Current Lab Members
These are the successful young scientists making the research that happens in the lab possible.
​
If you're on a computer, hover your mouse over the images to see what their area of focus is.
Samira Mahboub
Technologist
Samira joined the lab in 2014 and has clocked hundreds of hours doing lipid analysis. Also an expert in plant growth and cold tolerance, she is now leading a large project in the lab.
Cailin Smith
Graduate Student
Cailin joined the lab in 2021. Her research is focused on identifying membrane contact sites between the thylakoid and inner envelope membranes of chloroplasts. She is also an amateur potter and gardener.
Alondra Torres
Graduate Student
Alondra joined the lab in 2024. She brings expertise in protein analysis and protein interaction. Her project is characterizing chloroplast membrane interactions.
Joslin Ishimwe
Graduate Student
Joslin joined the lab in 2021 as an undergraduate, and returned in 2024 as a Master's student in Computer Science. He brings significant expertise and interest in plant research. His project is generating models of cold tolerance.
Diptadeep Basak
Graduate Student
Diptadeep joined the lab in Summer 2025. His project centers on studying proteins associated with cold severity in plants. He is exceptionally motivated and brings strong dedication to his work. He aspires to become an expert in plant molecular biology and is deeply committed to advancing his knowledge in the field. In addition to his scientific pursuits, he is also a professional percussionist.
Allan Tullis
Undergraduate Researcher
Allan joined the lab in the fall of 2024. He is exploring options and is bringing his strong work ethic and his willingness to excel. He's already completed a huge batch of image analysis that shows chloroplast membranes change when contact site proteins are lost.
Bhoomi Modi
Undergraduate Researcher
Bhoomi joined the lab in the Spring of 2025. She brings her strong motivation, her nearly complete degree in Biochemistry, and her willingness to do the work available. She has already made strong contributions to our analysis of potential contact site proteins in the chloroplast.
REBECCA ROSTON
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Rebecca moved to UNL in 2014.
A brief biography:
2003 B.S. UC Davis
2009 Ph.D. UC Davis with Kentaro Inoue
Focused on chloroplast protein targeting.
2014 Post-Doc. MSU with Christoph Benning
Focused on Plant Lipid Metabolism and Transport.
2014 - Current: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Focused on Membrane Remodeling and plant redox
2020 - Associate Professor
2023 - Associate Director, Center for Plant Science Innovation
Teaching:
-
Macromolecular Structure and Metabolism, a beginning biochemistry course at UNL (BIOC431)
-
Enzymes, a graduate level course on thermodynamics, kinetics, and mechanism of life's catalysts (BIOC 933)
​
Former Lab Members
Congratulations on your success and thank you for your contributions!
Dr. Allison Barnes
Ph Done
2014 - 2019. Allison's dissertation describes how plants react to freezing and other stresses by modifying membranes. She is currently a post-doctoral fellow and Project Manager with the USDA in Raleigh, North Carolina
Dr. Zachery Shomo
Ph Done
2018 - 2024 Zach's dissertation describes the mechanism through which an enzyme critical to freezing tolerance, SFR2, senses cold severity. He is currently doing post-doctoral research with Frank Harmon at UC Berkeley.
Dr. Aline Rodrigues de Quieroz
Ph Done
2019 - 2024. Aline's dissertation describes the effects of exogenously applied antioxidants on plant growth, particularly on photosynthesis.
She is currently with Corteva.
Co-mentor: Katarzyna Glowacka
Dr. Jithesh Vijayan
Post-doctoral Researcher
2019 - 2024. Jithesh's encyclopedic knowledge of redox and enthusiasm for systems-level biology helped direct a project which resulted in two patents, and multiple manuscripts, which were held for the patents. In a team, he pioneered plants redox responses to exogenous addition of CoM. Now Lead of new product development at Earthkind Foods Biotech.
Dr. Fangyi Li
Ph Done
2019 - 2024 Fangyi's dissertation describes a more effective way to measure whole-field photosynthetic fluorescence parameters and the metabolic and genetic players in cold acclimation in sorghum varieties.
Co-mentor James Schnable
Fangyi is now a post-doc at the Kunming Institute of Botany.
Dr. Jeremy Brown
Ph Done
2019 - 2025. Jeremy's dissertation showed that a small archaeal antioxidant may have large agricultural impacts, and that we need to understand more before we can successfully translate to field technology.
Dr. Evan LaBrant
Ph Done
2017 - 2025. Evan's dissertation describes the first components for membrane contact sites between the chloroplast envelope and the thylakoid membranes. He made a visualization system for them, set up TurboID, and characterized subcellular locations of multiple contact site homologs.
Did you know?
Caesalpinia echinata
Brazil is named after a tree! It is a tree used for timber and wood products, and commonly sold in the US as "brazilwood".
​
Former Undergraduate Lab members*
Thank you all for your hard work. We enjoyed getting to know you and hope that your time with us improved your career.
*Special apology to all not appearing, web mastery is not Rebecca's strength.
Mason McCormic
Undergraduate Researcher
Mason joined the lab in 2016, graduated UNL in 2019 and is now working in the chemistry industry. He is a co-author on a paper!
Jennifer Myers
Undergraduate Researcher
Jenny joined the lab in 2016 and graduated in 2018. She's now off being a PhD student at North Carolina State University.
Harris Ebrahim
Undergraduate Researcher
2020 - 2024
Harris graduated and is pursuing a medical degree. We appreciate his contributions to the lab in all projects, but especially cold severity sensing.
Jamie Fuqua
Undergraduate Student
Jamie joined the lab in 2020. She brought expertise in plant anatomy and physiology and interest in patent law. Her project connected plant and bacterial growth using redox. She left to pursue graduate work in ecology.
Tom Ramaekers
Postbaccalaureate Technician
Tom joined in 2020 and is going to be a doctor. We all think he'll be great at it. He brought his desire to learn and his willingness to work hard. His project looked at salt stress and its affects on plant redox environments.
Ngoc Pham Thien Thao
Postbaccalaureate Technician
Ngoc joined in 2019 and is interested in medicinal plants. We benefitted from her excitement for learning new techniques. Her project looked at mechanisms used to protect membranes from freezing. She is now in graduate school in Chicago.
Samantha Surber
Undergraduate Researcher
"Sammi" joined the lab in 2018 working directly with Allison Barnes. She then pursued her own projects on the role of proton pumps during freezing tolerance, and a mysterious species which responded differently, cotton. She graduated in 2020 and is doing a PhD at the University of Georgia.
Mahaa Albusharif
Undergraduate Researcher
Mahaa joined the lab in 2018. She tested multiple methods of lipid extraction to determine the most effective, and published the research with us. She's now pursuing a medical career.
Maxwell Regester
Postbaccalaureate Technician
Max joined in 2019 and graduated in 2021. He tested multiple methods of lipid extraction to determine the most effective, and published the research with us. He's in medical school now studying to be a doctor.
Sarah Heilman
Undergraduate Researcher
Sarah joined the lab in 2023 to explore a potential career in research. She brought a joy for learning and a willingness to be taught. She worked with Aline on photosynthetic effects of antioxidant application, and is now a Forensic Scientist for Bexar County.
Pacifique Muzigura
Undergraduate Researcher
Pacifique joined the lab in 2022. He brought his previous research experience in plants. He worked as part of a team to uncover plant signaling mechanisms during severe cold, and has a lot to offer the world including an incredible charisma.
Hailey Olberding
Undergraduate Researcher
Hailey joined the lab in 2022. She brought her desire to learn and her willingness to work hard. Her project looked at the molecular responses of applying antioxidants to plants. She is currently in medical school.
