Group Members
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| Allison Walker | Raven Dean | ||
| Assistant Professor | 4th Year Graduate Student | ||
| allison.s.walker AT vanderbilt DOT edu | raven.t.dean AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| Ph.D. Chemistry, Yale University | B.S. Chemistry, Georgia Southern University | ||
| B.S. Chemistry, Brown University | |||
| Allison’s fun facts: | Raven’s fun facts: | ||
| I’ve loved science and computers since I was a kid. Now, I’ve combined my interests by applying machine learning to chemical biology. I also enjoy applying machine learning and statistics to fun problems like predicting Oscar winners or fantasy sports. | I am a hardcore casual partaker of video games, kpop, and anime. My favorite neurotransmitter is GABA. I am a night owl and a homebody. I was originally going to focus in organic synthesis before I decided to join the Walker group during the 1st year rotation. | ||
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| Jade McDaniel | Christine Ancajas | ||
| 4th Year Graduate Student | 3rd Year Graduate Student | ||
| jade.m.mcdaniel AT vanderbilt DOT edu | christine.mae.f.ancajas AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| B.S. Medicinal & Biological Chemistry, University of Toledo | B.S. Chemistry, University of Richmond | ||
| Jade’s fun facts: | Christine’s fun facts: | ||
| I had my first experience with coding at 8 years old when I taught myself HTML in order to decorate my profile page on Neopets. Virtual pets aside, I am obsessed with cats, and especially my own cats. If you pay enough attention, you might catch me walking around the hallways wearing various clothing items with my cats’ faces on them. | My undergraduate research focused on utilizing computational chemistry to study diradical species and their applications in therapeutics. This sparked my interests in complementing computational work with experimental studies to study natural products. My hobbies include hiking, exploring new cuisines, and arts and crafts. I also love eating mangoes because they remind me of home. | ||
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| Dalton Boutwell | Marshall (Zihao) Cheng | ||
| 3rd Year Graduate Student | 3rd Year Graduate Student | ||
| (joint with Buchanan Lab) | (joint with Yang Lab) | ||
| dalton.r.boutwell AT vanderbilt DOT edu | zihao.cheng AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| M.S. Chemistry, Kennesaw State University | M.S. Biotechnology, New York University | ||
| B.S. Chemistry, Kennesaw State University | B.A. Pharmaceutical Engineering, Tianjin University | ||
| Dalton’s fun facts: | Marshall’s fun facts: | ||
| I enjoy playing video games, Pathfinder 2e, watching anime, fishing, cooking, and reading. Science Fiction and Fantasy are my favorite TV/Movie genres. I joined the Buchanan and Walker labs after my 1st year rotations with them, combining my interests in computational chemistry and 2D-IR Spectroscopy. | I am a classical music lover. I played the first chair violin in my college symphony orchestra and used to be the only science majored musician in NYU orchestra. I love molecular biology and I worked as a protein purification associate scientist during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am fascinated by the combination of chemistry, molecular biology and machine learning. Therefore, I was super excited to join the Walker group where my research interests are perfectly fulfilled. | ||
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| Abiodun Samuel Oyedele | Clay Tydings | ||
| 3rd Year Graduate Student | 3rd Year Graduate Student | ||
| (joint with Meiler Lab) | |||
| Abiodun.s.oyedele AT vanderbilt DOT edu | claiborne.w.tydings AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| M.S. Chemistry, Tennessee State University | B.A. Chemistry, Carleton College | ||
| B.S. Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria | |||
| Samuel’s fun facts: | Clay’s fun facts: | ||
| In my spare time, I enjoy listening to music (mostly country gospel songs), playing ping pong (table tennis), and networking. I was majorly trained as a synthetic chemist during my master’s degree. Since I am passionate about drug discovery and design, I explored several labs during my rotations, but my interest peaked toward computational and chemical biology, because I imagine a future reliant on the use of these powerful tools in drug development. Therefore, I joined Walker Lab. | In the lab, I love making machine learning models and learning about peptides with non canonical amino acids. When I am not in the lab, you might find me running around Nashville. Additionally, I am a house plant and cajun cuisine enthusiast. | ||
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| Caitlin Butt | Emilee Patterson | ||
| 2nd Year Graduate Student | 2nd Year Graduate Student | ||
| caitlin.butt AT vanderbilt DOT edu | emilee DOT a DOT patterson AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| B.S. Chemistry, University of South Alabama | B.A. Biology, Hartwick College | ||
| Caitlin’s fun facts: | Emilee’s fun facts: | ||
| During my undergraduate career, my research focused on synthesizing and characterizing novel boronium ionic liquids. As I transitioned into graduate school, I found a love for computational chemistry that led me to join the Walker lab and work in machine learning and drug discovery and design. Outside of research, I enjoy reading fantasy novels and musical theater! I also grew up near the water and love all things water related. The beach, boating, fishing, wakeboarding, you name it! | I am originally from upstate New York and moved to Nashville in 2020. Since being here, I have adopted 3 shelter dogs and love to take them for walks around the city. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking vegetarian meals, going to local breweries, and cheering on the Nashville Soccer Club. | ||
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| Adrian Russ | Hunter Davis | ||
| 2nd Year Graduate Student | 1st Year Graduate Student | ||
| adrian.russ AT vanderbilt DOT edu | hunter.l.davis AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| B.S. Chemistry | B.S. Chemistry | ||
| Adrian’s fun facts: | Hunter’s fun facts: | ||
| I played football in college, huge Atlanta falcons fan, I do photography, and I can speak German pretty well. I also have 3 tattoos. | Although I enjoy the time I spend in the lab, I also look forward to my hobbies outside of the lab. If I am not uncovering natural products, you can find me hiking, kayaking, and woodworking. Along with that, I like coffee, cooking, and gardening. My favorite plants have been my giant pumpkins and dragon fruit cactus. | ||
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| Srujan Vadlamudi | Thomas Kalmer | ||
| 1st Year Graduate Student | Research Assistant | ||
| srujan.vadlamudi AT vanderbilt DOT edu | thomas.l.kalmer AT vanderbilt DOT edu | ||
| B.S. Biology | B.A. Chemical Biology, Vanderbilt University | ||
| Srujan’s fun facts: | Thomas’s fun facts: | ||
| I’m interested in the development and use of computational tools for both exploring natural products and enhancing drug discovery. I love to surf whenever I have access to a beach and am always on the lookout for new hobbies! | I joined the Walker lab in the fall of my junior year to complete my one semester of required research, but I ended up falling in love with the process and am still here. | ||
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| Carol He | |||
| Undergraduate Computer Science Major | |||
| Carol’s fun facts: | |||
| I enjoy watching sitcoms, playing board games, and being with my older sister’s seven cats. I love everything Disney and am willing to challenge anyone at Subway Surfers. I joined the Walker lab because I am very interested in how chemistry and computer science can intersect. |
Undergraduate Lab Alumni
Max Beck, Medical Student, Washington University School of Medicine
Marina Shi
Victoria Vuong, University of Michigan
North Hopper
Tierah Macon, Researcher, Corteva Agriscience, Biologics and Technology Research and Development
Oghosa Omobude
Isra Shuster, NIH Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow, Dr. Charles Venditti’s lab