People

Principal Investigator

Hui-Ting Lee, Ph.D.
I am a biophysical chemist who combines single-molecule techniques with traditional physical chemistry and biochemistry to study nucleic acid structure, DNA damage, and gene regulation.  

  • Affiliate Instructor of Chemistry, Loyola University Maryland 2018-2019
  • Postdoctoral Research in Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University 2019
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center 2010
  • Bachelor of Science in Life Science, National Dong Hwa University 2003

Ph.D. Students

Arianna Lacen
I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Alabama in 2019. I started here at UAB in the Fall of 2019 and joined the Lee Lab in 2020. In this lab, I investigate the effect of salt concentration on various constructs of G-quadruplexes to probe whether they will unfold under those conditions. I use Total Internal Reflectance Fluorescence (TIRF) to measure the amount of Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) between two dyes on the DNA I use. Going forward, I’d like to work on improving surface passivation and moving from monovalent to possibly divalent cations.

Tanvir Ahmed Chowdhury
I joined the Lee lab in 2021 as a PhD student. I am interested in conformations and structural dynamics of Telomeric G-quadruplexes, telomeric loops, and their role in regulation of gene expression using single molecule microscopy technology.

  • Officer, R&D, Biotech Division, Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2018-2021)
  • Scientific Officer, Globe Biotech Ltd (2016-2018)
  • M.S in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, University of Dhaka (2013)
  • B.S in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, University of Dhaka (2012)

Tyrese J. Boddie, MPH
I completed my Bachelor’s and Master of Public Health degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall of 2022, then joined the Lee lab as a PhD student in the spring of 2023. My research interest includes studying transcription regulatory sequences, as well as using STORM to identify potential colocalization of different RNA species in vivo.

Md Ibnul Rifat Rahman

Undergraduate Students and Research Assistants

Andrew Symasek

Kristen J. Buettner

Former Postdocs

Bok-Eum Choi, Ph,D. (Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at NIH)
I joined the Lee Lab in 2020 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. I study the structural dynamics of T-loops and TERRA in telomeres at single-molecule level.

  • Post Doc. Washington DC VA Medical Center-Institute for Clinical Research (2018-2019)
  • Ph.D. Georgetown University, Washington DC (2018). Thesis: Mechanistic Insights of Reactions Catalyzed by OMPB Lysine Methyltransferases. Advisor: David C.H. Yang, Ph.D.
  • B.S. Towson University, Towson MD (2011). Thesis: Effect of base substitutions on the conformation of M. tuberculosis rRNA hairpins. Advisor: Ana-Maria Soto, Ph.D

Dominika Houserova, Ph,D. (currently a postdoctoral fellow at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia)
I joined the lab as a post-doctoral fellow in Spring 2022 after obtaining my PhD in Medical Sciences at the University of South Alabama. My research interests include non-coding RNA regulatory networks and the effects of changes in G4 structure

Former Undergraduate Students and Research Assistants

Jarod S. Lowe: Currently a Post-bachular fellow in NIH

Alan Gunter: Currently a graduate student at Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Cheyanne Marie Lykins

Emilee M. Robison: Currently a Lab Scientist in ?

UAB the University of Alabama at Birmingham home
UAB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and family-friendly environment in which all faculty and staff can excel and achieve work/life balance irrespective of race, national origin, age, genetic or family medical history, gender, faith, gender identity and expression as well as sexual orientation. UAB also encourages applications from individuals with disabilities and veterans.