Group Photo Above: Top row from L to R: Dr. Tanmay Chatterjee, Dr. Shankar Mandal, Dr. Katelyn Green, Dr. Aaron Blanchaerd, Karen Montoya, Dr. Li Zi, Dr. Adrien Chauvier, Saffron Little, Dr. Robb Welty, Dr. Andreas Schmidt, Dr. Surajit Chatterjee, Kunal Khanna, Liuhan Dai, Two family guests
Bottom Row from L to R: Four family guests, Mason Myers, Guoming Gao, Emily Ellinger, Rosa Romero, Laura Penabad-Peña, Dr. Elizabeth Duran, Dr. Catie Scull, Dr. Nils Walter
Absent: Damon Hoff, Martina Jerant, Several undergrads
Principal Investigator
Prof. Nils Walter, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
nwalter@umich.eduHi, I'm Nils Walter, lucky to be the mentor and coach of a young, dynamic, and interactive group, where my main job is to help everyone excel in their research. Over the years we have developed and applied many leading-edge single molecule microscopy tools to understand the mechanisms of RNA biology, from RNA enzymes and riboswitches to the spliceosome and RNA silencing machinery. We also work on CRISPR and DNA nanotechnology, and have developed a molecular diagnostics tools that can reliably detect single biomarkers of disease (leading to foundation of a biotech company!). Students and postdocs in my group get both a broad and a deep education with skills that translate into the real world, from academia to industry. I have an "open-door" policy, so please stop by if you have a question, or seek us out on Twitter!
Curriculum Vitae
Office: 734-615-2060
Assistant Research Scientist
Alexander Johnson-Buck
Assistant Research Scientist
alebuck@umich.eduAlex Johnson-Buck received his B.A. in Chemistry from Northern Michigan University, Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. He also has experience as a postdoctoral fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Harvard Medical School/Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering) and Chief Scientific Officer in a startup company spun out of the University of Michigan. His research interests lie in analytical and biophysical methods development at the interface of single-molecule detection and molecular engineering, with a focus on controlling and exploiting precision kinetic processes.
Lab Managers
Dr. Adrien Chauvier
Lab Manager-Biology
achauvie@umich.eduAdrien obtained his B.Sc and M.Sc. in Microbiology Agrobioscience from the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France. During his PhD, he worked on riboswitch regulation with Daniel Lafontaine at the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. In the Walter lab, Adrien is applying biochemical and single molecule techniques to understand how Non-coding RNAs modulate the dynamic of the transcription machinery. (Member Since 2017)
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Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Pavel Banerjee
Postdoctoral Fellow
pavjee@umich.eduPavel received his B.Sc (2013) and M.Sc. (2015) in Chemistry (Physical Chemistry Specialization) from Visva Bharati University and Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) in 2021. During his PhD, he unveiled the self-assembling behaviors of biological building block molecules and their membrane activity through fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy. Then he moved to University of Copenhagen, Denmark for one-year postdoctoral research on single molecule studies of Na K ATPase transporter. He joined the Walter lab as a postdoc in April 2022. His current research focus is on simultaneous ultra-sensitive detection of different biomolecules in complex bio-environment by Single- Molecule Recognition through Equilibrium Poisson Sampling (SiMREPS) method. (Member since 2022)
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Jennifer Coats
Postdoctoral Fellow
jbcoats@umich.eduJennifer received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Kansas State University in 2019 and then earned her Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 2025 where she focused on DNA repair enzymology and single-molecule microscopy. Her research interests are centered on applying single-molecule techniques to investigate RNA structure, dynamics, and RNA-protein interactions. She is currently studying riboswitch function using single-molecule fluorescence methods and cryo-EM while also helping develop approaches for high-throughput RNA sequencing in single-molecule systems.
Laxmikanta Khamari
Postdoctoral Fellow
khamaril@umich.eduLaxmikanta obtained his B.Sc (2014) in chemistry from Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India, and his M.Sc (2016) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati), Assam, India. Thereafter, he received his Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (IISER Bhopal), India. In his doctoral research, he mainly focused on the investigations of protein-drug and nucleic acid-small-molecule interactions in the ensemble-average and single-molecule domains. He joined the Walter lab as a postdoc in March 2023. In Walter lab, his current research focuses on using single-molecule microscopy to investigate protein-RNA complexes including those involved neurodegenerative disease.
Namra Siddiqui
Postdoctoral Fellow
namsid@umich.eduI obtained my M.Sc. degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2018 and Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2023. My doctoral research focused on the regulation of gene expression by small noncoding RNAs, specifically investigating how they modulate physiological circuits at the post-transcriptional level. In my current role, I am using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to explore RNA silencing pathways.
Graduate Students
Andrea Thompson
Graduate Student
andreth@umich.eduI received my BS in Chemistry at Northeastern Illinois University, where I synthesized arsenoplatin compounds to treat triple-negative breast cancer with Dr. Denana Miodragovic. In my free time, I like to read, play video games, and go to concerts.
Fiona Richards
Ph.D. Candidate
fionar@umich.eduI received my BS in Chemistry and BS in Mathematics from Colorado Mesa University, where I researched a variety of fields including organic synthesis, density functional theory, and computational modelling. Currently, I am a first year graduate student at the University of Michigan, and in my free time I enjoy playing soccer and playing video games.
Brian Quillin
Graduate Student
bquillin@umich.eduBrian is a Chemistry Ph.D. graduate student who began working towards his degree in the fall of 2024. In his free time, Brian enjoys weightlifting, watching sports, and being outside.
