Current Lab Members

Miranda Alaniz 

Miranda graduated from Trinity University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and is planning to apply to medical school. She is working together with Narumon to decipher what sequences define the regulatory outcomes of small RNA base pairing within coding sequences.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email:  miranda.alaniz@nih.gov

Amanda Brewer

Amanda graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Clemson University and is evaluating different career paths. Amanda is working together with Rilee to elucidate how small bacterial proteins regulate the P-type ATPase magnesium transporters.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: amanda.brewer@nih.gov

Aisha Burton

During her graduate studies with Prof. Daniel Kearns at Indiana University, Aisha studied an intriguing sigma factor homolog called SigN encoded by the pBS32 plasmid of Bacillus subtilis. Aisha is continuing to pursue her interest in regulatory mechanisms by characterizing small proteins hypothesized to modulate two-component networks. She is starting a faculty position at Cornell University in 2024! 

NIH, Building 49, Room 1C-20
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: aisha.burtonokala@nih.gov

Rajat (Raj) Dhyani

Rajat carried out graduate work with Prof. Naveen Kumar Navani at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, where he developed biosensors for the early diagnosis of cancer and amino-acid-related metabolic disorders and investigated the possibility of using peptide-coated nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent. He is now turning his focus to the study of dual-function RNAs to gain molecular insights into the base pairing and small protein activities and the competition between the two functions.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: rajat.dhyani@nih.gov

Juwaan Douglas-Jenkins

Juwaan received his B.S. in Biology from Salve Regina University and is considering Ph.D. programs. Juwaan is working together with Rilee to characterize the small proteins encoded by interesting genes identified in Tn-seq screens.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: juwaan.douglas-jenkins@nih.gov

Chelsey Fontenot

Chelsey joined the group after receiving a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Louisiana State University. Geaux Tigers! As a graduate student with Prof. Huangen Ding, she discovered that the Fur transcription repressor binds a [2Fe-2S] instead of iron as initially thought. She is examining the physiological roles of three oxidative stress-induced small RNAs and characterizing a small protein induced under anaerobic conditions. 

NIH, Building 49, Room 1C-20
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: chelsey.fontenot@nih.gov

Shuwen Shan

Shuwen has a unique background in that she obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular Diagnosis in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Göttingen working together with Prof. Bertram Brenig but is excited to learn more about bacterial small RNAs. Shuwen is working on several small RNAs for which we have some information but still do not know the physiological roles.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email:  shuwen.shan@nih.gov

Narumon Thongdee

Narumon obtained her Ph.D. in Applied Biological Sciences from the Chulabhorn Graduate Institute in Bangkok, Thailand. During her thesis work with Prof. Mayuree Fuangthong, Narumon studied the role of the TrmB methyltransferase in regulating catalase levels as part of the oxidative stress response. Narumon is applying her expertise in the regulation of translation elongation to studying the consequences of small RNA base pairing within coding sequences.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: narumon.thongdee@nih.gov

Rilee Zeinert

After completing an undergraduate research project in the lab of former Storz lab alum Prof. Laurie Waters, Rilee carried out Ph.D. work with Prof. Peter Chien at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The Tn-seq screens he carried out and followed up have led into new insights into physiological consequences of proteolysis. Rilee’s project to learn more about the function and regulation of small proteins will capitalize on this expertise.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: rilee.zeinert@nih.gov

Aixia Zhang

Aixia has worked on nearly every aspect of small RNA identification and characterization; assisting many projects in the Storz lab as well as in other labs. Over the years, she has carried out much of the seminal work on the Hfq RNA chaperone protein. Contact Aixia for any questions about protocols and reagents!

NIH, Building 49, Room 1A-35
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: zhanga@mail.nih.gov

Aoshu Zhong

As a graduate student with Prof. Hung-wen Liu at the University of Texas at Austin, Aoshu studied the biosynthesis of oxetanocin A, a nucleoside antiviral agent produced by Bacillus megaterium. Aoshu’s expertise in enzymology and protein purification is a big asset in his characterization of proteins encoded by overlapping genes, particularly a novel toxin-antitoxin system. Aoshu is planning to continue this exciting work in his own lab and is a great colleague; a hint to search committees!

NIH, Building 49, Room 1C-20
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: aoshu.zhong@nih.gov

Dennis Zhu

Dennis carried out his graduate work on Mycobacterium tuberculosis with Prof. Christina Stallings at Washingtion University in St. Louis. He characterized the essential and extremely interesting transcription factor CarD, a non-specific DNA binding protein, which regulates transcription initiation by binding RNA polymerase. Dennis is now studying how small RNAs encoded within protein-coding sequence are generated and their physiological roles on both a population and a single molecule level.

NIH, Building 49, Room 1C-20
49 Convent Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892-4417
Email: dennis.zhu@nih.gov

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