Scientists

Fiona Armoo

Assistant Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Fiona Armoo joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in February 2021 as an assistant research associate in Dr. Michael Kalwat’s lab. Armoo works with Dr. Kalwat to research the molecular mechanisms of regulated secretions in cells and the use of pharmacological tools for this purpose.

Prior to joining the IBRI, Armoo worked as a COVID-19 lab technologist, where she was responsible for COVID-19 diagnostics using a lab technique called real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Armoo received her bachelor’s degree in biology from The College of Wooster in May 2020. While at Wooster, she researched how the volatiles of brown marmorated stink bugs inhibit the blood feeding behavior of the aedes aegypti mosquito.

Armoo was born in Ghana and moved to the US in 2012.

Luiz Barella, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, IBRI Diabetes Center

Luiz Barella, PhD, joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in January 2021 as a postdoctoral fellow. He works in the Kalwat Lab within the Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence. Barella is working with Dr. Michael Kalwat to research the molecular mechanisms of secretory cells using genetic and pharmacological tools.

Prior to joining the IBRI, Barella worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. There he focused on identifying the molecular pathways of beta-arrestins in pancreatic beta cells function and dysfunction. These intracellular proteins are closely associated with G-protein coupled receptors. Through his work, he was able to identify potential new targets for anti-diabetic drugs.

Barella received his PhD at the University of Maringa in Brazil in 2013, where he studied the roles of the autonomic nervous system in diabetes and metabolic diseases associated with the environmental conditions of the early life that lead to the development of metabolic disorders in adult life.

Erica Cai, PhD

Assistant Investigator, IBRI Diabetes Center

Erica Cai, PhD, joined the Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence within the IBRI Diabetes Center in April 2021. She also is a member of the Indiana University Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases.

Cai’s current research focuses on beta cell protection and diabetes prevention. Her ultimate research goal is to better understand diseases and help improve quality of life.

Prior to joining the IBRI, Cai was an instructor in medicine at the Harvard Medical School. She worked in the laboratory of Dr. Peng Yi and the CRISPR screen core facility at the Joslin Diabetes Center. Her research projects used a multidisciplinary approach to investigate beta cell physiology, including cell regeneration, cell function, stress response, and autoimmune protection.

Cai obtained her bachelor’s degree in medical technology from Taipei Medical University and her master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from National Taiwan University. She was trained by Dr. Minna Woo and received her PhD in medical science from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Cai was a three-time awardee of the Best Annual Trainee Award in the Banting and Best Diabetes Center at the University of Toronto. Her research works led to publications in peer-reviewed international journals, including Nature Metabolism, Cell Metabolism, PNAS and Diabetes.

William Carter

Research Analyst, IBRI Diabetes Center

William (Bill) Carter joined the IBRI in July 2019 as a research associate in the IBRI Diabetes Center (IDC). In this role he helped establish the iPSC Core Lab to facilitate various cell studies that will support the IDC’s regenerative medicine program and other diabetes research efforts.

Before joining the IBRI and since 2014, he worked on his family’s Indiana farm where he was able to apply his extensive scientific and research background to crop genetics and animal breeding and nutrition. From 2003 to 2014, he served as manager of the Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI) Transgenic Core Facility (TGF) in Indianapolis where he ran multiple cell manipulation studies. He also served as the TGF’s research technician from 2001 to 2003.

Carter earned his B.S. and M.S., both in Biology from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

Robert Considine, PhD

Administrative Director, IBRI Diabetes Center

Robert V. Considine, PhD, joined the Division of Endocrinology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Ind., as an Assistant Professor in 1997 and was promoted to Professor in 2013. Prior to his appointment at the IU School of Medicine, he was on the faculty of the Department of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa., where he had completed his doctoral training.

Dr. Considine’s research is focused on understanding the contribution of obesity to the development of diabetes and its complications. In early work, his lab made seminal observations about the function of the adipose tissue hormone leptin in humans.  More recently, the Considine Lab has focused on the effects of bariatric surgery to alter gut hormone release and improve glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity.  In collaboration with David Kareken, PhD, at the IU School of Medicine, Dr. Considine is also utilizing neuroimaging techniques to understand the reward system response to food cues in human subjects.  

