Helmann Laboratory Alumni

Post-Doctoral Fellows (reverse chronological order)

  • Brian Wendel (2018-2021)  Lecturer, Department of Microbiology Cornell University
  • Pete Chandrangsu (2012-2017) Assistant Professor, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps College, Claremont, CA.
  •  Jung-Ho Shin (2014-2017) Senior Scientist at IFF: International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.
  • Juno Huang  (2013-2017) Staff Fellow, FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
  • Yong Heon Lee (2009-2013) Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Dongseo University, Busan, South Korea
  • Zhen Ma (2010-2013),Director, Merck and Co., Rahway, NJ.
  • Rebecca Crowley (2010-2012), Ithaca, NY
  • Melinda Faulkner (2009-2011), Department Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Bradley University, Peoria, IL., mfaulkner [at] fsmail.bradley.edu (mfaulkner[at]fsmail[dot]bradley[dot]edu)
  • Shawn MacLellan (2005-2009), Associate Professor, University of New Brunswick, Biology Department, Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3, srm [at] unb.ca (srm[at]unb[dot]ca)
  • Warawan (Phon) Eiamphungporn (2006-2008), Associate Professor, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol Univ., Bangkok, Thailand, warawan.eia [at] mahidol.ac.th (warawan[dot]eia[at]mahidol[dot]ac[dot]th)
  • Sukhjit Kaur Khakh (2006-2007)
  • Bronwyn Butcher (2004-2008), Lab Manager, Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, bgb3 [at] cornell.edu (bgb3[at]cornell[dot]edu)
  • Jin-Won Lee (2003-2007) Associate Professor, Chair of Department of Life Science, Hanyang Univ., Seoul, S. Korea. jwl [at] hanyang.ac.kr (jwl[at]hanyang[dot]ac[dot]kr)
  • Christophe Bordi (2004 - 2005), Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences de Luminy, Université de la Méditerranée (alias Aix-Marseille II). bordi [at] imm.cnrs.fr (bordi[at]imm[dot]cnrs[dot]fr)
  • Claudio Aguilar (2004 - 2005), Department Microbiology, Institute for Plant Biology, University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Charles Moore (2002 – 2005), Laboratory Head, Novatis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland
  • Thorsten Mascher (2002 – 2003) Professor, Technische Universität Dresden, thorsten.mascher@​tu-dresden.de
  • Andrew Ryder (2002), Lecturer, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, Andrew.Ryder [at] Marist.edu (Andrew[dot]Ryder[at]Marist[dot]edu)
  • Emmanuel Guedon (2001 – 2002), 3349, Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, France, emmanuel.guedon [at] ensaia.inpl-nancy.fr (emmanuel[dot]guedon[at]ensaia[dot]inpl-nancy[dot]fr)
  • Noel Baichoo (1999 – 2002), Senior Research Scientist at RAPID Laboratories, Baltimore, MD.
  • Mark S. Turner (1999 – 2000), Professor of Food Microbiology and Deputy Head of the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Australia, m.turner2 [at] uq.edu.au (m[dot]turner2[at]uq[dot]edu[dot]au).
  • Ahmed Gaballa (1997 – 1998; 2002; 2005-2016) Senior Research Associate, Department of Food Science Cornell University.

