People

Position: Primary investigator

Academic training:
B.S. Biochemistry, Notre Dame
PhD Chemistry, Wisconsin
Postdoc, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

About me: Dr. Sheynkman received her BS in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame. She has industry experience from working at Gilead Sciences in the Analytical Development department. She then received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she developed integrative proteogenomics methods to discover human proteomic variation. Dr. Sheynkman was a postdoctoral fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where she developed high-throughput functional proteomics approaches to characterize normal and disease protein isoforms. She came to the University of Virginia in the summer of 2020 as an Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics (MPBP) within the School of Medicine.  In addition to her primary appointment in MPBP she has a secondary appointment within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, the UVA Comprehenive Cancer Center, and is on the advisory board for Quantum-Si. She has received numerous honors including the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Emerging Investigator distinction and the Tomas A. Hirschfeld Award from the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACS).

Position: Senior Research Scientist

Academic training:
B.S., Biochemistry, Hartwick College
PhD, Chemistry, University of Virginia

About me: Since hailing from Dr. Don Hunt’s laboratory, Dr. Jeffery has extensive experience using mass spectrometry applications to facilitate proteomics and answer key research questions.  In the Sheynkman lab, we use mass spec for direct detection of novel proteins and peptides that arise from genetic events related to human disease.

Hobbies/Interests: Learning to crochet, reading (biographies, mysteries, women in history and science), French and Italian language and culture, spending time with my family and parenting a teenager!

Position: Data Analyst

Academic Training: Vasilii Pavelko graduated from the University of Vlodimir in 2011 and gained experience in molecular biology methods while working at the Federal Centre for Animal Health. He studied bacterial pathogenicity factors and developed diagnostic methods for bacterial and viral diseases. From 2016 to 2022, he worked as a research scientist at a biotechnology company, Generium, where he was interested in the analytical methods of therapeutic protein production and characterization, including proteoforms. Currently, he is discovering new promising protein isoform-specific targets for therapy using high-throughput biological methods.

Hobbies: board games, apline skiing, trekking

Position: Lab Tech/Lab manager/Problem solver extraordinaire

About me: I’ve done a little bit of everything and always interested in learning more.

Position: Data Scientist/Computational Biologist

Academic training: B.S. Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, PhD Biological Sciences, Ohio University;

About me: Dr. Watts received her B.S. in Biological Sciences with a minor in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech. There she studied evolution in the brown anole, Anolis sagrei. She then earned her PhD at Ohio University where she studied species delimitation, range limit evolution, and phylogeography in the Cumberland Plateau salamander, Plethodon kentucki. In her doctoral work, she developed expertise in genomic techniques and computational biology that she is applying in the Sheynkman Lab to integrate long-read sequencing data with proteomic data to characterize human protein isoforms.

Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Academic Training: B.S. Bioinformatics, Saint Vincent College (Latrobe, PA), M.S. Biological and Physical Sciences, University of Virginia, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia

About me: Madison received her Bachelor’s degree in Bioinformatics from Saint Vincent College in May of 2019. While she was an undergraduate she participated in the National Institute of Health’s Summer Internship Program working for the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Following graduation, Madison held a position at the NIH as a post-bac in the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). She completed her PhD in 2024 in Dr. Sheynkman’s Lab focusing on the application of the long-read proteogenomics approach to elucidate the isoform landscape in vascular cell types. She transitioned to a post-doc role within the Sheynkman Lab and is continually inspired by the educational and research opportunities both within in Dr. Sheynkman’s lab and across the broader UVA community.

Hobbies: Avid golfer, Emerging Gardener

Position: Grad Student (co-mentoring with Miller lab)

Academic training: B,A, Statistical Data Sciences and Biological Sciences, Smith College (class of 2023)

Research interests: Bioinformatics, Devlopmental Biology, Proteogenomics, Systems Biology

Hobbies: Indian classical music, animation and art, marine biology

Position: PhD Candidate

Academic Training:  Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemistry, University of North Florida

About me: Jennifer received her Bachelor’s degrees in May of 2019. While an undergraduate, she used biochemistry, molecular biology, and analytical chemistry techniques to investigate clinically relevant bacterial natural products. Following graduation, Jennifer worked at the Mayo Clinic in Florida in the Center for Regenerative Medicine as a research technologist from 2019 to 2022. While there, she conducted translational research, manufactured clinical-grade cell products, and developed new regenerative therapeutics. Jennifer is excited to join Dr. Sheynkman’s lab to investigate disease-relevant protein isoforms with an interdisciplinary, systems biology approach.

Position: PhD Candidate

Academic training: B.S. Biochemistry, Purdue University

About me:
Micah graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 2022. During undergrad, he joined a proteomics lab and conducted research on PTM enrichment and detection with mass spectrometry. He joined the Sheynkman lab in 2023, with an interest in leveraging mass spec and other biophysical techniques to study disease-causing protein isoforms.

Hobbies: baking desserts, hiking, reading, and gaming

Position: PhD Candidate

Academic training: B.S. Chemistry, University of Virginia

About me:
Bond graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 2022. He is a first year graduate student in the Biophysics department. He plans to dive into the technology development arm of Sheynkman Lab, to advance our ability to clone, synthesize, and screen isoforms using the latest technology.

 Position: Graduate Student

About me:
Raghad Graduated with her bachelor’s and master’s in biology from George Mason University in 2021. For her thesis, she investigated pathogen-derived peptides in patients with Chagas Disease using Nanoparticle-enhanced mass spectrometry. After graduating, she worked in a biotech company developing monoclonal antibodies against cancer-relevant antigens. In 2023, she worked as a flow cytometrist at NCI’s core facility before joining UVA’s BIMS program. She is exciting to join the Sheynkman lab and continue her passion of using advanced mass spectrometry methods in discovery of cancer-specific proteoforms.

Hobbies: Oil painting, hiking, and baking.

Position: Graduate Student

About me: Katelyn graduated from William & Mary with her bachelor’s degree in 2024. While in undergrad, She worked in a molecular biology lab studying the intracellular localization of thyroid hormone receptors. She is joining the Sheynkman lab in 2025, co-mentored by Dr. Garrett-Bakelman, to use a multiomics approach to study acutemyeloid leukemia.

Hobbies: Hiking, Baking, Gaming, Spending time with family and friends!

Ben Jordan (Bioinformatician) – Currently a Senior Bioinformatician at the Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research

Jamie Saquing (Post-Bac Researcher) – Currently a BIMS graduate student in Dr. Jeff Saucerman’s lab

Saikat Bandyopadhyay (Senior Data Analyst) – Currently a Senior Data Analyst in Dr. Charles Farber’s lab

Dr. David Cooper – Currently a scientist at the CryoEM core Facility

Mayank Murali – Currently a data analyst at the Broad Institute

Jerryd Meade – Currently Lab Specialist in the Wang Lab

Thalles Lacerda

William Kim