Scientific Team
Principal Investigator
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Drew Adams, Ph.D.
Postdoc, Chemical Biology Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT PhD, Organic Chemistry Harvard University BA, Biochemistry Swarthmore College Drew graduated from Swarthmore College with Highest Honors and obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Harvard University (Prof. David A. Evans). He then undertook postdoctoral studies with Prof. Stuart L. Schreiber at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT within the Center for the Science of Therapeutics. There he used high-throughput screening and chemical biology techniques to identify drug candidates that modulated cancer cell stress phenotypes and to eluciddate these molecules' cellular mechanisms-of-action. Drew joined the Case Western Reserve University Genetics Department in 2015 as an Assistant Professor, and in July 2018 he was appointed as the Thomas F. Peterson, Jr. Professor of Cancer and Energy Research. Drew also serves as Director of the Small-Molecule Drug Development Core, a newly-built facility enabling high-throughput screening to accelerate academic drug discovery efforts. |
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Ryan Friedrich, Ph.D.
PhD, Chemistry University of Iowa BA, Chemistry University of Minnesota Ryan received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Iowa in 2017. There he expanded a strategy to synthesize chiral 1,5-polyols and applied it to the synthesis of tetrafibricin, a biologically active natural product. He joined the Adams lab in early 2018 and is currently working on a variety of medicinal chemistry projects as a member of the Small-Molecule Drug Development Core. In his free time he enjoys playing disc golf, watching movies, and trying new foods. |
Graduate Students
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Zita Hubler
BS, Bioengineering University of Illinois U-C Zita is a student in the CWRU MSTP and joined the lab in May of 2016. Her current research utilizes genetic, chemical, and biological tools to investigate the mechanism of action of small molecules which alter cell fate decision making in stem cells. Her undergraduate research was mostly computational; she uses these skills to streamline and automate certain aspects of her experiments. Outside of work, she enjoys training for local distance races, growing plants, and exploring the outdoors. |
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Joel Sax
BA, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology UC Berkeley Joel is a student in the MSTP at the CWRU School of Medicine and joined the lab in May of 2019. His research interests include translational science with an emphasis on biochemistry and chemical biology. The Adams Lab allows him the flexibility in taking a high-throughput screening approach to many biological problems. Beyond research, he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and running. |
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Matthew Pleshinger
BA, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The College of Wooster Matthew is a PhD student in the BSTP at CWRU and joined the lab in December 2018. Currently, his research interest lies in understanding the mechanism of action of drugs and identifying novel targets. His goal is to provide fundamental information for translational medicine. In his free time, he enjoys participating in and watching soccer, baseball, and basketball. |
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Yi Fan Chen
BS, Biological Sciences Cornell University Yi Fan is a student in the MSTP at the CWRU School of Medicine who will join the lab in June 2020. His past research experiences included a mix of cell biology, chemical biology, and synthetic biology. He applies those experiences in the Adams Lab to study disease pathophysiology and drug mechanisms with interdisciplinary techniques using synthetic chemistry and molecular biology. Outside of research, he enjoys training in the martial arts, reading books on random things, hanging out with friends, and messing with his food the way he messes with his experiments. |
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Adrianna Rivera-Leon
B.Sc., Biology University of Puerto Rico Adrianna is a PREP Scholar who joined the lab on July, 2019. While being an undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus she did research on gut regeneration using the sea cucumber as a model system. Now, she's interested in regeneration of the nervous system and oligodendrocyte differentiation. Aside from her work in the lab, she enjoys listening to music and reading. |
Undergraduate Students
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Farrah Gao
Farrah is a fourth year undergraduate student majoring in biochemistry and minoring in classics. She is interested in research and is planning on pursuing a PhD after graduation. Outside of the lab she enjoys traveling, reading books, and going to concerts. |
Alumni
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Matt Thompson
Moved on to: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Matt Thompson received a B.S. in Biochemistry and a B.A. in Theatre from Case Western Reserve University. He was a been a member of the Adams Lab team from May 2016-May 2019 where he has sought to identify small molecules capable of reversing Huntington’s Disease progression through restoration of mitochondrial function. |
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Dharmaraja Allimuthu, Ph.D.
Moved on to: IIT Kanpur, Department of Chemistry PhD, Organic and Medicinal Chemistry IISER-Pune, India MSc, Chemistry Bharathidasan University, India BSc Periyar University, India Dharma is from Salem, a small town in Tamilnadu, India. In 2015 he received his Ph.D. from IISER-Pune in the lab of Harinath Chakrapani. During his PhD he worked on synthesis and evaluation of small molecule based reactive oxygen species (ROS) generators as antimicrobial agents. He was in the Adams lab from spring 2015-December 2018. He worked on two projects, (1) identification of high-quality covalent chemical probes from electrophilic small molecules library and (2) understanding the mechanism of action of small molecule therapeutics that enhance oligodendrocyte formation. |