The BB department welcomed a new class of graduate students in Fall 2025, including Abby Champlin, Emelia Sena Egbe, Ty Waldo, Xingyi Guo, Izzy Montini, Elli Vickers, Dani Gaudette, Nolan Herron and Nathan Alexander.
Abby Champlin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and mathematics from Bryn Mawr College. Abby chose Oregon State because of the community and proximity to nature, and is interested in protein structure and function, especially in membrane proteins. Outside of academics and research, Abby enjoys sewing and watercolors, as well as activities like hiking, rock climbing, and swimming.
Emelia Sena Egbe completed her B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Ghana in 2024. She chose Oregon State University for my Ph.D. studies because of its collaborative environment and strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research. Emelia's research interests center on understanding interactions between cells and elucidating biomolecular structures to advance knowledge in health and disease. Outside of academics, she enjoys the college town atmosphere of Corvallis and its natural beauty, as well as reading novels, exploring history and watching movies.
Ty Waldo completed his bachelor's degree at OSU, majoring in biochemistry and biophysics, and with a minor in computer science. I really like Corvallis and OSU, so he decided to stay here for grad school. Ty is most interested in doing research on protein engineering and synthetic biology, and in his free time he likes to go rock climbing at McAlexander Fieldhouse and practice the guitar.
Xingyi Guo is from Luoyang, Henan, China. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Psychology at Central China Normal University. Outside of academics, Xingyi enjoys watching movies, traveling, and listening to music.
Izzy Montini received their Bachelor's degree with a major in Biochemistry and minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies from Arizona State University. They chose to attend Oregon State because of the welcoming atmosphere of the faculty and students along with the abundance of nature to explore in the area. Izzy is primarily interested in researching protein structures and functions. In their free time, Izzy loves to travel and play a wide variety of sports including rock climbing, volleyball, and hot yoga. They also love to take their cat Pico de Gato along with me on hikes and adopt new creative hobbies.
Elli Vickers is originally from Germany and completed her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Brigham Young University - Utah. During and after her undergraduate studies, she researched the proteomics of aging related diseases. Elli decided to attend OSU because of the accessibility to nature, as well as the interesting research and friendly community that the Biochemistry & Biophysics department has to offer. In her free time, Elli loves to hike, backpack, and play various sports
Dani Gaudette graduated from The University of Tampa with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Sociology. Dani chose Oregon State for the strong and welcoming community that she saw within the department, and the many exciting research opportunities. Currently, Dani's research interests include cancer biology, gene expression, and drug discovery. In her free time, Dani enjoys playing video games, working out, taking care of plants, and lots of other artistic/creative activities.
Nolan Herron graduated in 2024 from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Biophysics. He is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and chose OSU because of its great science focus and amazing location. His research in Dr. Vanegas' lab focuses on computational approaches to better understand teixobactin, a promising antimicrobial peptide against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Outside of the lab, Nolan enjoys cooking, backpacking, spending time with his wife, and recently got into jiu-jitsu.
Nathan Alexander has a BS in Biochemistry and Biophysics degree and has worked for the past three years as an faculty research assistant in the Mehl Lab until opting to enroll as a graduate student. Nathan is interested in protein engineering and his work focuses on building new tools for Genetic Code Expansion. He has lived in the Pacific Northwest most of his life and enjoys snowboarding, finding music, and learning new things.
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