbouAyash (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. from UC Davis (2020), Currently pursuing an M.D. at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Adam Hillaire (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. from UC Davis (2020), Currently pursuing a Chemistry, Ph.D. at Texas A&M
Ryan Neil (Undergraduate Researcher), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2020), Currently working as a Molecular Biologist at Ginko Bioworks
Wayne Pham (Undergraduate Researcher), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2020)
Martin Arcibal (Undergraduate Researcher), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2019)
Danielle Asiain (Undergraduate Researcher), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2020), Currently a Market Strategy Consultant at Kaiser Permanente
Manesh Chand (Undergraduate Researcher), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2019), Currently a Research Associate II at Resilience
Tiffany Chen (Undergraduate Researcher), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2019), Currently a Chemistry Teacher
Ian C. Farran (Undergraduate Researcher), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S. from UC Davis (2020), Currently an Analytical Chemist at The Every Company
Kellie Goodnight (Summer UC LEADS student from UC Merced), Neurobiology, B.S. from UC Merced (2020), Currently pursuing a Master’s degree at University of Florida
Kylie S. Uyeda (Undergraduate Researcher and Junior Research Specialist), Pharmaceutical Chemistry, B.S. from UC Davis (2018), Currently pursuing a Chemistry, Ph.D. from UC Irvine