The Martynowycz Lab

Dr. Michael Martynowycz earned his BS in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Loyola University Chicago. After a two-year break, he completed an MS in Physics at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), where he served as an NSF Science Education Fellow at the Adler Planetarium and Science Museum. He continued at IIT for his PhD in Physics under the supervision of Dr. David Gidalevitz, specializing in membrane biophysics and X-ray scattering. During this time, he was awarded the Dean’s Fellowship and later worked as a Laboratory Graduate Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory.

Dr. Martynowycz began his postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus in the lab of Dr. Tamir Gonen, focusing on electron microscopy. He subsequently joined the Department of Biological Chemistry at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, where he expanded his expertise in membrane protein biochemistry and developed innovative methods for determining crystal structures using electron diffraction.

In 2024, Dr. Martynowycz moved to Buffalo to establish his lab at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute. He is also a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Structural Biology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. His research focuses on advancing electron microscopy techniques, developing novel antibiotic molecules, and elucidating the structures and functions of G Protein-Coupled Receptors.

Dr. Purna Vasireddy is a synthetic chemist with extensive experience in organic synthesis, peptide and peptoid chemistry, and drug discovery. He earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of North Dakota, where his research focused on developing novel cyclopalladated complexes and their applications in catalysis and asymmetric synthesis. Dr. Vasireddy brings over a decade of industrial experience, having worked on designing and synthesizing complex molecules for pharmaceutical and biotechnology projects. His expertise includes multi-step organic synthesis, solid- and solution-phase peptide synthesis, and analytical techniques such as NMR, MS, and chromatography. At the Martynowycz Lab, Dr. Vasireddy focuses on developing advanced synthetic methodologies and contributing to the lab’s efforts in structural biology and antimicrobial drug discovery.

Timothy Low-Beer is a PhD student who joined the Martynowycz lab through the PPBS program as JSMBS. He earned his BS in biology from Clarkson University, and following an internship at Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, he began working in their histology and imaging core facility with both light and confocal microscopy. During that time he also worked on monoclonal antibody production from mice and a project to find prophylactics for spread of tickborne disease after tick bite has occurred. After three years in that role, he moved into Trudeau Institute’s Tuberculosis Drug Discovery group, where he worked for two years identifying and testing known compounds for potential anti-tuberculosis activity, gaining experience at BSL3. While working at Trudeau Institute, he also earned his AS in Computer Science from SNHU. In the Martynowycz lab, Tim’s current research is focused on automating processing and analysis of microED data, and enzyme engineering for production of novel compounds.

Sarah is a summer intern with BioXFEL and an undergraduate student entering her junior year at Ashland University in Ohio, where she is pursuing a degree in Chemistry. Originally from Ashland, Ohio, she is spending the summer in Buffalo to gain hands-on experience in the lab. Sarah is enthusiastic about learning new techniques and skills from her mentors, and enjoys working directly with experiments. Outside the lab, she’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a love for Star Wars and anime.

Veronica is a student in the PPBS program at Jacob’s school of medicine and biomedical sciences. She rotated through our lab working on new ways to prepare microcrsytals of standard proteins as MicroED standards.

Elsa is here for moral support, but will settle for treats.