People

Who make it all possible with their brilliance, talent, and effort

Current Members of the Darling Research Group

Louise Darling, PhD
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

Louise (she/her) is in her 12th year at Wellesley College where she enjoys teaching and research at the interfaces of Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Bioengineering all with a fun dose of fluorescence microscopy!
Link to CV

Marina West '26

I’m Marina (she/her) and I joined the Darling lab in my junior spring. I am a biochemistry major on the pre-med track, and I am pursuing my thesis in the lab focusing on phosphorylation patterns of hERG. In my free time I like to sail, hike, travel, collect vinyl records and postcards, and teach kids how to sail.

Sara Maeve Klingensmith '26

Eva Pawlowska '26

Eva is a biology major and has been a part of the Darling Lab since her sophomore year. This past summer she worked on optimizing the western blot process for the cardiac voltage gated ion channel KvLQT1 as well as investigating the abundance of KvLQT1's phosphomutants. Her hobbies include traveling, going to the gym, and spending time with friends and family.

Stephanie Aiddoo '27

Stephanie (she/her) is an Anthropology major on the Pre-Med track. She was a participant of the Sophomore Early Research Program and will be working with the Darling Lab this academic year. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys journaling, trying new foods, and spending time with friends.

Ilham Matiker '27

Ilham was involved in the Sophomore Early Research Program and is currently working in the Darling Lab. While still exploring her major, she expects to remain on the pre-med track. In her free time, she enjoys long walks, spending time with her family, and visiting new coffee shops—often with a coloring book in hand.

Fatima Islam '28

Fatima (She/her) is a biochemistry major and is involved in the Sophomore Early Research Program and First Year Student Research Apprentice Program. In her free time she enjoys being a novice barista, reading, and watching films.

Gahan Sabbir '28

Darling Group Alumnae

Undergraduate Research Students
(thesis students in bold)

Grace Dodd, Biological Sciences '25. PhD program at Yale.

Tenzin Yangchen '25.

Francis Tapia '25.

Morgan Wu, '26.

Riley Sheldon, Biochemistry '24.

Alicia Padilla, Biochemistry '24.

Mela Nebiyeloul, Biological Sciences '24.

Christelle Gilot, Biochemistry '24. MS program Univ. of Delaware.

Summer Chen, Biochemistry '24. PhD program at Stanford.

Haley Haines, Biological Sciences '23.

Michelle Jung, Biochemistry '23. PhD program at UCLA.

Jacqueline Ngo, Biological Sciences '23.

Caden Rijal, Anthropology '23.

Ayato Shigihara, Biological Sciences Dec. '22. Dental school at UCLA.

Cookie (Kaveri) Uberoy, Biochemistry '23. MS program Boston Univ.

Sally Weng, Biological Sciences '23 (off campus). MD program Univ. of Chicago.

Suchin Yang, Biological Sciences '23 (off campus).

Julie Bocetti, Biochemistry '22. Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow at NIH.

Anna Hu, Biochemistry '22 (co-mentored with Don Elmore).

Brianna Perry, Biochemistry '22 (co-mentored with Don Elmore).

Valentina Alvarez, Biochemistry '22 (co-mentored with Don Elmore). PhD program at University of Washington.

Sabrina Koseki, Biochemistry '23 (off campus). PhD program Univ. of Pennsylvania.

Bethany Costello '23.

Vanessa Li, Chemistry and Sociology '22 (off-campus). PhD program Columbia University.

Sophia Adelson, Biological Sciences '21 (off-campus). Lingos Prize in Life Sciences. Graduate program at Sanford University.

Kate Dolph, Biochemistry '21 (off-campus). Jerome A. Schiff Fellowship. Gottleib Prize in Biochemistry. PhD program at Berkeley.

Aisha Saldanha, Biological Sciences '21. PhD program Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Abby Zhong, Biological Sciences '21 (off-campus). MPH Harvard University.

Mali Kaminaga, Biochemistry '20 (co-mentored with Don Elmore). MS Tufts University.

Danielle Heims-Waldron, Biological Sciences '18 (off-campus). Fowler Prize in Public Speaking. MD from UMass Chan Medical School.

Maura Sticco-Ivins, Biochemistry '18. Research Assistant at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

Emily Whitehead, Biochemistry '18. Gottleib Prize in Biochemistry. MD from University of Florida School of Medicine.

Stephanie Kim, Biological Sciences '18. Fiske Prize in Biology. MD from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Laurel Kinman, Biological Sciences '18. Lingos Prize in Life Sciences. PhD from MIT, Sandler Fellow UCSF.

Myfanwy Adams, Biochemistry '17. (co-mentored with John Cameron). PhD from Cornell University.

Medeea Popsecu, Biochemistry '17. Gottleib Prize in Biochemistry. PhD from Stanford University.

Heidi Wade, Biochemistry '16. MS Univ. of Maryland.

Cayla Fromm, Physics '16. PhD from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Lisa Truong, Biological Sciences '16.

Priya Patel, Biological Sciences '16.

Teja Reddy, Biological Sciences '15 (off-campus). MD/PhD Texas A&M University.

Sunny Lew, Psychology '15. DDS from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.

Kathy Chung, Biological Sciences '15. MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Estelle Kim, Biological Sciences '15. PhD from UCSD.

Yeon Lee, Neuroscience '15. Jerome A. Schiff Fellowship. MD SUNY Downstate.

Amanda Papakyrikos, Anthropology and Biological Sciences, '14. Fiske Prize in Biology. PhD from Stanford University School of Medicine.

Postbaccalaureate Research Assistants

2024-2025 Anna Hepfer, BS Drexel University (co-mentored with Don Elmore)
2023-2024 Alice Ascoli, BA Biochemistry Wellesley College (co-mentored with Don Elmore)
2019-2020 Mayla Thompson, BA Biochemistry Wellesley College
2018-2019 Anne K. Buck, BS Chemistry St. Lawrence University (co-mentored with Don Elmore)

Illustration by Estelle Kim, Biological Sciences '15

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