![\"Group](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2026\/04\/2026-Karbstein-lab-group-photo_cropped_1200pix.png\")
<\/h4>\n<\/h4>\n![\"image_thumb\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2024\/06\/El-Oula-Hassoun_Zahrat_400pix-108x144.png\")
<\/a><\/div>Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry
<\/p>
Zahrat is a native of Lebanon. She did her Masters in Functional Genomics and Proteomics, between Lebanon and France, followed by a doctoral journey in Belgium in the lab of Franck Dequiedt. During her PhD, Zahrat worked on the control of mRNA translation. Her fascination with ribosomes led her to the Karbstein lab, where she is currently studying ribosome assembly and quality control. When not in the lab, Zahrat cherishes family gatherings, enjoys learning to swim, and loves diving into books from all genres.<\/p>\n<\/p>
![\"image_thumb\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2026\/03\/Gelasco_Katie-Jo_cropped_400pix-108x144.png\")
<\/a><\/div><\/p>
After entering Vanderbilt through the QCB program, Katie Jo joined the lab in April 2025, where she studies remodeling of the ribosome under stress conditions. She earned a B.A. in music and B.S. in biochemistry from Florida State University in 2024. Her undergraduate research focused on engineering CRISPR-Cas9 proteins for structural studies in Dr. Hong Li\u2019s lab. When not in the lab, Katie Jo enjoys reading, playing cello, and exploring Nashville with friends.<\/p>\n<\/p>
![\"image_thumb\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2026\/03\/Gatewood_Daniel_400pix-108x144.png\")
<\/a><\/div>Technician, Department of Biochemsitry
<\/p>
Daniel received his BS\u00a0in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame where he investigated co-translocational folding of beta helical domains in the lab of Dr. Patricia Clark. He is most interested in processes that regulate protein and proteome structure and function as well as the potential to engineer such systems for novel aims. In the Karbstein lab he studies translational and ribosomal adaptation under zinc deprivation. In his free time he is a big film buff and likes to stay active through hiking, weightlifting, and sand volleyball.<\/p>\n<\/p>
![\"image_thumb\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2024\/11\/Zhang_Xiaozhu_400pix-108x144.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>Research Specialist, Department of Biochemistry
<\/p>
![\"image_thumb\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2025\/02\/Desta_Isaiah_400pix-108x144.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>Undergraduate Student
<\/p>
![\"image_thumb\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-main\/lab-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/221\/2026\/03\/Jiang_Sophia_cropped_400pix-108x144.png\")
<\/a><\/div>Undergraduate Student
<\/p>
Sophia is an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University (Class of 2028) majoring in Biochemistry. She previously conducted research with Dr. Shenglong Zhang, where she worked on de novo RNA sequencing using mass spectrometry. In the Karbstein lab, she investigates cellular responses to zinc deprivation by studying the role of Rps26 as a potential zinc reservoir. Outside the lab, Sophia is a competitive figure skater and coach, and she enjoys crocheting and giving back through volunteer work.<\/p>\n<\/p>
FORMER POSTDOCS<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Yoon-Mo Yang (TSRI, 11\/2018-07\/2023); now: Assistant Professor, Hanyang University, Korea Former Graduate Students<\/strong> Former Lab Technicians<\/strong> Former Undergraduate Students<\/strong> *Summer student<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Current Members ALUMNI FORMER POSTDOCS Dr. Yoon-Mo Yang (TSRI, 11\/2018-07\/2023); now: Assistant Professor, Hanyang University, Korea Dr. Sohail Khoshnevis (TSRI, 04\/2012-06\/2018); now: Assistant Professor, Emory University Dr. Homa Ghalei (TSRI, 04\/2012-10\/2017); now: Associate Professor, Emory University Dr. Jason Collins (TSRI, 10\/2015-08\/2017); now: Postdoctoral Researcher, NIH, NIDCR Director\u2019s Diversity Fellowship Recipient Dr. Miriam Koch (TSRI, 10\/2016-08\/2017);…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PfQecJ-n","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions\/409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lab.vanderbilt.edu\/karbstein-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDr. Sohail Khoshnevis<\/a> (TSRI, 04\/2012-06\/2018); now: Assistant Professor, Emory University