Graduate Students

  • Jessica Willdigg (PhD, 2023);
  • Caroline Steingard (PhD, 2023); Nucleate, Boston, MA.
  • Azul Pinochet Barros (PhD 2019); Post-doctoral fellow
  • Vaidehi Patel (PhD, 2018); Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Montreal
  • Hualiang Pi (PhD, 2018); Assistant Professor, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine (from Fall 2023).
  • Daniel Rojas Tapias (PhD, 2018); Principal Investigator, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria – Agrosavia, Colombia
  • Heng Zhao (PhD, 2018); Post-doctoral Fellow, Yale Medical School, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, heng.zhao [at] yale.edu (heng[dot]zhao[at]yale[dot]edu)
  • Tony Kingston (BMCB; PhD, 2013); Visiting Professor, D’Youville College, Buffalo, NY
  • Veronica Guariglia (PhD, 2013); Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
  • Yun Luo (PhD, 2012); Scientist, DuPont Chemical Co., Palo Alto, CA.
  • Greg Smaldone (BMCB; PhD, 2011); Staff Manufacturing Engineer, Zymergen, Inc., Oakland, California
  • Anna-Barbara Hachmann (PhD, 2010); Senior Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Scott Gabriel (BMCB; PhD, 2009) Associate Professor of Chemistry, Viterbo Univ., segabriel [at] viterbo.edu (segabriel[at]viterbo[dot]edu)
  • Letal Salzberg (PhD, 2008); Post-doctoral Fellow, Trinity College, Dublin, salzberl [at] tcd.ie (salzberl[at]tcd[dot]ie)
  • Soomarin Soonsanga (PhD, 2008); Biocontrol Research Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand, sumarin.soo [at] biotec.or.th (sumarin[dot]soo[at]biotec[dot]or[dot]th)
  • Mayuree Fuangthong (PhD, 2003); Post-doctoral fellow (2003), Associate Professor, Laboratory of Biotechnology, Chulabhorn Research Institute, mayuree [at] cri.or.th (mayuree[at]cri[dot]or[dot]th)
  • Min Cao (PhD, 2002); Post-doctoral fellow (2002 – 2003); Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Qiang Que (PhD, 2001); Head of Target Validation. The Translational Genomics Research Institute.13028 E Shea Blvd, #110. Phoenix, Arizona 85259 (deceased 2008)
  • Andrew Herbig (PhD, 2001); Associate Professor of Biology, Washburn University andrew.herbig [at] washburn.edu (andrew[dot]herbig[at]washburn[dot]edu)
  • Nada Bsat (PhD, 1999).
  • Xuejun Huang (Parsons) (PhD, 1998); Director, San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute, San Diego, CA 92109, USA, parsons [at] SDRMI.org (parsons[at]SDRMI[dot]org)
  • Francisco López de Saro (PhD, 1998); Medical Writer & Health Technologies Consultant, Madrid, Spain.
  • Kurt Fredrick (PhD, 1997); Professor and Chair, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, fredrick.5 [at] osu.edu (fredrick[dot]5[at]osu[dot]edu)
  • Lei Chen (PhD, 1995); Pfizer, Lei.Chen1 [at] pfizer.com (Lei[dot]Chen1[at]pfizer[dot]com)
  • Yue-Li Juang (PhD, 1995); Professor of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Tzu-Chi College of Medicine 701, Chung Yan Road, Section 3, Hua-Lien, Taiwan 970.
  • Jasmine Ya-Fen Chen (PhD, 1996); Managing Partner and Patent Attorney. JAS Law, LLP, Jasmine.Chen [at] jaslawllp.com

MS Students

  • ​Regina Johnson (MS, 2009); Agave Biosciences, Ithaca, NY.
  • Kyung-Bok Song (MS, 2007), currently CEO at Storm S Co., Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Korea
  • Faith Miyagi (1998–2007) – A.B.D.
  • Jian Qiu (MS, 2000); PhD in Computer Science, Cornell (2005).
  • Qian Chen (MS, 1996); Myriad Genetics, Salt Lake City, UT
  • Jenny Rong (MS, 1994); New York University, DDS, currently a Dentist in private practice, Bridge Pointe Orthodontics, Metuchen , NJ

