Principal Investigator
Graduate Students
Vivian Robert Jeyachandran
vxj7@psu.edu
Vivian hails from Trichy, India. He got his B.Tech in Biotechnology from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati and M.S. in Biology from New York University (NYU). Vivian’s current work is to understand the structural basis for the catalytic mechanism of lipoyl synthase, a radical SAM enzyme.
Terry Blaszczak
She/Her/Hers
trb272@psu.edu
Terry grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and earned her first Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Sociology from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. After working as a surgical and sterile processing technician at Loyola University Medical Center for several years, she returned to school to obtain another Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Northeastern Illinois University, where she participated in their NIH-sponsored Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program and performed research under the guidance of Dr. Mary Kimble and Dr. Elyse Bolterstein. Terry joined the Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology (BMMB) program at Penn State in 2018 and joined the Boal group shortly thereafter. Her thesis work includes determining the activation requirements of a unique class I ribonucleotide reductase that is metal-free in its active form and structurally characterizing a novel calcium-dependent enzyme that performs an enzymatic Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction in collaboration with the Balskus group at Harvard. Outside of lab Terry enjoys year-round hiking with her husband and dog, gardening, cooking, and trying to keep their old house from falling apart.
Jonathan Jung
He/Him/His
jkj5404@psu.edu
Jonathan was born in Berkeley, USA, but lived in South Korea. His undergraduate institution was Konkuk University, Seoul. Jonathan is currently working on class Id RNRs (Ribonucleotide reductases). His hobbies are traveling and photography. His real hobby is doing nothing. 안녕하세요, 정재욱입니다. 미국 대학원 소개에 한국말이 쓰여있어서 놀라셨죠? 한번 써봤습니다.
Sarah Pope
She/Her/Hers
smp6620@psu.edu
Sarah grew up outside Minneapolis, Minnesota and earned her BS in Biology from Wheaton College, IL. She joined the Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology program in 2019. After joining the Boal lab in the spring of 2020, she undertook a project exploring a newly defined family of diiron metalloenzymes that catalyze oxygen-dependent reactions, many of which are implicated in natural product biosynthetic pathways. She specifically investigates how the structure of the iron-binding site dictates enzyme reactivity. Outside of lab, she enjoys running, hiking, playing ultimate frisbee, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.
Olivia Peduzzi
She/Her/Hers
omp8@psu.edu
Olivia is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and she earned her BS in Chemistry from Gettysburg College, where she worked with Prof. Kate Buettner in designing de novo metalloenzymes that bind titanium, vanadium, and zinc. Olivia joined the PSU Chemistry Graduate Program in the fall of 2020, and was excited for the chance to do research on a new class of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR). She is working towards characterizing the activity and cofactor assembly mechanism of RNR from pathogenic bacteria. When she’s not in lab, Olivia loves to play trivia and draw, and also loves to be outside playing ultimate frisbee, teaching yoga, and going running and hiking.
Sophielle Silvers
She/Her/Hers
s.silvers@psu.edu
Sophielle is from Norfolk, Virginia and earned her BS in Biology from Norfolk State University. She joined the Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology (BMMB) program here at Penn State in 2020 and joined the Boal group shortly after. Sophie’s work involves characterizing metal free class Ie ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs). In her free time Sophie enjoys visiting parks in State College, watching movies, and walking along the beach.
Jesús Blancas Cortez
He/Him/His
jjb770@psu.edu
Jesús grew up in Peru where he got his BS in Chemistry from The National University of Engineering. Then he joined the staff of “Laboratory of Research and Certification” of his university as a chemical analyst and participated in research projects on chemical characterization of antioxidant compounds in cacao seeds and the study of heavy metal contamination in cacao plants and agricultural soils. In 2022, he joined the Chemistry graduate program in PSU and the Boal Lab shortly. His research in the Boal Lab is focused on the structural and mechanistic study of metalloenzymes from the Heme oxygenase-like diiron oxidase and oxygenase (HDO) family with novel and interesting chemistries. When not working on his research, he likes reading about whatever he is interested in at the time such as world history, art, science, etc.
Julian Dong
He/Him/His
jkd5940@psu.edu
Julian grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. He earned a BS in Biochemistry from Northeastern University in 2022. In 2023, he became a member of the Boal Group and is now working on enzymes that require iron(II) and 2-oxoglutarate and often involve an iron(IV) intermediate. Outside of work, Julian has a passion for teaching science and climbing stairs.
Lola Sibaud
She/Her/Hers
lps5693@psu.edu
Lola is from Aix-en-Provence, France and moved to Minnesota in 2019 where she got a BS in Biochemistry & Biotechnology as well as a BS in Chemistry in 2023. She joined the Chemistry graduate program at Penn State in Fall 2023 and started working with the Boal Group on the characterization of HDOs, specifically the study of the structural changes arising from cofactor and substrate binding. Outside of lab, Lola enjoys working on logic puzzles (escape rooms/ games, interactive books…), reading, and hiking.
Undergraduate Students
Former Members
Postdoctoral Scholars
Sean Majer, Ph.D. (LifeSensors, Inc.)
Roman Rohac, Ph.D. (Institute of Structural Biology, France)
Katherine M. Davis, Ph.D. (Emory University)
Graduate students
Molly McBride, Ph.D. (Alliance Pharma)
Joseph Vavra, M.S.
Noah Dunham, Ph.D. (Merck)
Andrew Mitchell, Ph.D. (Ginkgo Bioworks)
James D. Gumkowski, Ph.D.
Hannah Rose, Ph.D. (Johnson & Johnson)
Gavin Palowitch, Ph.D. (BioNTech)
Pedro Rivera Pomales, Ph.D. (Kernal Biologics)
Undergraduate students
Junghun Kim (PSU ’21)
Jay Pendyala (PSU ’22)
Bryce Katch (PSU ’22)
Mikhaila Boyda (PSU ’22)
Avani Gandhi (PSU ’20)
Elise Venter (PSU ’19, Temple Univ., M.D. program)
Rahul Alapati (PSU ’19, Thomas Jefferson Univ., M.D. program)
Benjamin Cameron (PSU ’19)
Erin Wolf (Berry College ’19)
José del Río-Pantoja (PSU ’18, Harvard CCB Ph.D. program)
Jonathan Bergman (PSU ’18, Univ. of St. Louis, M.D. program)
Titi Tran (PSU ’18, Penn State Hershey, Nursing Ph.D. program)
Mohamed Almarei (PSU ’18)
Madison Altmyer (PSU ’18, Penn State Hershey, M.D. program)
Chi Chi Akpunonu (PSU ’18, Temple Univ., M.D. program)
Ailiena Maggiolo (PSU ’17, Caltech Chemistry Ph.D. program, Rees Lab)
Brian Landi (PSU ’17)
Kaylie Kozen (PSU ’16)
Nikhil Ananth (UPenn ’16)