Dr. Considine is currently the Associate Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Diabetes Center at the IU School of Medicine, and oversees the Analyte Laboratory, which provides quantitation of adipokines, cytokines, gut peptides and hormones from human and animal samples.  He is also the Statewide Director for Endocrine and Reproductive Biology, a second-year course in the IU School of Medicine curriculum. 

Christopher Contreras, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, IBRI Diabetes Center

Christopher Contreras joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in September 2020 as a postdoctoral fellow in the IBRI Diabetes Center’s Templin Lab.

Prior to working at the IBRI, Contreras was a postdocoral fellow at Indiana University School of Medicine in the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research. There, he was investigating the role extracellular vesicles play in beta cell signaling, mechanisms involved with extracellular vesicle cargo loading, as well as the potential for extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for diabetes.

Contreras received his PhD. in biochemistry and molecular biology in 2018 from Indiana University, where he researched abnormalities in glycogen metabolism in Lafora disease. In 2008 he received his bachelors degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of New Mexico.

Additionally, Contreras enjoys mountain biking, fishing and camping.

Doreen Eastes

Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Doreen Eastes is a research associate in the lab of Dr. Li Zhang in the IBRI Diabetes Center. She is part of a team responsible for investigating the pathogenesis of islet autoimmunity and antigen-specific immune interventions for treating type 1 diabetes.

She joined the IBRI in 2016 as a research analyst in the IBRI’s then Single Cell Analytics Center, which was phased out in the spring of 2019 to pursue external commercialization of its diagnostic platform. She then moved to the IBRI's Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Center (PBC), where she was responsible for establishing hybridoma production capabilities and development of new and existing protein therapeutics.

Prior to the IBRI, Eastes was a research technician in the Wells Center for Pediatric Research at the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine. She also has served as an assistant diabetes research scientist at Eli Lilly and Company. Her broad scientific experience also included research at Scherling-Plough Animal Health in Mundelein, Ill., Interdisciplinary Center for Cell Products and Technologies (ICCPT) in Terre Haute, Ind., and at Pitman-Moore Inc., also in Terre Haute.

Eastes earned her bachelor's degree and master's degree in microbiology from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Andrew Elmendorf

Assistant Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Andrew Elmendorf joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in January 2021 as an Assistant Research Associate in Dr. Jonathan Flak's lab. Elmendorf works with Dr. Flak to study diabetes, specifically how the central nervous system regulates glucose metabolism.

Prior to joining the IBRI, Elmendorf was a research technician at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he was involved in prostate cancer research, as well as researching the cellular response to stress in health and disease. During his undergraduate years, he was involved in medical research investigating molecular mechanisms by which bone tissue senses mechanical loading, also at the IU School of Medicine.

Elmendorf earned his B.S. in biology from Indiana University in the spring of 2020.

Jonathan Flak, PhD

Assistant Investigator, IBRI Diabetes Center

Jonathan Flak joined the IBRI in September 2019. Immediately upon arrival he began setting up his own lab within the IBRI Diabetes Center. In his lab, Jonathan will focus on studying the central nervous system’s regulation of glucose metabolism as it relates to diabetes.

More specifically, Jonathan will build on work he began at the University of Michigan that is aimed at distinguishing markers for ventromedial hypothalamic neurons involved in glycemic regulation from the rest of the nucleus, a known brain area critical to balancing glucose, to help determine new targets/brain systems that may prove important in future therapeutics. He plans to identify the downstream systems from these subsets of ventromedial hypothalamic neurons to establish the mechanisms of how the brain can tune metabolic function (e.g. energy expenditure, glucose uptake and glucose mobilization).

Prior to establishing his lab here at the IBRI, Jonathan worked in the lab of Martin Myers at the University of Michigan. This project was an outgrowth from his work in this lab, where he began using cre-dependent mouse models and viral systems to study leptin action in the brainstem periaqueductal gray and lateral parabrachial nuclei. His work with Prof. Myers led to research published in Nature Neuroscience and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Jonathan received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology and Cognitive Sciences with honors from the University of Michigan in 2004. And, he obtained his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Cincinnati in 2011.

