Hehnly Lab Team
Current Team
PI: Heidi Hehnly-Chang
Email: HHehnly@syr.edu
Resident Bio Art Faculty: Boryana Rossa, PhD
Research Analyst/Lab Manager: Amy Kolb
PhD Candidate: Yiling Lan
Rotation Student: Joey McDonald
Summer MicroFFABS REU from UMASS Amherst: Jaymes Quinn
Undergraduate Researcher: Emily Dillon
Postdoctoral Researcher: Prabhu Sankaralingam
PhD Candidate (Joint with Hougland Lab, Chemistry): Albert Adhya
SUNY ESF Intern: Alex Herard
Undergraduate Research Scholar and Biology Distinction: Emma Blazure
Undergraduate Researcher: Izabella Shaina Naloy
Undergraduate Research Scholar and Biology Distinction: Amy Maisel
Graduate Student and Postdoc Alumni and Retirees
Yan Wu, Ph.D., postdoc at Syracuse University from 21-26; Biotech in Boston, Ma.
Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher from Turkey (22-23): Fatma Zehra Çağıl, PhD, Adjunct Faculty Member at University of Albany in Informational Sciences and Technology.
Graduate Student, Lindsay Rathbun, Ph.D. from Syracuse University in March 2020. University of Rochester to work with Dr. Dan Bergstralh’s group (2020-22). University of Rochester’s Microscopy Director (2022-)
Graduate Student, Favour Ononiwu, Ph.D. from Syracuse University August 2025. Following her graduation Favour took a Postdoctoral Position at UCSD.
Graduate Student, Abrar Adnan Aljiboury, Ph.D. from Syracuse University May 2023. Currently a Director of Blatt Imaging Center at Syracuse University.
Graduate Student, Erica Colicino, Ph.D. with Honors from SUNY Upstate Medical University in December 2018. After leaving the lab went off to do a Postdoc with Puck Ohi, then a postdoc in Tampa with Dr. Huzefa Dungrawala’s lab, and is now in UMich Microscopy Core
Lab Manager (AKA Angel Hands), Judy Freshour (In Hehnly Lab from 2015-2023), off enjoying life away from her pipettes!
Graduate Student, Nikhila Krishnan, Ph.D. from Syracuse University in August 2022. After leaving the lab went to do a postdoc at Brandeis University with Dr. Piali Sengupta’s, and currently took a position at ChemoMetec.
Postdoc, Debadrita Pal, PhD 21-22'. Currently at Sanofi as a Research Scientist.
Graduate Student, Eric Ingram, Masters from Syracuse University December 2021. After leaving the lab went off to work for Thermo in Madison, WI, and currently works for the DOD.
Undergraduate Lab Alumni
Tiffany Mateo (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, Class of 2016, received an MD from SUNY Upstate Medical School); Paul Lovell (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, Class of 2017, received a PhD from University of Nebraska Medical College); Shelby Helwig (Summer SURF Research Undergraduate Fellow from Lock Haven University, 2016); Shannon Coyne (Summer SURF Research Undergraduate Fellow from SUNY Geneseo, 2017); Alice Garrastegui (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, Class of 2018, Went to Jacobs School of Medicine, Buffalo); Katrina Stevens (Summer SURF Research Undergraduate Fellow from Clarkson University, 2018, went to SUNY Upstate Medical School); Michelle Nunez-Garcia (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, LSAMP Scholar, Class of 2020, went to Albert Einstein College of Medicine); Katherine Hostage (Syracuse University Biochemistry Graduate, Class of 2021), Peter Fioramonti (Syracuse University Biochemistry Graduate, Class of 2021 and Outstanding Biochemistry Achievement award recipient, went to SUNY Upstate Medical School for MD), Denise Magny (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, College Marshal, LSAMP and SOURCE Scholar, Class of 2022), Christopher Taveras (Syracuse University Biology and Neuroscience Graduate, Class of 2023 and Outstanding Biology Achievement award recipient, SOURCE and McNair Scholar, went to University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for MD), Thomas Cammerino (Syracuse University, Biotechnology Graduate, Class of 2023 and Outstanding Biotechnology Achievement award recipient, SOURCE Scholar), Abigail Poole (WPI, Biochemistry Student, Summer 2023), Carly Ward (Engineering, Class of 2024), Yoseph H Al-Khateeb (Biology, Class of 2024, went to Dental School), Jacqueline Dasoh Rim (Biology, Renee Crown Honors BioArt Resident, SOURCE Scholar, Class of 2024), Elijah Springer (Biotechnology, McNair, LSAMP, and SOURCE Scholar, Class of 2024, went to do a Masters in Biotech), Matthew Whaley (Biochemistry, class of 2024, went to SU Biology PhD program), Jonah Da Silva (Biology, Renee Crown Honors program and SOURCE Scholar, class of 2024, went to University of Michigan’s PhD program), Abdalla W. Shamil (Biology, Renee Crown Honors program and SOURCE Scholar, class of 2025, went to Dental School), Alison Gerety (Biology, Outstanding Achievement in Biology, Renee Crown Honors program and SOURCE Scholar, class of 2025), Athena Allred (REU Summer Student, Arizona State, Summer 2025), Carys Timpson (Visiting Summer Researcher, Cambridge University, Summer 2025), Shahina Alibekova (Summer SOURCE UG Research Assistant, 2025), Yuanwei He (Biology, class of 2025), Isabela Morales (Biology and Forensics, Source Scholar, class of 2026, went to do a Masters in Forensics Science at Syracuse University)
Post baccalaureate lab ALUMNI
Erin Curtis (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, Hehnly Lab Post Baccalaureate Research Technician 2019). Following the lab Erin went to Duke University’s graduate program and MIT, PhD in 2026.
Julie Manikas (Syracuse University Biochemistry Graduate, Hehnly Lab undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Research technician 2018-2020). Following the lab Julie went to New York University’s Graduate program, PhD in 2026
Michael Bates (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, Hehnly Lab undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Research technician 2017-20). Following the lab Mike was Blatt Imaging Center Manager at Syracuse University 2021-22, then at Zeiss Microscopy then Yokogawa.
Nicole Hall (Syracuse University Biology Graduate, Hehnly Lab undergraduate and Post-Baccalaureate Research technician 2019-2021). Following the lab Nicole went to New York University’s Graduate program.
Amra Mujcic (Syracuse University Biochemistry Graduate, Hehnly Lab Post-Baccalaureate Research technician, 2020-21) went onto University of Rochester in John Lueck’s Laboratory 2021-22, then to a MD/PhD program at University of Buffalo.
Kirsten Rasmussen, JD (Syracuse University Law Graduate, Hehnly Lab Post-Baccalaureate Research Technician, 2022). Following Kirsten’s time in the lab she went into Syracuse University’s Graduate Program in Biology where she joined the Pepling research group.