Visiting Scientists

  • Dr. Wen-Wen Zhou, Associate Professor, College of Biosystems Engineering & Food Science, Zhejiang University.
  • Dr. Qun Wu, Associate Professor, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, China
  • Dr. Yanfei Cai, Professor, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
  • Dr. Guohua Guan, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China (2013-2014)
  • Dr. Wang Yuan-hong, Dept. of Horticulture, Tianjin Agricultural University, P. R. China (2012)
  • Dr. Alexandra Roberts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England (2012)
  • Dr. Haike Antelmann, Greifswald, Germany (2009); currently Professor, Institute of Biology Freie Universität Berlin
  • Dr. Susanna Gebhard, currently Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at JGU Mainz
  • Dr. Sang-Soo Lee Korea (sabbatical; 2005-2006)
  • Dr. Nada Bsat (2003)
  • Dr. Ming Sun Huazhong Agricultural University,Wuhan, China (2002)
  • Dr. Zixin Deng Head of the State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China (Cornell Univ. Tang Scholar, 2001-2002)
  • Dr. Ahmed Gaballa (2001-2002)

Visiting Students

  • Ivano F. P. Pezzotta (2018) Graduate Student, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
  • Franziska Dürr (2013-2014) Graduate Student, Ludwig-Maximilians, Munich, Germany
  • Adisak Romsang (2012), Assistant Professor of Biotechnology, Mahidol University, Thailand.
  • Elif Sevim Turkey (2009-2010), PhD Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi in 2010.
  • Tina Wecke Germany (2006-2007), PhD LMU Munich.
  • Juliane Ollinger Greifswald University, Germany (2002-2004), PhD Cornell Univ. 2008, currently at the Infectious Disease Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • Rania Abou Kandil Alexandria University (2001 - 2002), currently a Teaching Associate, Department of Microbiology, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY.
  • Colin Murtagh Trinity College, Dublin (2000)
  • Michela Bertrero Univ. of Pavia, Italy (1999), currently Head of International and Scientific Affairs at the Center for Genomic Regulation, CRG, Barcelona, Spain
  • Seon Mi Yoo Rural Living Science Institute, Korea (1996)

