Lab Members

Contact information:
Professor Katlyn K. Meier
Office: Cox Science Building, Room 353
Lab: Cox Science Building, Room 352
Office Phone: 305-284-9807
Email: kmeier@miami.edu

CV

Katlyn K. Meier, PhD

Professor Meier obtained her bachelor’s degree in Physics from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 2009. That same fall, she went on to join the lab of Professor Eckard Münck (Physical Chemistry) in the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University. Her doctoral work at Carnegie Mellon University focused on characterization of high-valent iron complexes, both enzymatic and synthetic models, proposed for applications in environmental and biomedical chemistry. During her PhD she became expert in Mössbauer and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopies as well as Density Functional Theory calculations – skills that are workhorses in the Meier Lab at UM.

After completing her PhD, Katlyn moved across the country and started her tenure as a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Professor Edward Solomon at Stanford University (Physical Inorganic Chemistry). From 2015-2018, she was a National Institute of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award fellow, and her research focused on the characterization of copper-containing enzymes involved in biological dioxygen activation with an emphasis on understanding the mechanisms of O₂ activation in systems including the polysaccharide monooxygenases, formylglycine generating enzyme, and tyramine-beta monooxygenase. Her training in additional biophysical techniques such as circular dichroism, magnetic circular dichroism and resonance Raman coupled with enzyme purification and sample manipulation techniques and kinetics analyses provided her with the training necessary to start her lab at UM.

Professor Meier joined the UM faculty as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry in August 2019 and couldn’t be happier to be a ‘Cane!

Fun Fact: Katlyn enjoys hiking and is an avid runner. She’s hiked throughout the bay area as well as the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Haleakala National Park to name a few. She has a lot more on her bucket list.

Adriana Maria Julien Sanchez - Adriana is originally from Cuba, but has lived in Miami since high school. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Florida International University in 2021, and I am currently a PhD student in Chemistry at the University of Miami, where she began her doctoral studies in August 2025. 

Fun Fact: Outside the lab you can find Adriana playing the violin and piano, working out or reading.

Kassidy Rodriguez – Kassidy is from Salt Lake City, Utah and earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Augsburg University (2016) in Minneapolis, MN. At Augsburg, his research focused on the interfacial rheology of graphene Kassidy Rodriguez – Kassidy is from Salt Lake City, Utah and earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Augsburg oxide and their interaction with phospholipids. He then obtained a M.S. degree in Chemistry at the U of MN, Duluth where his thesis work investigated the intracellular trafficking of the amyloid precursor protein using fluorescence techniques and live cell imaging (2020). Kassidy started in the Department of Chemistry at UM as a Ph.D. Student (2020) where his current research is focused on understanding the mechanism of nonheme iron enzyme, EgtB, the effect that oligomerization has on its secondary structure, stability, and enzymatic activity.

Fun Fact: After earning his B.S. at Augsburg University, he completed a 2,230-mile canoe expedition down the entire length of the Mississippi River.

Meghan Mattimore - Meghan is from Miami, Florida. She is currently a senior pursuing a double major in chemistry and classical music. Meghan joined the Meier Lab as an undergraduate researcher in the Fall of 2025. Her current research is focused on heavy metal binding in proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease. Outside of the laboratory, she continues to pursue her passion for classical music, specializing in the double bass. 

Fun Fact: Meghan is a member of the Frost Symphony Orchestra. In her free time she enjoys baking, reading and watching sports, especially baseball. 

Gaby Joa - Gaby is from the Dominican Republic but now calls Miami home. From a young age she’s been an artist (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.), but her passion for medicine and science began in high school where she attended the medical program at Coral Reef Senior High. Gaby is majoring  in Health Sciences, with minors in Chemistry, Art & Art History.

Fun Fact: One of Gaby’s hobbies is collecting music vinyl records for her record player. Her goal is to build a HUGE collection/music library.

• Karsten Chima - (Double major in Chemistry and Physics)
• Alfred Shomar – Undergraduate researcher
• Elliott Cleven (Major in Chemistry and minors in Math and Computer Science)
• Rahul Kumar (Major in Biochemistry)
• Allison Kelley (Major in Biomedical Engineering)

• Jialin (Janey) Zhang - School for Advanced Studies-Homestead, FL - June-July 2025
• Isabel Duffy - American Heritage High School - June-July 2025
• Esmeralda Swietelsky – Ransom Everglades High School - Young Scholar Program – July 2022
• Braylen Washington – Northeast High School - Young Scholar Program – June-August 2023
• Andrea Herrera – School for Advanced Studies Kendall – ACS SEED Program – June – August 2024
• Taronish Unwalla – Coral Gables Senior High School – June – July 2024

• Dr. Prajakta Badve (2025) - current position - postdoc at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NY
• Dr. Deepa Neupane (2025) - current position - postdoc at Florida State University in FL