The Taylor Lab Members
Derek J. Taylor, Ph.D - Principal Investigator
Dr. Taylor received his BS degree from Fort Lewis College in Durango CO and his PhD from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Taylor was an HHMI-sponsored postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Nobel Laureate Dr. Joachim Frank, where he learned cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and its application in structure determination of biological complexes. Dr. Taylor then spent a year working with Dr. Tom Cech (another Nobel Laureate) and his group where he began to investigate the structure and function of telomere complexes. Dr. Taylor began his independent position in 2009 when he joined the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Taylor has been recognized with a Research Scholar Award from the American Cancer Society and a prestigious Director’s New Innovator Award from the NIH.
Wei Huang, Ph.D - Instructor
Dr. Huang has dedicated his research to understanding the molecular interactions involved in fundamental biological pathways. His training has been diverse and comprehensive, covering a range of computational and experimental techniques. As a graduate student, he studied RNA biochemistry and biophysics, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. His graduate research focused on the structure and functional dynamics of the SAM-I riboswitch controlled by small molecules, where Dr. Huang began integrating experimental data with computational simulations to improve the information obtained from both approaches. After completing his PhD, Dr. Huang continued this approach of integrated structural biology to investigate the structure and dynamics of the estrogen receptor using a variety of techniques, including small angle X-ray scattering, hydroxyl radical protein footprinting, and protein-protein association simulations. During his second postdoctoral training, he worked with Dr. Derek Taylor to study the structure and function of macromolecular assemblies. In Dr. Taylor's lab and the Department of Pharmacology, Dr. Huang has been able to use and expand upon his previous training, including learning cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) to study the molecular interactions involved in macromolecular assemblies across the central dogma of biology. By understanding the fundamental functions of these complexes, we can gain insights into potential targets for novel therapeutics.
Postdocs
Eric Mosher - Ph.D
Eric received his bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University, where he majored in Biochemistry. As an undergraduate student, he was a member of the lab of Dr. Emily Pentzer (now at Texas A&M) in CWRU’s Department of Chemistry. There, Eric synthesized and characterized graphene oxide and polymer nanomaterials. After his undergraduate studies, Eric pursued a PhD in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. In the lab of Dr. Namandjé Bumpus, Eric studied the metabolism of the anti-HIV NRTI Tenofovir and the role that muscle-type creatine kinase plays in interindividual differences in tenofovir activation. Throughout his PhD, he learned various mass spectrometry methods. During his thesis work, Eric developed an interest in understanding how proteins work at a molecular level, resulting in a desire to learn structural biology. Upon the completion of his PhD, Eric joined the Taylor Lab for his postdoctoral training to learn cryo-EM. Here, he studies the mechanism by which human papillomavirus causes cancer by characterizing the interactions between HPV proteins and human proteins.
Sagar Regmi - Ph.D
Sagar holds an undergraduate degree and M.Sc. degree from University of Pune, Pune, India. After receiving his M.Sc. degree, he worked on a summer project that focused to define the structure and function of a G-quadruplex in the long terminal repeat of the proviral HIV-1 genome in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Then, he did his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Sierin Lim and Prof. Kathy Qian Luo from School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, NTU, Singapore. As a graduate student, he focused on understanding the effects of shear stress and ROS-generating drugs on circulating tumor cells. In this project, he uncovered the role of exercise induced shear effect on circulating tumor cells. In another study, he investigated the effect of known chemotherapy drugs for their effects on circulating tumor cells. After his Ph.D. from NTU, he worked as a Research Staff at the Faculty of Health Science, University of Macau, China where he focussed on the applications of microfluidics that could advance the field of oncology. He is currently working as a Postdoctoral Scholar at Prof. Derek J. Taylor Laboratory at Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He is working on the enzyme 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) with a strategy to trap prostaglandin substrates and define the structure of 15-PGDH with diverse prostaglandin substrates (PGD2 and PGE2) using cryogenic electron microscopy and identify the molecular interactions that govern binding and specificity of the enzyme. Furthermore, he is focusing to identify the role of the C-terminal tail in the regulation of the activity of 15-PGDH with prostaglandin substrate.