Anna Geisinger

Research Associate, Bioanalytical Technologies

Anna Geisinger is a research associate in the IBRI’s Bioanalytical Technologies group. Bioanalytical Technologies supports all of the IBRI’s research centers by helping to innovate the next generation of bioanalytical systems and methods. In her role, Anna is responsible for cell and bacteria culture, assay validation and protocol development, and molecular analysis.

Anna joined the IBRI in November of 2017 as a research analyst in the IBRI’s Single Cell Analytics Center (SCAC), which developed a technology platform to ultimately achieve the diagnosis of infections and diseases from a single cell. With the efforts to commercialize the platform externally, in May 2019, the SCAC transitioned to the internal Bioanalytical Technologies support group.

From 2016 to before joining the IBRI, Anna served as a microbiologist with the Indiana State Department of Health Laboratories. She was responsible for assay development and testing, clinical testing, and outbreak monitoring. From 2011 to 2016, she served as a contractor research associate at then Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva Agriscience) responsible for nucleic acid and protein isolation, molecular analysis, and high-throughput experience associated with DNA isolation and analysis.

Anna earned her B.S. in biology from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., with minors in chemistry and Spanish. While at IU, she also served as an undergraduate teaching assistant in the biology department.

Austin House

Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Austin House joined the IBRI in July 2020 as a Research Associate in the IBRI Diabetes Center (IDC). He is part of a team focused on the molecular basis of diabetes and its complications, including mechanisms for beta cell regeneration. He and the IDC team are seeking to understand the disease while achieving technological breakthroughs in the way we diagnose, treat and manage diabetes in Indiana and beyond.

Prior to joining the IBRI, he served as a graduate research assistant at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, which is where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2018 and just recently received his master’s degree in pharmacology.

Austin has a background in bioassays including qPCR, ELISA, calcium and nitrite assays. He also is experienced in cell culturing, CRISPR-Cas9 and plasmid cloning techniques. His recent work has been to evaluate an immortalized microglia cell model activated with LPS and treated with a drug toward the determination of whether treatment affects inflammatory pathways.

Isabela Iessi

Postdoctoral Fellow, IBRI Diabetes Center

Isabela Iessi joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in September 2021 as a postdoctoral fellow in the IBRI Diabetes Center's Cai Lab. Her work focuses on integrating genetic engineering and beta cell biology to understand diabetes pathogenesis and enable innovative therapeutic strategy.

Before joining the IBRI, Iessi worked at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in Dresden, Germany. There she studied the role of cell adhesion molecules in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis development.

Iessi received her PhD at the Sao Paulo State University in Brazil in 2015. In her thesis, she focused on the role played by the association between maternal hyperglycemia, exacerbation of oxidative stress status, and hypoxia on the impairment of the embryofetal pancreatic development.

June Javens-Wolfe, PhD

Research Associate, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Center

June Javens-Wolfe, PhD, joined the IBRI as a Research Analyst in December 2018 in the Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Center (PBC). In her current role as Research Associate, she is responsible for the general research and development of new and existing protein therapeutics.

Prior to the IBRI and since 2015, she worked for two contractors for Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis – Advanced Testing Laboratory as a Biology Project Coordinator, and with Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories as a Biochemist in BioProduct Development. From 2004 to 2013, she served as a visiting research associate and graduate research assistant at Indiana University-Bloomington, Ind., and from 2013 to 2014, she held adjunct faculty positions at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and at IU-Bloomington.

She has been responsible for several significant research accomplishments, including being the lead author of a research article on the cellular localization of microbial polysaccharide export proteins published in Molecular Microbiology. Dr. Javens-Wolfe earned her PhD in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from IU-Bloomington, and a BA in biology from DePauw University.

Travis Johnson, PhD

Visiting Assistant Research Professor of Biostatistics & Health Data Sciences

Travis Johnson is an Assistant Research Professor of Biostatistics and Health Data Sciences at the Indiana University School of Medicine where he focuses on machine and deep learning, single-cell method development and domain adaptation.

Dr. Johnson received his bachelor's degree in plant biology from Ohio University. Next, he attended Community College of the Air Force where he obtained an associate's degree in scientific analysis technology. Then, he went on to earn his master's degree in public health and his doctorate in biomedical sciences from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Johnson joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute in July 2021 as a visiting assistant research professor to apply his academic experience in collaboration with institute scientists and external research partners to drive translational science that rapidly advances novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs.

