Alumni

Jesse Collins's picture
Jesse Collins

Jesse grew up in Northern California, and pursued a B.A. in Molecular Biology at U.C. Berkeley. During his time there, Jesse worked in a lab studying dengue virus and took classes focused on immunology and bioengineering. He continued to pursue his interest in immunology by beginning a PhD in Immunobiology at Yale in 2014. Jesse has been very interested in interdisciplinary approaches to problems, and was excited to join the Spiegel lab to work at the interface of synthetic chemistry and molecular biology. He is now working on engineering immune-modulating proteins controlled by bifunctional small molecules. Outside of the lab, Jesse enjoys hiking, ultimate frisbee, and especially boardgames.

 
David Caianiello's picture
David Caianiello

Dave is a native of Rhode Island. He became interested in the biological applications of chemistry as an undergraduate at Brown University, where he used an under-appreciated method for measuring light absorption to determine how dyes stack in water. In the Spiegel Lab he is working on the development of new bifunctional molecules. Outside of the lab, Dave enjoys wandering around New Haven listening to too many podcasts.  
Theo Koelsch's picture
Theo Koelsch

Theo grew up in Colorado and attended CU Boulder, majoring in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Music. At CU, he worked in the lab of Dr. Zhongping Tan, using insights into the effects of specific glycosylation to develop a bivalent HIV entry inhibitor from a small molecule and a glycosylated peptide. He continued to follow his interest in the intersection of chemistry and biology by beginning a PhD in Chemical Biology at Yale in 2017. In the Spiegel Lab, he is investigating the function of advanced glycation end products, which may have therapeutic implications for multiple diseases. Outside of the lab, Theo enjoys hiking, long bike rides, and playing trombone and piano.

 
Edward deRamon's picture
Edward deRamon

Eddie grew up in New York where he attended SUNY New Paltz, majoring in Chemistry. There, his research was primarily focused in organic chemistry, while a summer research program at Johns Hopkins University opened him up to chemical biology. He began his PhD in Chemical Biology at Yale in 2018, where his combined interest in these research areas led him to join the Spiegel lab. Here, his work is primarily focused on the development of therapeutically relevant bifunctional molecules. Outside of lab, Eddie enjoys hiking, camping, and weightlifting.