Students
Alexander Day - Graduate Student
Alex received his bachelor’s degree from The College of Wooster with majors in both Biochemistry and German language. During college his research focused on the duplicate gene family Calcineurin in Paramecium and the mechanisms by which the organism maintained and separately evolved these duplicate genes to have similar but distinct roles in the cell. Following graduation, he worked as a research assistant at Case Western Reserve University studying the rare genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in the lab of Rebecca Darrah. Here he focused on studying the molecular genetic mechanisms of a single nucleotide mutation in the Angiotensin receptor type II that was identified to result in a significantly better phenotypic outlook for CF patients harboring the mutation. During this experience he gained an appreciation for the molecular therapeutic methods utilized to interrogate the mechanisms of action of this receptor in the context of the disease, which lead him to apply to the molecular therapeutics training program (MTTP) at CWRU in 2019. In Dr. Taylor’s lab, Alex’s research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms of the trimeric protein PP2A, and more specifically the role of one of the scaffolding isoforms known as Abeta. He is interested in uncovering how this isoform affects the overall structure and function of PP2A in comparison to the Aalpha isoform and the role the isoform plays in the context of diseases such as cancer.
Brendan Sheehan - Graduate Student
Brendan graduated from Oberlin College in 2018 with a double major in Biochemistry and English, participating in research under the analytical chemist Robert Thompson, and chemical biologist William Parsons. Subsequently, he spent three years in the Lab of Luigi Puglielli at the University of Wisconsin-Madison investigating the role of autophagy in neurodegenerative disease before matriculating at CWRU in the Medical Scientist Training Program in July of 2021. As a member of the Taylor lab, Brendan has begun investigating the assembly of the Shelterin Complex and the role of Telomerase in cancer.
Shouqing Cui - Graduate Student
Shouqing received her bachelor’s degree from Shanghai University with a major in Bioengineering. During college, her research focused on biofilm formation and developing molecules to target it. Following graduation, she worked as a research assistant at a drug company and her job duty was to develop analysis methods. During this experience, she gained an appreciation for establishing methods utilized to help drug development, which led her to apply to the biochemistry master’s program at CWRU in 2022. In Dr. Taylor’s lab, Shouqing’s research focuses on investigating the mechanisms of regulatory specificity of PP2A, seeking potential cancer therapies. In 2023, she applied to the BSTP program and continued her research as a Ph.D. student.
Anjali Raju - Undergraduate Student
Anjali is a Biochemistry major at CWRU in the Class of 2024. She is involved in the Discussions Undergraduate Journal and is the COmmunity Outreach Director for the PERIOD chapter at CWRU. In the Taylor Lab, she is working on refining protein purification methods for PP2A and its substrates with the ultimate goal of solving a structure of PP2A and a substrate.
Lab Alumni
Daniel Leonard - MD-Ph.D Student
Daniel received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany. During his time there he spent two years with Dr. Melinda Larsen, interrogating the development of the human salivary gland. This initial exposure to research prompted Daniel to continue his research training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Bugge, investigating the physiologic and pathologic recycling mechanisms of extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen. After two years at NIH, Daniel began his medical training at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM), a program that integrates numerous opportunities for independent research. These independent research blocks provided through CCLCM and his Medical Scientist Fellowship awarded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute reminded Daniel of his passion for research and so he joined the Case Western Reserve University Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) to pursue a Ph.D. in addition to the MD from CCLCM.