Michael Kalwat, PhD

Assistant Investigator, IBRI Diabetes Center

Michael Kalwat joined the Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence within the IBRI Diabetes Center in November 2020. He also is a member of the Indiana University School of Medicine Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases (CDMD). Kalwat’s research is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of regulated secretion and the use of genetic and pharmacological tools for this purpose.

The Kalwat Lab will bridge small molecule and genetic high-throughput screening with target and pathway identification in dedicated secretory cell types. Because many of these cell types malfunction in metabolic diseases (i.e., failure of insulin-secreting β cells in diabetes), new knowledge about the regulation of their basic cell biological functions is critical to advancing the field and therapeutic development.

Prior to joining the IBRI, Kalwat trained as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Melanie Cobb at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he developed key reagents for assaying secretory cell function. His work yielded a cohort of distinct small molecule secretion modulators with impacts on calcium influx, cAMP generation and the unfolded protein response.

Kalwat received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Purdue University in 2007. Subsequently, he completed his PhD dissertation in Debbie Thurmond’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Indiana University School of Medicine in 2012, where he focused on cytoskeletal regulation of exocytosis. 

Mark Kowala, PhD

Vice President of Translational Medicine

Mark Kowala, PhD, has 30 years of experience as a scientist and leader of pharmaceutical drug discovery. He has engaged biotechnology companies for in- and out-licensing of compounds and managed collaborations with academic and industry partners. He also is highly motivated to utilize his knowledge and experience to promote the growth of biotechnology in central Indiana. 

Recently he was chief scientific officer of CardioRenal Drug Discovery in the Diabetes and Complications Therapeutic Area at Eli Lilly Research Labs Indianapolis. Kowala built, guided and supported an outstanding team of scientists who produced a portfolio of small molecule and protein therapeutics for treating dyslipidemia and heart failure. Some assets are now in clinical development. He also provided strategic and scientific direction to clinical drug development and commercial teams. 

As a scientific leader, Kowala emphasized the importance of understanding and validating new disease targets with human genetics, soluble biomarkers, transcriptional or physiological data to increase the clinical success rate of new but risky drugs. That is, to improve the translation of novel scientific discoveries into new medicines for patients. As a manager, he established a culture of diversity, opportunity and scientific autonomy with accountability and developed the careers of many scientists.

Kowala was a participant of the Indiana Physiological Society and the Keystone Conference Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). He is a member of the American Heart Association, the European Society of Cardiology, the SAB for IMI-2 Diabetic Cardiomyopathy Phenotyping Consortia and NIH SBIR grant review committee.

Kowala previously was senior director of CV and metabolic research at Pfizer and senior research investigator at Bristol Myers Squibb. He received his BSc (Honors) Degree at Monash University, Melbourne Australia and his PhD at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

Li Lin

Assistant Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Li Lin joined the IBRI in September 2020 as an assistant research associate in the IBRI Diabetes Center. In this role, she works with Dr. Andrew Templin on the mechanisms of diabetes pathogenesis related to islet immune responses and beta cell death.

Before joining the IBRI, Li worked as a research technician at University of Pittsburgh, where she was involved with lab operations and studies investigating antifungal immune response in the kidney. She also was responsible for animal colony breeding, maintenance and genotyping.

Li received her B.S. in Nursing from Wuhan University in China in 2016 and then earned her Master of Public Health degree in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018.

Connor Mahler

Assistant Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Connor Mahler joined the IBRI in May 2021 as an assistant research associate in the IBRI Diabetes Center. In this role, he works with Dr. Jonathan Flak focusing on the central nervous system’s regulation of glucose metabolism in relation to diabetes.

Before joining the IBRI, Mahler was a nutritional aide at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and started as a volunteer research assistant at the Bruno Lab. After joining the Belury Lab in 2019, Mahler was a graduate teacher’s assistant at The Ohio State University, where he worked on his master’s thesis comparing dietary fat sources and how they modulate hepatic phospholipid fatty acid profiles.

Mahler received his bachelor's degree in nutrition science from The Ohio State University in 2017, and earned his master's degree in nutrition from The Ohio State University in 2021.

