Our Team

Marie Heffern

Principal Investigator

Ph.D. Northwestern University, Chemistry
B.S. University of Southern California, Chemistry

Learn more About Marie.

Email me: mcheffern@ucdavis.edu


Staff

Rebeca Fernandez

Postdoctoral Scholar, joined September 2021

Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Chemistry
B.A. Occidental College, Chemistry and Spanish

Email me: rlfern@ucdavis.edu

Jennifer Park

Postdoctoral Scholar, joined September 2023

Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University, Chemistry
B.S. Ohio State University, Chemistry

Email me: jnfpark@ucdavis.edu


Graduate Students

Amanda Caceres

Graduate Student, joined January 2021

B.S. University of California, Santa Barbara, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.

Email me: caceres@ucdavis.edu

Estely Carranza

Graduate Student, joined January 2021

B.S. Western Oregon University, Chemistry
M.S. San Francisco State University, Chemistry (Biochemistry)
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
(Joint Advised-Prof. Dylan Murray)

Email me: ejcarranza@ucdavis.edu

Samantha Ono

Graduate Student, joined January 2023

B.S. University of California-Los Angeles, Biochemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.
 

Email me: sgono@ucdavis.edu

Jacob Padilla

Graduate Student, joined January 2023

B.S. Sonoma State University, Biochemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D. 

Email me: jadilla@ucdavis.edu

Richard Tran

Graduate Student, joined January 2022

B.S. Cal State Long Beach, Material Science – Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D. 

Email me: rngtran@ucdavis.edu

Aizelle Yen Argete

Graduate Student, joined April 2023

B.S. University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines, Agricultural Chemistry
M.S. University of Tokyo, Japan, Applied Biological Chemistry
Pursuing: Agricultural Chemistry, Ph.D.

Email me: asargete@ucdavis.edu

Manish Bhatta

Graduate Student, joined January 2024

B.S. Washburn University, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.

Email me: mbhatta@ucdavis.edu

Nora Spuler

Graduate Student, joined January 2024

B.S.  Colorado School of Mines, Chemistry
Pursuing: Chemistry, Ph.D.

Email me: nkspuler@ucdavis.edu

Undergraduate Students

Praneeth Chadalapaka

Undergraduate Student

Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S.

Email me: pchadalapaka@ucdavis.edu

Christian Davalos Gutierrez

Undergraduate Student

Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, B.S.

Email me: cddavalosgutierrez@ucdavis.edu

Claire Kwak

Undergraduate Student

Major: Cell Biology, B.S.

Email me: cjkwak@ucdavis.edu

Justine Reyes Retana Lopez

Undergraduate Student

Major: Biotechnology, B.S. Emphasis in Microbiology

Email me: jrreyesretanalo@ucdavis.edu


Former Lab Members

Sonia Roedersheimer (Undergraduate Researcher), Currently working as an undergraduate researcher with Sabeeha Merchant at UC Berkeley

Daniella Delgado (Summer Undergraduate Researcher, NSF REU) Currently ompleting 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 (PhD Student, 2023), Currently working as a postdoc in the Kelleher Lab at Northwestern University

Vanessa Lee (PhD Student, 2023), Currently working as a Scientist at Agenus

Nathaniel Harder (PhD Student, 2023), Currently working as a Scientist at OneSkin

Jessica San Juan (PhD Student, 2023), Currently working as a Platform Chemistry Scientist at Kimia Therapeutics

JJ O’Sullivan (PhD 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

Wyane 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