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Karatas Lab
Department of Chemistry
Team Members
Hacer Karatas Bristow
Assistant Professor
Principal Investigator
Dr. Karatas Bristow received her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Michigan under the direction of Prof. Shaomeng Wang. After graduation, she was a postdoctoral fellow at EPFL (Switzerland), and then at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology (Germany) with Prof. Herbert Waldmann. She worked as an Assistant Professor in Istanbul Medipol University (Turkiye) before joining WVU in 2022.
Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry, University of Michigan, USA
M.Sc. Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Ankara University, Turkey
B.Sc. Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, Turkey
Kamal Rai earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2021. He has more than 6 years of experience in molecular cloning and protein production, purification in different platforms and their characterizations.
Currently he is working on transcription factors and co-factors, deciphering the Protein-DNA interactions which can lead to unprecedented cellular proliferation, using molecular and biophysical tools and techniques. His goal is to gain a better understanding of the biophysical and regulatory mechanisms than underlie DNA regulation through this study. This knowledge is helpful in the development of the inhibitors that will limit the overactivity of transcription factors and co-factors that cause disease.
Prior to joining Dr. Hacer lab, on April 2024, he was a postdoc with City University of New York.
Kamal Rai
Postdoctoral Scientist
Vahid Lofikalajahi received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Tabriz, Iran. He graduated from the University of Tehran with a master's degree in Organic Chemistry in 2015. He worked as a senior research assistant in the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, before joining WVU in 2023 as a Ph.D. student in Organic Chemistry.
Vahid Lotfikalajahi
Graduate Student
Pegah Norouzi received her bachelor's degree in chemistry and master's in polymer chemistry from the University of Tehran in 2021. She worked as a research assistant in the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, before joining WVU in 2023 as a Ph.D. student in Organic Chemistry.
Pegah Norouzi
Graduate Student
Abra earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, under the mentorship of Dr. Justin Fair. During her undergraduate years, her research predominantly centered on organic synthesis, which culminated in her first publication in 2022. Her achievements in research were recognized with the Undergraduate Award in Organic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society upon her graduation. Subsequently, Abra embarked on her doctoral journey at WVU, initially working under the esteemed guidance of Dr. Greg Dudley during her first year of graduate studies. As her academic and research interests evolved, Abra found herself captivated by the realm of medicinal chemistry. In pursuit of this newfound passion, she eagerly joined Dr. Hacer Karatas-Bristow’s lab in 2023, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in her academic and scientific career.
Abra Dadum
Graduate Student
Abigail received her bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in Nigeria. Her undergraduate research was based on bioinformatics, plant biochemistry, and pharmacology. Her undergraduate research was published as an article titled "Flavanones from Sorghum bicolor selectively inhibit COX-2: in silico and in vivo validation." Her interest in medicinal chemistry stems from her passion for drug discovery. Abigail loves reading and researching. She hopes to become a research scientist and a professor.
Olaosebikan Ibukunoluwa (Abigail)
Graduate Student
Caitlyn Staiger
Undergraduate RAP Student (Fall 2023/Spring 2024)
Sure Student (Summer 2024)
Intern (Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
Madison Sort
Undergraduate Student (Fall 2024, Spring 2025)
Kelyn Blossey
Undergraduate Student (Spring 2025)
Sohyun Lee
Undergraduate Student (Spring 2025)
Luc-Henri Kuete Omgba
Undergraduate Student (Spring 2025)
Former Undergraduate Students:
Grace (Rebekah) Farmer (Spring 2024/Fall 2024)
Sarah Warder (Fall 2023/Spring 2024/Fall 2024)
Kennedy Goodwin (Fall 2023/Spring 2024)
Haley Edwards (Spring 2022/Fall 2023)
Paige Tyra (Fall 2023)
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