Austin Morgan

Assistant Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Austin Morgan joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in June 2021 as an assistant research associate in Dr. Erica Cai’s lab. Morgan works with Dr. Cai to integrate genetic engineering and beta cell biology to better understand diabetes pathogenesis and enable innovative therapeutic strategy.

Prior to working at the IBRI, Morgan was a lab technician at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur, Missouri. He also interned at the University of Missouri-Columbia where he sequenced and characterized a maize mutant.

Morgan received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Truman State University, where he also played varsity soccer and became a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

Mustapha Moussaif, PhD

Senior Staff Scientist, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Center

Mustapha Moussaif, Ph.D., joined the IBRI in January 2019 as Senior Staff Scientist in the Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Center (PBC).  In this role, he is responsible for establishing operational platforms for biotherapeutic antibody discovery, lead optimization and developability.

Prior to the IBRI, he worked as Scientist in the Bio-Therapeutics/Lead Engineering group with Boehringer-Ingelheim in Ridgefield, CT. Prior to that, he was a Senior Scientist in Biotherapeutics Discovery at the Icahn Medical School in Mount Sanai, NY. and worked as a Research Scientist at New York University in New York City. From 2004 to 2010, he was a Research Associated with the department of molecular pharmacology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.

Dr. Moussaif also served as Postdoctoral Research Associate in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. He earned his Ph.D. in Biology and Biological Sciences from the University of Liège, Liège, Belgium, and his B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University Abdel Malek Essaadi in Morocco. He has published and contributed to the publication of more than 15 research articles.

Nyerhovwo Obarorakpor

Assistant Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Nyerhovwo "Nero" Obarorakpor joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in August 2021 as an Assistant Research Associate in Dr. Li Zhang’s lab. Nyerhovwo works with Dr. Zhang to conduct basic and translational research of autoimmune diseases focusing on type 1 diabetes.

Before joining the IBRI, Obarorakpor worked as a lab tech assistant at Tennova Healthcare, where she was involved in COVID-19 test preparations and other lab testing.

She received her master’s degree in biotechnology and bioinformatics from California State University Channel Islands in 2019. During her study, she did a one-year stem cell internship at the University of Southern California, in Dr. Rong Lu’s lab focusing on tracking the developmental origin of Hematopoietic Stem Cell (HSC) heterogeneity using genetic barcodes and identifying regulators of HSCs utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 system. In 2015, she received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Bowen University, Nigeria.

Daniel Preston

Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Daniel Preston joined the IBRI in July 2020 as a Research Associate in the IBRI Diabetes Center. He is part of a team responsible for maintaining and differentiating inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), deriving pancreatic beta cells and conducting functional studies utilizing iPSCs.

Prior to joining the IBRI, he worked as a molecular biologist for Advanced Testing Laboratories in the Lilly Research Labs, identifying novel biomarkers and studying their roles in several autoimmune diseases. From 2016 until 2019, he studied as a graduate student in the Blazer-Yost lab at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. There he focused on identifying the molecular pathways responsible for the production and secretion of cerebrospinal fluid from the choroid plexus and contributed to studies aimed at ameliorating the pathophysiology associated with hydrocephalus.

Daniel received his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis in 2015. He obtained his Master of Science in Biology with a focus on Molecular Biology and Cell Physiology from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis in 2019.

Timothy Richardson, PhD

Scientific Director of Molecular Innovation

Timothy Richardson is a Senior Research Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Indiana University School of Medicine where his primary responsibilities include leading the Medicinal Chemistry Core of the IUSM-Purdue TREAT-AD (Target Enablement to Accelerate Therapy Development for Alzheimer's Disease) Center.

Prior to his transition to the IU School of Medicine, he was a Research Fellow at Eli Lilly and Company. During his industrial career he contributed to discovery programs that delivered new molecular entities for the treatment of endocrine, musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. He led technology platform teams focused on gene regulation, epigenetics and nuclear receptors. He also served as a Group Leader in Discovery Chemistry, a role in which he guided multiple discovery teams that built a portfolio of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Richardson finished his career at Eli Lilly and Company as a founding member of the RNA Therapeutics Team focused on oligonucleotide-based medicines. 

Dr. Richardson joined the IBRI in February 2021 as Scientific Director of Molecular Innovation, where he is applying his academic and industrial experience in collaboration with institute scientists and external research partners to drive translational science that rapidly advances novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs.