Undergraduate Research Assistants

  • Briana Arquilevich (2023): MD/PhD student, UC Davis (Fall '23)
  • Angela Cui (2020) Rockefeller Univ. (M. Young laboratory)
  • Kaleigh Remick (2019); PhD student, Princeton (AJ te Velthuis’s lab)
  • Alexander Alfonso (2021) Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami Fl.
  • Diana Herrera (2019) Research Assistant at Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School
  • Srinand Paruthiyil (2019) MD/PhD student, Washington Univ., St. Louis (G. Dantas lab)
  • Farida Tanko (2013-2014) MD, currently in residency at Rutgers Medical School (department of pathology and laboratory medicine).
  • Xiaojie (Jane) Liao (2011-2013) MD, currently a clinical fellow at Yale School of Medicine. (jane.liao [at] yale.edu)
  • Jihong Song (2010-2011) MD/MPH, Univ. of Iowa
  • James Maier (2010-2011), currently an HIV Researcher at City of Hope, Pasadena, CA.
  • Albert Chen (2009-2011), Senior Scientist at Aldevron, Madison, WI
  • Frances Lu (2009-2011), MPH, Boston Univ., Clinical Data Manager (Biostatistics), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
  • Mira Patel (2008-2009), MD Johns Hopkins, Radiation Oncologist | Physician Scientist at The Rockefeller University, Laboratory of Systems Cancer Biology
  • Kevin Hwang (2005-2007), Harvard Business School, MBA, Vice President, Crescent Capital Group.
  • Adina Abberbock Heinberg (2006-2007), Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem.
  • Lu Yang (2006-2007)
  • Jantorn Jiambutr (2006), London Business School, currently a manager, Deloitte, Zurich, Switzerland
  • David Samuels (2005-2006) Chemistry and Biology Instructor, Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, Connecticut.
  • Gabriel Todd (2005-2006) Hughes Summer Program, University of Michigan, PhD, currently a  manager, Research Foundation of SUNY: Albany, NY, US
  • Rich Seelig (2004-2006) lawyer with Seelig Law Offices, New York, NY.
  • Sheila Habib (2005-2006) Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio ()specializes in pulmonary nodule management and lung cancer.
  • Terry-Ann Smith (2003 - 2004) Hughes Summer Program, New York University, PhD, currently research facilities manager at SUNY Buffalo.
  • Nakia Gray (2003) B.A. (English, Cornell); M.S.Ed degrees (English Education and Inclusive Special Education; Syracuse University). PhD in Educational Leadership (NYU Steinhardt School). Founder Gray Nicolas Consulting LLC (provides equity-focused services backed by research and experience).
  • Neil Margulis (2003–2004); Dartmouth Medical School, PhD.
  • Monica Hui (2003–2004), Tufts University School of Medicine, PhD, currently a Postdoctoral Fellow, Belasco Lab, NYU.
  • Reshma Singh (1999 -2001)
  • Lucia Darino (1998 - 2000)
  • Sara Kaprove Penn (1997) Hughes Summer Program, currently a Rheumatologist, Internal Medicine, Burlington , MA
  • Michael J. Wolyniak (1997) Pew Undergraduate Research Opportunities Summer Program (from Colgate Univ.), Cornell University, PhD.; currently Assistant Professor of Biology, Hampden-Sydney College, VA.
  • Connie Tsao (1996) summer intern
  • Emi Hojo Caywood (1995 - 1996), UMDNJ Robert Wood Johnson (MD, 2002), currently a pediatric oncologist, Nemours Foundation, Wilmington, DE.
  • Noriko Yoshikawa (1995 - 1997) Hughes Summer Program for Sophomores: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, MD, resident in otolaryngology at Univ. Colorado Health Sciences Center (2004), currently a physician in Oakland, CA.
  • Geoffrey Krummel (1995 - 1996) Hughes Summer Program for Sophomores, currently Southeast Regional Sales Manager at Illumina, Raleigh-Durham, NC.
  • Courtney Beach (1994) Pew Undergraduate Research Opportunities Summer Program (from Hamilton College, NY)
  • Laura Keramati Fouts (1994-1995), Fouts Dairy Farm in Cortland, NY.
  • Chris Prada (1994) summer intern; SUNY Health Sciences, MD, currently on the clinical faculty of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Saint Louis University Hospital.
  • Justin Lee (1994) summer intern
  • Mridula Ramesh (1993)
  • Joyce Jones (1993-1995) Hughes Summer Program (94)
  • Candy Fung Mei Wong (1993) Pew Undergraduate Research Opportunities Summer Program; University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, MD, currently a general internal medicine physician, San Jose, CA.
  • Priya Wagle (1993) Pew Undergraduate Research Opportunities Summer Program; Stony Brook University School of Medicine, MD. currently an otolaryngologist with South Jersey Ear Nose and Throat Surgical Associates, Linwood, NJ.
  • Winnie W. Lee (1993-1994) Hughes Summer Program, West Virginia University School of Medicine, MD, currently a cardiac surgeon in Mineola, NY.
  • Lisa Ness (1992-1993) MD program.
  • Dennis J. Brenner (1992-1993) SUNY Brooklyn, MD. currently Chief, Division of Pediatric EndocrinologySaint Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, NJ.
  • Annemieke van Zante (1992-1993) Pew Undergraduate Research Opportunities Summer Program (92); UCSF, MD-PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology, University of California, San Francisco.
  • Lee James (1991-1993) Hughes Summer Program (92). MD, PhD, Univ. Wash., Seattle. Senior Director, Oncology Clinical Development at Pfizer.
  • Michael Crowley (1991-1992) Undergraduate Honors Program; Stanford, PhD (Immunology), Univ. Chicago, MBA; currently Director of Business Development, Genentech.
  • Sheryl Reinecke Silva (1990-1991) Johns Hopkins University, MD; currently a pediatrician in Beverly, MA.