* Positions Available! *

Principal Investigator

Patrick W. Oakes

Associate Professor & Vice-chair
Department of Cell & Molecular Physiology

Ph.D. Physics, 2009
Brown University


@pwoakes
PubMed
ORCiD
Google Scholar

Postdoctoral Scholars

We're hiring!

See the details on the Openings page or by clicking here

Graduate Students

Cara Barnett

Joint with Beach Lab

Ph.D. Student - Cell & Molecular Physiology

M.Sc. Genetic Counseling, 2020
The Ohio State University
B.S. Biology, 2018
Centre College


@carbar31

Sasha Demeulenaere

Joint with Beach Lab

M.D./Ph.D. Student - Cell & Molecular Physiology

NIH F30 Fellowship

B.S. Bioengineering, 2020
University California, Berkeley

Ellie Sams

Joint with Beach Lab

Ph.D. Student - Cell & Molecular Physiology

B.S. Kinesiology 2024
University of Kentucky


Joey Tidei

Joint with Beach Lab

Ph.D. Student - Cell & Molecular Physiology

B.S. Neurobiology 2014
University of Wisconsin - Madison


@J__Today

Alumni

Maggie Utgaard

2019-2026 Graduate student

Next Position:
Postdoc Mitchell lab @ Northwestern University
[1] Utgaard et al. bioRxiv (2026)
[2] Demeulenaere, Bennett et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 46:e324897 (2026)
[3] Chandrasekar et al. Mol Biol Cell 37(5):ar42 (2026)

Alexia Caillier, PhD

2021-2026 Postdoctoral Scholar

Next Position:
Assistant Professor Département de Biologie Médicale
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
[1] Caillier et al. Cytosksleton (2026)
[2] Sala, Caillier et al. J Cell Sci 137(18):jcs261338 (2024)
[3] Caillier et al. J Cell Biol 223(10):e202310067 (2024)
[4] Schmitt, Colen et al. Cell 187(2):481-494 (2024)

Isabella Garcia

2026 Summer Highschool Intern
Privoso Mathematics and Science Academy

Next Position:
Elhmurst college

Taylor Baymon

2026 Summer Highschool Intern
Privoso Mathematics and Science Academy

Next Position:
University of Illinois Chicago

Shreya Chandrasekar

2019-2025 PhD Student
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Next Position:
Postdoc at Eli Lilly
[1] Chandrasekar et al. Mol biol Cell (2026)
[2] Sala et al. bioRχiv (2025)
[3] Quintanilla et al. J Cell Biol 223(4):e202305023 (2024)
[4] Chandrasekar et al. Int J Biochem Cell Biol, 161:106442 (2023)

Stefano Sala, PhD

2018-2025 Postdoctoral Scholar

Next Position:
Postdoc Iskratch Lab @ Queen Mary University
[1] Sala et al. bioRχiv (2025)
[2] Demeulenaere, Bennett et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 46:e324897 (2026)
[3] Sala & Caillier et al. J Cell Sci, 137(18):jcs261338 (2024)
[4] Schmitt et al. Cell 187(2):481-494 (2024)
[5] Wagner et al. eLife, 12:e72681 (2023)
[6] Sala & Oakes. Curr Biol, 33(9):R339-341 (2023)
[7] Seetharaman & Sala et al. Meth Mol Biol, 2600:169-182 (2023)
[8] Sala & Oakes. Mol Biol Cell, 32(18):1758-1771 (2021)

Owen Cramer

2025 Summer Undergraduate Student
Brigham Young University

Lee Troughton, PhD

2021-2024 Postdoctoral Scholar

Next Position:
Research Assistant Professor, Kaja Lab @Loyola
[1] Wang et al. eLife, 12:e88828 (2023)
[2] Vitriol et al. Biophys J, 122(18):3678-3689 (2023)
[3] Marcotti et al. Front Comput Sci, 3:745831 (2021)

Asia Paguntalan

2021-2023 Masters Student
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Next Position:
Research Specialist, Naba Lab @UIC

Nick Reilly

2016-2019 PhD Student
Department of Physics & Astronomy

Next Position:
PhD Student in Pipher group at Rochester
[1] Hong et al. Nat Immunol, 24(6):1007-1019 (2023)
[2] Fernandes et al. Front Immunol, 11:1501 (2020)
[3] Reilly et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 117(22):12306-12314 (2020)
[4] Barger et al. Nat Commun, 10:1249 (2019)

Austin Skeeters

2016-2019 Masters Student
Department of Physics & Astronomy

Next Position:
Software Engineer at Vertex Solutions
[1] Bidone et al. PLoS Comput Biol, 15(6):e1007077 (2019)
[2] Finegan et al. EMBO J, 38(3):e100072 (2019)
[3] Oakes et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 115(11):2646-2651 (2018)

Lydia Petricca

2019 Undergraduate Researcher & REU Summer Student
University of Rochester

Next Position:
PhD Student at UVA

Maham Zia

2019 REU Summer Student
Reed College

Denis A. Ortega Ioni

2018 REU Summer Student
Florida International University