Daniel Robertson, PhD

Investigator and Director, Applied Data Sciences Center

Daniel H. Robertson, a proven and experienced technical leader in information technology (IT), computational science and research, is focused on defining and developing the Institute’s computational analytics, digital and data science capabilities.

Dr. Robertson originally joined the IBRI in mid-2015 as part of a loaned executive program at Eli Lilly and Company, but in mid-2017 he accepted a permanent position at the IBRI due to the opportunity at the IBRI to drive innovative research among multiple life sciences companies, academic institutions and technology companies to advance solutions to critical problems.

His most recent role at Eli Lilly and Company was Senior Director of Research IT where he led the IT team supporting discovery systems and processes across six global research sites and nine functional/therapeutic areas. During his leadership role in IT at Lilly, Dr. Robertson restructured Research IT to become a leaner, more efficient organization, reset the Research IT strategy supporting the discovery functions, delivered emerging new technology and analyses through informatics, enhanced support for HPC, cloud, and internal big data storage and analysis. He also transformed the IT support for Open Innovation Drug Discovery program to be the first high-performing DevOps team, which was recognized with an InformationWeek 500 award. Throughout his 10 years in leadership roles at Lilly, Dr. Robertson developed several individuals within his organization to advance to higher level roles in other organizations within Lilly. He joined Lilly as a research scientist in Lilly Research Laboratories and performed numerous independent contributor and scientific leadership roles before transitioning to the IT organization in 2010.

Dr. Robertson earned his PhD in physical chemistry from Florida State University and his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, graduating Summa Cum Laude, from Florida Southern College. After earning his PhD., Dr. Robertson served as an NRC/NRL Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and then held several positions at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) from 1993 through 2000. He last served as Associate Scientist and Director of Technical and Administrative Services and Manager of the Facility for Computational Molecular Science at IUPUI before joining Eli Lilly and Company in 2000.

Dr. Robertson has published 67 papers in refereed journals, authored three invited book chapters, and conducted more than 65 professional/technical presentations. He has been honored with multiple awards from Eli Lilly and Company and IUPUI, and is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society and physics and mathematics honoraries.

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Karina Rodrigues dos Santos

Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Karina Rodrigues dos Santos joined the IBRI in June 2021 as a research associate at the IBRI Diabetes Center. In this position, she works with Dr. Michael Kalwat researching the molecular mechanisms of secretory cells using genetic and pharmacological tools.

Prior to the IBRI, Karina worked as a research technician at the Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center at the University of Campinas, Brazil, and was involved in the investigation of the molecular mechanisms involved in insulin secretion, beta cell maintenance and glycemic homeostasis.

Rodrigues dos Santos completed her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences in 2017 and her master's degree in Functional and Molecular Biology in 2020, both from the University of Campinas, Brazil. During her master's degree, she researched endoplasmic reticulum stress in pancreatic beta cells.

Gitanjali Roy

Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Gitanjali Roy joined the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) in March 2021 as a Research Associate in the IBRI Diabetes Center (IDC). She works in Dr. Michael Kalwat's lab to research the molecular mechanisms of secretory cells using genetic and pharmacological tools.

Before joining the IBRI, she graduated with a master's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology in January 2021 from the Indiana University School of Medicine, where her research area was bioinformatic analysis of phosphoproteome of triple negative breast cancer cells. She also worked with different data analysis softwares for mass spectrometry proteomics data investigating the changes in cellular signaling in response to phosphorylation.

She graduated from the University of Calcutta in India with a bachelor's degree in life sciences in 2007 and a master's degree in molecular biology and genetics in 2009. She worked in the pharmaceutical industry in quality assurance from 2009 to 2018, where she was responsible for the operation of the analytical chemistry lab and microbiology department.

Natalie Stull

Manager, Facilities and Lab Operations

Natalie D. Stull is Manager, Facilities and Lab Operations for the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute’s Metabolic Phenotyping Core Facility. In that capacity she is charged with managing projects with multiple principal investigators from the IBRI and other research campuses with mouse and rat phenotyping services, as well as other facility and lab-related operations.

