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.

Prajakta Badve – Prajakta is from Mumbai, India and attended the Institute of Chemical Technology, where she earned her Bachelor of Technology degree in Dyestuff Technology. Her studies focused on the chemistry and technology of dyes and colorants as well as their applications. Her previous research includes a final year thesis project on the synthesis of a vat dye (6-aminoanthraquinoneacridone), and a project titled “A novel reactive dyeing method”. Prajakta joined the Meier lab as a graduate student in December 2019. Her main research focus is on a heme-binding protein that is proposed to interact with downstream players to affect drug metabolism and cell proliferation. In the Meier Lab, Prajakta uses an in vitro model along with biochemical, spectroscopic, and computational tools to characterize the process of heme binding, heme-mediated oligomer formation, and key protein-protein interactions. 

Fun Fact: In her free time Prajakta enjoys sketching and painting portraits.

Deepa Neupane – Deepa is from Palpa, Nepal where she earned her Bachelor’s in Chemistry from Bhairahawa Multiple Campus, T.U. as well as her master’s degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Central Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University (T.U.) (2017). Before starting her graduate studies at the University of Miami in 2019 Deepa’s masters work (with Prof. Dr. Paras Nath Yadav) focused on the synthesis, characterization and biological activities of novel copper(II) complexes of methyl and ethyl oxazolines. Her present research aims to define the metal binding sites in proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease.

Fun Fact: In her free time Deepa enjoys reading, dancing and singing, and is always looking for a way to make people laugh.

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.

Alfred Shomar – Undergraduate researcher

Elliott Cleven – Elliott graduated in Spring 2021 with a major in Chemistry and minors in Math and Computer Science. He is currently a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Miami.

Rahul Kumar – Rahul is originally from San Fransisco, California. At the University  of Miami, he is a pre-medical student majoring in Biochemistry and plans to graduate in 2024. Since joining the Meier lab in Spring 2022, he has been working in the nonheme iron enzyme division of the group.

Fun Fact: In his free time, Rahul enjoys listening to music and currently works at the university's radio station to spread music around campus.

Allison Kelley – Allison is from St. Louis, Missouri. She will graduate in 2023 with a major in Biomedical Engineering. Since joining the Meier Lab in Spring 2021, Allison has been working in the hemoprotein/chemoresistance division of the group.

Fun Fact: When Allison isn't in the lab or class she  loves running and reading and tries to spend as many weekends as possible at the beach!