\nDr. Homa Ghalei<\/a> (TSRI, 04\/2012-10\/2017); now: Associate Professor, Emory University
\nDr. Jason Collins (TSRI, 10\/2015-08\/2017); now: Postdoctoral Researcher, NIH, NIDCR Director\u2019s Diversity Fellowship Recipient
\nDr. Miriam Koch (TSRI, 10\/2016-08\/2017); now: Janssen Vaccines AG, Switzerland
\nDr. Hari Bhaskaran (TSRI, 05\/2013-08\/2014); now: Arcturus Therapeutics, San Diego
\nDr. Juliette Trepreau, (TSRI, 01\/2012-06\/2013); now: Project Leader in Molecular and Cell Biology, CIMTECH, Universite de Marseilles
\nDr. Boguslawa Korona (TSRI, 08\/2011-02\/2012); now: Oxford University
\nDr. Darryl M. Horn (TSRI, 09\/2010-08\/2012); now: Assistant Professor, Keystone College, PA
\nDr. Allison Lamanna (University of Michigan, 08\/2007-06\/2010); now: Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, Boston University
\nDr. Hajeong Kim (University of Michigan, 09\/2008-06\/2010); now: Pharmacy Student, University of Massachusetts
\nDr. Scott Walker (University of Michigan, 08\/2007-08\/2008); now: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Michigan<\/p>\n
\nAndres Cuellar, M.S. 2025, Now: Pasadena City College
\nMelissa Parker, Ph.D. 2022, Now: Neurocrine Biosciences, San Diego, California
\nHaina Huang, Ph.D. 2022, Now: Arrakis Therapeutics, Massachusetts
\nMax Ferretti, Ph.D. 2019, Now: Staff Scientist, Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania
\nCrystal Young, Ph.D. 2012, Now: Associate Professor, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida
\nBethany Strunk, Ph.D. 2011, Now: Assistant Professor, Trinity University
\nHeather Woolls, Ph.D. 2011, Now: Solo Hill, Ann Arbor, Michigan
\nAnnie Labut, M.S. 2009, Now: NSF International
\nFormer Staff Scientist
\nJoanne Doherty, Ph.D., Kissill Lab, Moffitt Cancer Center<\/p>\n
\nEbba Blomqvist, 2020-2022, Now: Graduate Student, Scripps Graduate Program
\nMelody Campbell, 2010-2011, Now: Associate Professor, Fred Hutch
\nSaundra Mason, 2009-2010, Now: Ansa Biotechnologies<\/p>\n
\nAaron Wilkinson, Vanderbilt, class of \u201927
\n*Mindi Klaus, Scripps Graduate Program, **won poster prize
\n*Jaylin Knight, Vanderbilt University, ** won poster prize
\n*Gabriela Guerrero-Corcino, University of Pennsylvania, Berks
\n*Peyton De Marzo, Now: Predoctoral Student, UCSC
\nStefan Choy (undergraduate student at FAU, FL), *** co-authored paper
\n*Maggie Lyons (B.S., Eckerd College, FL)
\n*Jessica Bush (Graduate school, Scripps Research)
\nElizabeth Potts (B.S., University of Florida, post-bac, Max Planck Florida Institute), *** co-authored paper
\n*Hans Smith (Graduate school, University of Wisconsin, Madison)
\n*Rebecca Culver (Graduate school, Stanford University), *** co-authored paper
\n*Hannah Toutkoushian (Graduate school, UCSF, NSF predoctoral fellow)
\n*Katelyn Doxtader (Graduate school, UT Southwestern), *** co-authored paper
\n*Oscar Martinez-Armenta (Graduate school in engineering, Augsburg College)
\nJohn Bloszinski (B.S., FAU)
\n*Megan Novak (Ph.D., Northwestern University, NSF predoctoral fellow), ** won poster prize, *** co-authored paper
\nMelody Campbell (Ph.D., Scripps Research, postdoc: UCSF), *** co-authored paper
\nChristine Norton (Medical School, University of Michigan)
\n*Elia Wright (Graduate school, University of Michigan)
\n*Ariell Joiner (Graduate school, University of Michigan)
\nSylvia Escudero (Graduate school, Harvard)
\nJennifer Raymond (Dentistry School, University of Michigan)
\nChris Dion
\nRebecca Leone<\/p>\n