Team
We aim to provide a welcoming and inclusive lab environment for all members to thrive and succeed.
Current lab members
Zhangli Su
Principle Investigator
B.Sc. at Peking University
Ph.D. at UW-Madison (Lab of John Denu)
PostDoc at University of Virginia/UAB (Lab of Anindya Dutta)
(NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Awardee)
Personal interests: photography and travel, cute animals, food and baking
Email: zsu at uab.edu
Evaluated manuscripts on Faculty Opinions
Abigail Johnston
Researcher III (Lab manager)
B.Sc. in Chemistry at UAB
M.Sc. in Multidiciplinary Biomedical Science at UAB
Email: abij1 at uab.edu
Nhi Nguyen
PhD student @ UAB
Nhi is in the UAB graduate program, BSB (biochemistry and structural biology) theme. She is particularly interested in molecular mechanisms of biological processes, chemical and structural spects of molecular interactions. Originally from Vietnam 🇻🇳, she obtained her undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Biology from University of North Alabama. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading and writing about personal development (link to her blog), traveling and spending time in nature and more recently playing with her baby girl Amelia.
Email: nnguyen3 at uab.edu
Monima (Momo) Anam
MD/PhD student @UAB
Monima is a UAB MSTP graduate trainee in the GBS neuroscience theme with an interest in computational biology and transcriptomics as they relate to central nervous system disease and pathologic behavior. She received her bachelor’s in Psychology from UAB in 2019, and now hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist. When not being a lab rat herself, Monima loves taking care of her many pet rodents and honing her creative skills through making art, music, and programming.
Email: monima25 at uab.edu
Katie Marlow
GBS Rotation student @ UAB
Katie is in the UAB graduate biomedical sciences program in the GGB (Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics) theme. She has an interest in gene expression and transcriptional regulation processes. She received her bachelor's in Genetics from Auburn University in 2023 and her master's in Science Education from Auburn in 2024. Outside of the lab, she is passionate about science education outreach and loves experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen through cooking and baking.
Email: katiemarlow at uab.edu
Xisheng Liu
Postdoc @ UAB
Xisheng earned his MD in Clinical medicine from China Medical University in 2014 and continually got his PhD in Surgery from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in 2019. Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking, movies, music, running and hiking in nature. He is also a new father of a cute boy (Will).
Email: liux at uab.edu
Jayden Rhodes
Undergraduate Researcher @ UAB
Jayden is a Undergraduate Genetics and Genomics Sciences Major, Chemistry Minor, Biology Minor, as well as an ABM MBS student with a concentration in Genetics and Genomic Sciences.
Email: jarhodes at uab.edu
Naira Rehman
Undergraduate Researcher @ UAB | CRISP program
Naira is an undergraduate student at UAB majoring in biomedical sciences with minors in chemistry and psychology. Aside from learning and being in the lab, Naira enjoys baking, reading, and traveling.
Email: nrehman at uab.edu
Previous trainees / visitors
Benji Lee (beplee at uab.edu)
(MSTP rotation student
@ UAB GGB theme, class of 2022)
Mostafa Mohamed (mmohamed at uab.edu)
(PhD rotation student
@ UAB GGB theme, class of 2023)
Afsane Esmaeili (esmaeili at uab.edu)
(PhD student @ UAB)
"I consider myself very lucky to have joined my current lab one year before Dr. Su leaving the lab, and even more fortunate to have had her sit at the bench behind me. I will always appreciate her guidance and kindness."
Felicia Kristiansen
(Visiting PhD Student)
Felicia visited us from Oslo University, Norway to learn more about small RNA-seq and RNA modifications.
Briana Wilson, Ph.D. completed in 2022
(MD/PhD student @ UVA)
Bri completed her graduate work studying tRNA fragments stability, regulation and function. She was closely mentored by Dr. Su who trained her in critical RNA biology skills, including small RNA sequencing and Northern blotting.
Laine Marrah
(undergrad @UVA class of 2024)
Laine is an undergrad researcher interested in computational biology. She was mentored by Dr. Su on computational analysis of enriched pathways by tRF targets, which she co-authored in the tRForest manuscript. Laine is pursuing PhD in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics at Harvard University.
Furry friends
Ella
Kelly manager
Kelly
Chicken food quality inspector
Juniper
She uses litter box!
