Meet The Team
Principal Investigator
Ci Ji, Lim, Ph.D.
(he/him/his)
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Qualifications:
Ph.D. in Biophysics,
National University of Singapore
B.Sc. in Physics (1st Hons.),
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Xuyao Liu, Ph.D.
(she/her/hers)
Qualifications:
Ph.D. National University of Singapore, Singapore
B.Eng., Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Research Interests:
Deciphering the temporal and spatial assembly of the human telomere chromatin structure using single-molecule analysis
Graduate Student Researcher
Sourav, Agrawal
(he/him/his)
Qualifications:
Integrated B.Sc.-M.Sc. in Life Science, Minor in Chemistry,
National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar
Research Interests:
Roles of Replication Protein A in telomere replication
Undergraduate Researcher
Colten Tramburg
Qualifications:
Biochemistry Major
Research Interests:
Cryo-EM sample prep technology development
Research Staff
Xiuhua, Lin
(she/her/hers)
Qualifications:
B.Sc. in Microbiology (1st Hons.), University of Queensland, Australia
Research Interests:
Telomeric DNA synthesis enzymology
Graduate Student Researcher
Qixiang, He
(he/him/his)
Qualifications:
B.Sc. in Biological Sciences,
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Research Interests:
Human telomere C-strand fill-in machinery structural biology and biochemistry studies
Graduate Student Researcher
Kaitlyn Abe
(she/her/hers)
Qualifications:
B.Sc. in Biochemistry,
University of California Davis
Research Interests:
Cryo-EM sample prep technology development and structure-function studies of protein-DNA macromolecular assemblies
Undergraduate Researcher
Cate Schwake
Qualifications:
Biochemistry Major, Class of 2025
Research Interests:
Human telomere chromatin organization
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Vivek Susvirkar, Ph.D.(he/him/his)
Qualifications:
Ph.D. in Biochemistry,
Max Planck Institute, Germany
M.Sc. in Biotechnology,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India
B.Sc. in Biotechnology,
University of Mumbai, India
Research Interests:
Human telomere chromatin structure-function studies
Graduate Student Researcher
Bianca, L. Chavez
(she/her/hers)
Qualifications:
B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biochemistry,
California State University, Northridge
Research Interests:
Human shelterin protein complex regulation of telomerase and T-loop
Graduate Student Researcher
Emily Elliott
(she/her/hers)
Qualifications:
B.Sc. in Biochemistry,
B.Sc. in Molecular Life Sciences,
Indiana University-Bloomington
Research Interests:
Telomere C-strand fill-in structure-function studies.
Alumni
Eric, Leisten (Undergraduate Researcher):
Graduated in Spring 2021 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry. Was a postbaccalaureate in the Wong lab at Northwestern University. Currently, a graduate student at the University of Chicago.
Joshua, Kraus (M.Sc. in Biophysics):
Graduated in Spring 2022 with a M.Sc. in Biophysics. Currently, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University Nursing School.
Juliet, Arzumanyan (Undergraduate Researcher): Graduated in Spring 2022 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry. Currently, a dental student at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.
Ben, Lusk (Undergraduate Researcher):
Graduated in Spring 2023 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry.
A Mary Shine Peterson Scholarship awardee.
Currently, a postbaccalaureate in the Toczyski lab at UCSF.
Joana, Pashaj (Undergraduate Researcher):
Graduated in Spring 2023 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry.
A Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship awardee. Currently, a research technician at the University of Wisconsin Department of Surgery.
Zach, Faterioun (Undergraduate Researcher): Graduated in Spring 2025 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry. Currently, an EMT specialist.
Victoria, Tholkes (Undergraduate Researcher): A Biochemistry Scholar, a Mary Shine Peterson Scholarship awardee, and a Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship awardee.
Currently, a graduate student at MIT.
Nathan, Sever (Undergraduate Researcher):
An URS scholar for 2023/24. Currently, a major in Econ/Math.
Perla, Larios (Undergraduate Researcher):
Graduated in Spring 2024 with a B.Sc. in Genetics.