Kevin Gardner

Director, Structural Biology Initiative, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center / Einstein Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, City College of New York / Faculty, Ph.D. Programs in Biochemistry, Biology, and Chemistry, The Graduate Center – CUNY

Through his training and into his own lab, Kevin integrates a mix of structural biology, biochemistry, and other approaches to investigate how protein-based switches work in cell signaling. More broadly, he’s a big proponent of interdisciplinary research and science communication, as well as bridging the academic and entrepreneurial communities. When not in the lab, Kevin is usually found on a hiking trail somewhere, underwater SCUBA diving, or exploring a new food in one of NYC’s great restaurants or his own kitchen.
KHGardner_CV-20210330

kgardner@gc.cuny.edu

Meiling Zhang

Postdoctoral Researcher

Meiling obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, where she used NMR and MD simulations to study the structure-dynamics-function relationship of human Pin1. Her current research focuses on elucidating the structure of HIF transcriptional initiation complexes and performing structure-based drug design using cryo-EM and MS. Meiling enjoys sports, outings, movies, and cooking.

mzhang@gc.cuny.edu

Roksana Azad

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry

Roksana grew up in Noakhali, Bangladesh, and later immigrated to the United States, where she earned her B.S in Chemistry and Biochemistry from CUNY York College. During her undergraduate, she studied the hydride transfer of DHPR protein/ligand interaction using FT-IR and Raman Spectroscopy.  In the Gardner lab, Roksana studies PAS regulated protein kinase (hPASK in human) using integrated techniques such as high-pressure NMR, cryoEM, and crystallography. In her spare time, Roksana enjoys volunteering in STEM outreach activities, cooking, movies, and sports.
 

Matt Cleere

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biology

Matt received his B.S. in Conservation Biology from SUNY ESF followed by an MRes in Fungal Biology from the University of Nottingham where he researched pigment biosynthesis in Penicillum roqueforti. He is currently using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to investigate the blue light photoreceptor EL222 in development of novel optogenetic tools. Matt enjoys music, any type of game, and the great outdoors.
 

Uthama Edupuganti

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry

Uthama comes from south India, where she finished her master’s in Biochemistry. Her Ph.D. work in the Gardner lab focuses on understanding the structure and mechanism of active states of a blue light-sensing transcription factor. Her research involves integrating the structural information from various biophysical techniques—like EPR, NMR, HDX-MS/MS, and mutagenesis—to model the active states. Outside the lab, she enjoys baking and pottery making with her 8-year-old, exploring new recipes, singing, indoor-gardening, and photography.

uedupuganti@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Zaynab Jaber

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry

Zaynab is interested in blue-light sensitive proteins as molecular switches that confer environmental sensing and adaptation. Her dissertation focuses on determining the structural role of photosensing in regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) – light-oxygen-voltage sensitive (LOV) proteins, prevalent in pathogenic fungi. Zaynab obtained her Honors B.A. in Biochemistry (minoring in Neuroscience) from Saint Anselm College and her M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at American University of Beirut, Lebanon. When she is not contemplating the complexities of the biochemical world, Zaynab enjoys making artwork, floristry, pilates, and being involved in education and community outreach.
 
zjaber@gradcenter.cuny.edu

James Siclari

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biology

James received his B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Sacred Heart University. His work in the Gardner Lab centers on deorphanizing bacterial PAS-HTH proteins. In his free time James enjoys exercising, reading, and playing with his dogs.

jsiclari@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Danielle Swingle

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry

Danielle earned her B.S. in Biochemistry and Chemical Biotechnology from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Her work in the Gardner lab focuses on the structure and function of sensor histidine kinases. In her free time, Danielle enjoys making music, volunteering, and yoga.

dswingle@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Xingjian Xu

Graduate Student – Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry

Xingjian is from China and immigrated to Canada when he was a teenager, where he later obtained a B.S. in Biophysics from the University of British Columbia and a M.S. degree in Systems Biology from the Université de Montréal. He is currently studying protein dynamics, conformational changes, and protein-protein/ligand interactions using a variety of biophysical/biochemical approaches including high-pressure NMR and X-ray crystallography. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, reading historical fiction novels, and playing piano.

xxu2@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Dan Lee

Research Associate

Dong (“Dan”) Lee  has been working in structural biology for the majority of his scientific career. He earned a B.S. in Genetics at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He worked in the Northeast Structural Genomics (NESG) group in Guy Monteleone’s lab at Rutgers as an undergraduate and after graduation, performing high throughput molecular biology. He continues to purify proteins at the Kevin Gardner lab while also acting as the senior lab manager.
 

Leandro Pimentel

Undergraduate Student – CCNY

Leandro was born in Dominican Republic and moved to New York for college, where he is earning a B.S in biochemistry at The City College of New York. He is currently working on the biophysical characterization of protein-ligand interactions using biophysical techniques such as MST and NMR. After graduation, he plans to pursue a PhD in Biophysics.

lpiment000@citymail.cuny.edu

Kaitlyn Toy

Undergraduate Student – CCNY / Macaulay

Kaitlyn was born and raised on Long Island and is earning a B.S. in biochemistry at The City College of New York in the Macaulay Honors program. She is currently working on characterizing the structure and function of histidine kinases. After graduation, she hopes to work in the field of oncology, either in research, business, or medicine. Her hobbies include listening to music and running.

ktoy000@citymail.cuny.edu