Johanna Syrjänen joined the HF lab in 2017 after completing her Ph.D. in Biochemistry under the supervision of Prof. Luca Pellegrini. In the HF lab, Johanna spearheaded the application of cryo-EM and electrophysiology to uncover the structural and functional properties of pannexin and CALHM channels, now recognized as large-pore channels. Her pioneering work was instrumental in advancing the field of large-pore channel biology. In 2024, Johanna was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki. [Syrjänen lab link]
Kevin Michalski joined the HF lab in 2018 after completing her Ph.D. in Biochemistry under the guidance of Prof. Toshi Kawate at Cornell. During her time in the HF lab, Kevin made significant contributions to structural biology, starting with elucidating the first structure of the heptameric Pannexin channel. She then resolved the structure of GluN1-3A NMDA receptors, a unique iGluR subtype that is activated solely by glycine and mediates excitatory signaling. Most recently, Kevin characterized the structural and functional interactions of anti-NMDA receptor antibodies with NMDA receptors, uncovering critical insights into antibody recognition patterns and mechanisms underlying functional modulation. In 2024, Kevin transitioned to a senior scientist role at Arcus Biosciences.
Max Epstein joined the HF lab during the pandemic, following the completion of his Ph.D. in Phil Biggin’s lab at the University of Oxford. His work focused on an extensive analysis of the binding modes of therapeutic channel blockers targeting NMDARs and simulating ion permeability through NMDARs in their open channel conformation, resulting in a number of groundbreaking papers. In 2024, he moved on to Marta Filizola’s lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to learn more MD simulation techniques.
Ricardo Gomez Garcia joined the Furukawa lab as a postdoc in 2020. During his postdoctoral study in the HF_lab, Ricardo characterized functional antibodies against NMDARs by a combination of biochemistry and electrophysiology and more. Ricardo became an assistant professor at Complutense University of Madrid in 2022 [Gomez lab link].
Erkan Karakas joined the Furukawa lab as a postdoc after acquiring his PHD in Caroline Kisker at Stony Brook University in 2007. During his legendary postdoctoral study in our lab, Erkan unraveled the structures of NMDA receptor ATD, ifenprodil binding site, and the intact heterotetrameric NMDA receptors by x-ray crystallography. He also revealed detailed mechanisms underlying activation and allosteric inhibition of NMDA receptor channels. Erkan became an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University in 2016 [Karakas lab link].
Nami Tajima joined the Furukawa lab as a postdoc after completing her PHD in the laboratory of Jeremy Tame at Yokohama City University in 2011. In the Furukawa lab, Nami resolved questions related to agonist/partial agonist/antagonist binding to NMDA receptors and conformational alteration associated with the ligand binding in the context of intact NMDA receptors by x-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and electrophysiology. Nami became an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University in 2018 [Tajima lab link].
Mike Regan joined the Furukawa lab as a postdoc after completing his PHD in the laboratory of John Bushweller at the University of Virginia in 2014. During his stay in the Furukawa lab, Mike showed how splicing of a NMDA receptor subunit can alter the ion channel activities such as pH sensitivity. He also identified a presence of pH-sensitive compound binding site within the extracellular domain. In 2018, Mike became a staff scientist at Sanofi.
Tomas Malinauskas joined the Furukawa lab in 2013 after earning his PHD and his postdoctoral study in the laboratory of Yvonne Jones at Oxford University. Tomas crystallized a CALHM2 protein during his stay in our lab. In 2016, he went back to Oxford to become a postdoctoral fellow in the Christian Siebold lab.
Puja Singh joined the Furukawa lab as a postdoc after earning her Ph.D. in the laboratory of John Tesmer at UT Austin and her short postdoc in the Patrick Sang lab at Yale University in 2010. During her stay in the Furukawa lab, Puja analyzed the oligomeric states of AMPA receptors to unravel elements responsible for tetramerization in collaboration with the Wollmuth lab. She also established several important protocols for the expression and purification of NMDA receptor extracellular domains in mammalian cell cultures. In 2012, she took an associate scientist position at the University of Minnesota.
