Lab Members

Donglin "Donny" Han (Ph.D Student)

Hello! I am Donny, a Ph.D student in Cellular and Behavioral Neurobiology Program. I am doing my first rotation in Dr. Rowe’s lab. I am interested in investigating signal transduction, ion channels related sensory physiology, animal behavior and hormone regulation in sensory or signal transduction.

I am from Inner Mongolia, China. I went to Emporia State University for my Master’s degree in Zoology with a minor of Physiology. I do like the life in Mid West of United States, and cowboy culture. I also love animals and their behavior response to different simulations. My favorite animals are frogs and snakes.

Harold Gridley (Research Technician)

In the Spring of 202 I received my Bachelors of Science from the university of Oklahoma with a major in Chemical Biosciences. I am currently a lab technician as I wait to get into Graduate schools for a PhD in either biology or biochemistry. I have spent over a year in this lab working with an HPLC to separate and isolate venom peptides as my primary focus. I very much enjoy the sciences, especially the interface between biology and chemistry, and hope to be able to pursue a career in these fields.

Jake Kline, PhD (Postdoctoral Research Fellow)

I completed my PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Oklahoma State University. I specialized in bottom-up proteomics for determining drug mechanisms of natural product compounds. After finishing my PhD, I moved to Cornell where I completed a postdoctoral research assistantship in Proteomics focusing on crosslinking mass spectrometry to examine protein-protein interactions. I’m excited to join the Rowe & Fornelli labs where I am applying my proteomic skills to characterizing venom peptides that inhibit Nav1.8 to block pain signal transmission and develop new data acquisition strategies for top-down proteomics. In my spare time…wait, I don’t have any, never mind.

Kaitlyn Sherer, Ph.D (Graduate Student)

Former Graduate Students

Abhijna Parigi, Ph.D (Former Student)

Former lab Members (Undergraduate)

Payton Clark (Research Technician)

Hello! My name is Payton, and I am currently a third year student at OU. I am a dual degree student studying Neuroscience and French. After graduation, I hope to attend medical school and become a neurologist or oncologist. I am primarily interested in pain pathways, neurodegenerative diseases, and neural mechanisms of rabies. I love traveling, hiking, and music.

Alyse Heaston (Research Technician)

Alyse obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and graduated with honors from OU in 2019. She has worked as a field assistant with both the Rowe Lab in the Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona and with Dr. Eli Bridge’s lab studying Northern Rough-Winged Swallows in northeastern Oklahoma. Alyse plans to gain experience working as a biological field technician before going on to graduate school. She enjoys camping, spending time with her friends and dog, and scorpion hunting.

Jaden Aland (Honors Student)

Hello! My name is Jaden Aland, and I’m am a senior Biology student here at OU. After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to continue my education into medical school. Following this, I aim to gain acceptance into a residency and fellowship program where I can specialize in a surgical field. Currently, my research interest is in neuropharmacology and pain pathways. In my free time I enjoy cheering on the Sooner football team, traveling home to see family, and spending time with my fiancée and our dog.

Mina Makvandi (Former Honors Student)

Hello my name is Mina Makvandi and I am currently a senior biology major at the University of Oklahoma. My life goals plans are to eventually pursue a career in oral surgery. I plan to attend graduate school after OU for a master’s in medical anthropology. Currently, I research and sequence genes encoding ion channels from wild species of mice to identify genetic variation in regulatory or coding regions of the gene that might contribute to functional variation. I focus on TRPA1, a sensory transduction channel expressed in the pain pathway of mammals that is a target of noxious chemicals. I am also interested in genetics, heredity and techniques for editing genes (for example, CRISPR- CAS9).

Ashten Pickens (Former Student)

My name is Ashten! I’m a biology major with an interest in pursuing a PhD in neuroscience. I hope to study medical impacts on the nervous systems. However, I love all things neuroscience at this point in my academic career. I have plenty of interests and too many hobbies to count. It’s all top secret though.

I’ve lived in Oklahoma my entire life, so I imagine I’m very particular about what I find enjoyable here in this greatest of land-locked states. One of the most fun things about living in Oklahoma is the challenge of dodging all the potholes in our roads. Jokes aside, one of the greatest things about Oklahoma must be the southern comfort that can be found in any of the small towns. A thirty-minute drive in almost any direction will lead you to an escape from the city-life, or what can be considered “city-life” in Oklahoma. Ouachita mountains and Lake Eufaula are a must-see for tourists, and biscuits ‘n’ gravy from a ma’ and pa’ diner is essential to what makes this state so great.