Alaa Mwafy
Graduate Student
alaamw@umich.eduI am working on the META-SiM model and looking into expanding the website to enable users to perform individual smFRET data analysis steps such as accepting or rejecting traces. I am also hoping to develop predictive models for hybridization kinetics of DNA and RNA molecules.
Josh Lecuyer
Graduate Student
lecuyerj@umich.eduJosh received his BA in chemistry from Carleton College. His undergraduate work in Dr. Menezes' lab involved the optimization of a biosynthetic pathway in Cupriavidus basilensis to produce PHB, a biodegradable plastic, in microgravity environments.
Bisal Halder
Graduate Student
bisal@umich.eduI did my bachelor's majoring in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta, followed by a master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. During my undergraduate studies, I focused on exploring protein dynamics using fluorescence techniques such as FCS and TCSPC. In the Walter lab, I am studying hyperosmotic phase separation condensates (HOPS) to elucidate their biological roles in the cellular response to hyperosmotic stress in vivo, using single-cell imaging and a combination of cellular and molecular biology approaches.
Armin Ahnoud
Graduate Student
aahnoud@med.umich.eduI completed my BS in Biotechnology from UC Davis. After graduation, I worked at two Biotech companies in the Bay Area working on antibody discovery, bi-specific antibody engineering, protein engineering using directed evolution, and developing ELISA based Pharmacokinetic and anti-drug antibody detection assays. Currently, I am a PhD student in the Pharmaceutical Sciences program.
Jane Tang
Graduate Student
tjx@umich.eduI received my B.S. in Chemistry from University of Wisconsin-Madison and is starting in the Chemical biology Ph.D. program at U-M. During my undergraduate, I worked in the Dr. John Markley’s lab on solving the structure of human acyl carrier protein with NMR and investigating the interaction of acyl carrier protein with zinc. (Member since 2021) Learn more..
Rotation Students
Madelyn Gregory
Ph.D. Candidate
maddyag@umich.eduI earned my B.S. in Chemistry from Western Carolina University, where my research focused on the use of green-synthesized nanoparticles for cancer cell detection. I am currently a first-year graduate student at University of Michigan. Outside of research, I enjoy hiking, swimming, and film photography!
Undergraduate Students
Ziming Wang
Undergraduate Student
zwangco@umich.eduHi! My name is Ziming Wang, and I am an undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry with plans to minor in computer science and graduate in 2028. I am interested in pursuing either medical school or a PhD in biochemistry/biotechnology research in the future.
Ben Jordan
Undergraduate Student
bennj@umich.eduBen is an undergraduate student planning on pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry. After graduation, Ben intends to pursue a Ph.D. in order to become a professor and research treatments for genetic conditions.
Annika Chan
Undergraduate Student
aschan@umich.eduAnnika is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry and BCN, planning on graduating in 2028. She aims to get a PhD and work in biotech research.
Carly Bergmann
Undergraduate Student
carlyber@umich.eduCarly is an undergraduate student planning to graduate in 2028 with a B.S. in Chemistry. She intends to pursue graduate schooling and conduct research in the life sciences or pharmaceuticals.
Truman Cremers
Undergraduate Student
tcremers@umich.eduTruman is an undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry and expecting to graduate in 2028. After graduation he hopes to pursue a Ph.D. and a career in biochemistry research.
Joey Shi
Undergraduate Student
joeyshi@umich.eduJoey is an undergraduate student majoring in Physics and Biophysics and is expected to graduate in 2029. After graduating, she aims to pursue a PhD and continue research in biophysics or physical chemistry.
Anais Scherer
Visiting Undergraduate Student
anaissc@umich.eduMy name is Anaïs Scherer, and I am a French student completing a summer internship in the Walter Lab. I recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences and will begin a Master's program in Microbiology this September.
Cynthia De La Paz Charco
Undergraduate Student
cdelapaz@umich.eduI am an undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry. I plan to pursue a Ph.D. and conduct research within organic chemistry or forensic chemistry after graduation.
Rebecca Hsieh
Undergraduate Student
hsiehr@umich.eduRebecca is an undergraduate student planning to graduate in 2028 with a B.S. in Biophysics and a BBA in business administration. After graduation, she plans to pursue opportunities in the biotech investing space
Jonathan Wang
Undergraduate Student
jowacroi@umich.eduJonathan is an undergraduate student planning to graduate in 2028 with a
BS degree in Chemistry. After graduation, he plans to obtain a MS in Chemical
Biology.
Vivien Wang
Undergraduate Student
vivienwa@umich.eduVivien is an undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry and planning
on graduating in 2027. After graduating, Vivien aims to pursue a PhD and
become a researcher in the life sciences.
Staff
Dijana Beganovic
Technician/Volunteer
dbeganov@umich.eduDijana recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in biochemistry. She is interested in RNA biology, structure-function relationships, and RNA-protein interactions, and she is excited to contribute to the Walter Lab’s work on mRNA imaging and RNA regulation.
Dr. Damon Hoff
SMART Center Manager
hoffj@umich.eduJ. Damon Hoff manages the Center for Single Molecule Analysis in Real-Time (SMART Center), a shared use facility housed in the Dept. of Biophysics at the University of Michigan that offers a suite of single-molecule microscopes and analysis tools. He obtained his B.S.E. in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Duke University, and continued his studies at the University of Michigan, obtaining his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, developing optical tools for manipulation of biomolecules, including nanoscale ultrafast laser ablation and optical tweezers. He now manages the day-to-day activities at the SMART Center and facilitates user training, experimental planning, and analysis. (Member since 2013, SMART center phone: 734-763-5449)
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