Insa Thale came to the HF lab as a visiting Ph.D. student from the University of Münster, Germany, and spent ~1 year in 2022. During her stay, she studied the structure and function of CALHM channels to unravel molecular motifs critical for functions. She is currently a postdoc at University of Pittsburgh.
Jue Xiang Wang joined the Furukawa lab as a CSHL PHD student in 2015. She unraveled the molecular determinant for binding of GluN2C/2D-specific compounds in the ligand-binding domain of NMDA receptors. She earned her PHD in 2019. In 2020, she became a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.
Annabel Romero-Hernandez joined the Furukawa lab as a CSHL PHD student in 2013. She revealed the first structure of the GluN1-GluN2A NMDA receptor ATD by x-ray crystallography and unraveled the detailed mechanism underlying high-potency zinc inhibition. She also identified the potential binding pocket in the subunit interface of GluN1-GluN2A LBDs. She earned her PHD in 2017 and took a Scientist position at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Annie Jespersen joined the Furukawa lab as a visiting master student from the University of Copenhagen in 2011. During her stay, she revealed the first structure of the antagonist-bound GluN2 subunit of NMDA receptors (Jespersen and Tajima, Neuron 2014). Her crystallography method for acquiring antagonist-bound NMDA receptor structures has been followed by a number of labs. She went back to Denmark to complete her PHD. She is currently a pharmacist in Copenhagen.
Even Fine is an undergraduate student at the California Institute of Technology who does research in Henry Lester’s group. Eve returned to her hometown on Long Island and joined the HF lab during the pandemic (2020-2021). She learned single-particle cryo-EM, analyzed the binding modes of NMDAR channel blockers, and even published a paper in NSMB (!) She became a Ph.D. student at Stanford in 2023.
Zarmeena Dawood joined the Furukawa lab as a technician in 2019 after earning her engineering degree at Harvard. Zarmeena was involved in the project related to antibody engineering in our lab. In 2021, she became an MD/PhD student at Zucker school of medicine at Hofstra University.
Lauren Richter worked as a scientific administrator for the HF lab between 2022-2023. She contributed considerably to make the working environment of the HF lab better. In late 2023, Lauren became Executive Assistant to Director of Research at CSHL.
AnnMarie Ballew worked as a scientific administrator for the HF lab between 2014-2022. She contributed considerably to every HF lab member’s work quality and career. In 2022, AnnMarie became the Office & Operations Manager for the CSHL Meetings and Courses. We’re happy that she remained at CSHL!
Hongjie Shen worked as a media maker for the Furukawa lab between 2007-2017. She prepared reagents and labware for us since the beginning of the Furukawa lab at CSHL. She has also interacted deeply with and encouraged each one of us towards achieving our goals. In 2017, she decided to retire from CSHL.
Irene Gill worked as a Scientific Administrator for the Furukawa lab between 2007-2014. She helped each one of us with grants, travel plans, and many more. In 2014, she took a Senior Scientific Administrator position for Adam Siepel, a head of our Quantitative Biology Program.
Claudio Morales-Perez
Claudio was an URP student in the summer of 2010. He later joined the Hibbs lab as a PHD student at UT Southwestern.
Yitong Li
Yitong was an URP student in the summer of 2013. She later joined the Burridge/Doerschuk lab as a PHD student at UNC Chapel Hill.
MinJun Li
Minjun was a student from Smith College in the summer of 2018. She became a MD/Ph.D. student at UCSD.
Saamia Alam
Saamia was an undergraduate student in the summer of 2009.
Paul Wolski
Paul was an URP student in the summer of 2007. He became a graduate student at UC Berkeley.
Rotation Students
CSHL SBS: Hassana Oyibo, Jack Walleshauser, Brittany Cazakoff, Anja Hohmann, Mike Giangrasso, Charlie Yuan, Bri Bibel, Leah Braviner, Nemanja Kutlesic
Stony Brook: Iehab Talukder, Brian McGillick, Jessica Johl, Allen Chen