Stull joined IBRI to continue her lengthy career as a scientist and research analyst in laboratory settings. Most recently, she served as the Associate Consultant Scientist in the Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory, a CAP/CLIA lab in the Department of Experimental Pathology at Eli Lilly and Company. Prior to that engagement, Stull was a research analyst, technician and lab manager for 14 years (2001-2014) in the Wells Center for Pediatric Research for Indiana University’s School of Medicine. During that time she worked for Dr. Raghu Mirmira and managed the Islet Core.

From 1990 through 2001, Stull served as a research technician and lab coordinator at the Thomas Jefferson University and Hahnemann/MCP University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was during this time she honed her skills in rodent surgical techniques.

Stull has authored or co-authored 28 publications during her career, including six resulting from research conducted in collaboration with Dr. Mirmira at the Wells Center for Pediatric Research. Stull received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in biology from Indiana University.

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Andrew Templin, PhD

Assistant Investigator, IBRI Diabetes Center

Andrew Templin joined the IBRI Diabetes Center in June 2020. He also holds positions at the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine and the Roudebush VA Medical Center. Andrew’s lab studies the relationship between islet inflammation and beta cell dysfunction and death in the setting of diabetes. Ultimately, the goal of the Templin Lab is to uncover novel mechanisms of diabetes pathogenesis that affect islet beta cell health, and to use this information to develop new treatments for diabetes.

Prior to joining the IBRI, Andrew served as an Acting Instructor of Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. During his time there, he studied the role of islet amyloidosis in islet inflammation and beta cell loss in collaboration with Dr. Steven Kahn. This collaboration led to publications in Diabetes, Diabetologia, and Diabetes Care, among others.

Andrew received his Bachelor of Science degree from IU in 2006, during which time he was a member of the Hutton Honors College. After working and studying at Northwestern University in the Feinberg School of Medicine, Andrew returned to IU and obtained his PhD in Cellular and Integrative Physiology under the mentorship of Dr. Raghu Mirmira, graduating in 2014.

Andrew is a native Hoosier who enjoys travel, soccer, the Chicago Cubs and Golden Retrievers.

Chialing Wu, PhD

Research Associate, IBRI Diabetes Center

Chialing Wu joined the IBRI in August 2021 as a Research Associate in the lab of Dr. Erica Cai in the IBRI Diabetes Center. She is part of a team that is integrating genetic engineering and beta cell biology to understand diabetes pathogenesis and enable innovative therapeutic strategies.

Prior to joining the IBRI, she worked for Corteva Agriscience as a contract fermentation scientist, where she designed and executed bacterial fermentation for strain evaluation and process development. Wu also has served as an adjunct professor in human physiology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

Wu received her bachelor’s degree in life science from National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan, and her master’s degree in biochemistry from Purdue University. She then obtained her PhD in agricultural and biological engineering from Purdue University.

Li Zhang, MD, PhD

Assistant Investigator, IBRI Diabetes Center

Li Zhang joined the IBRI Diabetes Center in December 2020 and established the Zhang Lab in the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute's Lilly Diabetes Center of Excellence. In addition to her appointment at the IBRI, she also is a member of the Indiana University Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases.

Dr. Zhang's lab studies the pathogenesis of islet autoimmunity and antigen-specific immune interventions for treating type 1 diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune disease. Her group has developed multiple immune interventions, including antigen-specific vaccine, monoclonal antibodies and engineered T cells, and tested their efficacies in reducing the progression of T1D in the spontaneous T1D mouse model.

Ultimately, the goal of the Zhang Lab is to translate the proof of principles tested in pre-clinical models and to develop a drug-like immune therapy to treat new onset T1D in high-risk individuals.

Dr. Zhang started T1D and autoimmune diseases research as a research scholar at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Diabetes Center in 2005 after receiving her PhD from the University of Shandong School of Medicine. In 2006, she started her postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. George S. Eisenbarth at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, University of Colorado.

In 2015, she joined the Baylor College of Medicine as an assistant professor to build her independent lab. During her time there, she studied the role of islet antigen-specific T cells and CAR-T cells in preventing T1D. In addition, she showed the efficacy of monoclonal antibodies in reducing T1D can be significantly improved with broad islet antigen-specificity. These projects were published in the Journal of Autoimmunity, Journal of Visual Experiments, mAbs and others.