Tawna Mangosh, Pharm. D. - Graduate Student
Tawna received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Findlay College of Pharmacy. During this time, she spent six years in the laboratory of Dr. Ryan Schneider in the College of Pharmacy focusing on cancer pharmacology-based research. During Tawna’s undergraduate pharmacy research experience, she made significant contributions to studies aimed at identifying the mechanism by which non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents exert their anti-cancer effects. In addition to continuing her undergraduate research, Tawna’s pharmacy graduate research involvement included two separate drug screening and validation studies with a library of compounds designed as either sigma-2 receptor agonists or autophagy inhibitors with the goal of eliciting cancer cell cytotoxicity. In addition to research-based cancer pharmacology training, Tawna received extensive training in pathophysiology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacotherapy of human diseases while earning her Doctor of Pharmacy.
Wilnelly Hernandez-Sanchez, Ph.D. - Graduate Student
Wilnelly received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, in Industrial Biotechnology. As an undergraduate, she spent two years doing research with Dr. Elsie Pares-Matos, studying gene regulation and analyzing the promoter regions of Nuclear Factor for Interleukin 6 (NF-IL6).After completion of her bachelor degree, she was accepted in the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in June 2012. As part of the PREP program, she worked full-time in a research lab under Dr. Mark Jackson supervision in the Cancer Biology department at CWRU. Her project focused on studying protein interactions between two newly discovered oncogenes FAM83B and FAM83A. Upon acceptance into graduate school at Case Western, she joined the lab of Dr. Derek Taylor, in the Pharmacology Department. During her graduate career, Wilnelly had the opportunity to study a novel telomerase inhibitor and the kinetics consequences of nucleotides concentration over telomerase catalytic activity.
Mengyuan Xu, Ph.D. - Graduate Student
Mengyuan received her bachelor’s degree from Nankai University in China, majoring in biological science and minoring in mathematics and science. After college, she continued to pursue her master’s degree in biochemical and molecular biology at Nankai University. Mengyuan’s research experience as an undergraduate shaped her future research endeavors as she chose to pursue structural biology as her primary research interest. Due to the fact that structural biology requires a solid mathematical background, the knowledge, and most importantly, the spirit of mathematics would always benefit her in her future research undertakings. In the pursuit of her master’s degree, Mengyuan solved the crystal structure of the N-terminal fragment of FILIA, which revealed a unique N-terminal extension beyond the canonical KH region that is well known for its RNA binding ability. This experience generated her interest in nucleic acid binding proteins and their cellular consequences. Therefore, she decided to continue her research career as a PhD student in the Department of Pharmacology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Nathaniel Robinson - MD-Ph.D. Student
Nathaniel received his B.S. in molecular genetics and mathematics from The Ohio State University in 2013. While at OSU, his research focused on the mechanisms of translational regulation of gene expression in bacteria and developing informatic methods to identify new regulatory pathways. After graduating, he worked as a research assistant at Nationwide Children’s Hospital studying the molecular genetic bases of inherited epilepsy before joining the Medical Scientist Training Program at CWRU in 2014.
Nikhil Vasireddi - Undergraduate Student
Nikhil is an undergraduate student researcher majoring in Systems Biology at Case Western Reserve University and is currently studying the oncoprotein c-Myc and its life cycle in recombinant protein systems in the lab. Specifically he focuses on determining how its modifications affect its interaction with the tumor suppressor protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and ultimately how these modifications affect cellular signaling and cancer progression.
Jasmine Encarnacion - PREP Scholar
Jackie Spieles - Undergraduate Student
Jackie is a Class of 2022 biology major at the College of Wooster and plans to pursue a PhD in the biomedical sciences. In the Taylor lab, she has worked to troubleshoot and optimize protein purification techniques for PP2A subunits and substrates. At Wooster, she is a member of the WOODs Outdoors Club and works as a teaching assistant and tutor for chemistry and biology courses.
Jenish Venancius - Undergraduate Student
Jenish is currently pursuing a dual-degree as an undergraduate student in Biology and a Master of Public Health (MPH). Additionally, he is minoring in Spanish and Chemistry and is active in research throughout the lab and on-campus leadership.