Principle Investigator
Joshua A. Baccile
Ph.D. in Chemical Biology, 2017
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Josh grew up in Big Flats, New York, and attended SUNY Cortland for his B.S. in Chemistry working on the synthesis of photocleavable peptide conjugates under Prof. Frank Rossi. He then moved 30 minutes away to get his Ph.D. under Frank Schroeder in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. His graduate research focused on the discovery and characterization of novel biosynthetic pathways and metabolites from filamentous fungi. After his Ph.D, Josh went across the country to do postdoctoral research in Prof. David Tirrell’s lab at Caltech in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. His postdoctoral research was focused on the development of artificial protein force sensors for hydrogels. In August of 2020 Josh moved to Knoxville, TN and started the lab in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Graduate Students
Nick Trybala
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2026
B.S. in Chemistry, 2018, Tennessee Tech
ttrybala@vols.utk.edu
Zack Hulsey
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2026
B.S. in Chemistry, 2021, Dalton State
zhulsey@vols.utk.edu
Tawakalitu Afolabi (5th year GS)
M.S. in Chemistry, 2021, University of Ibadan
B.S. in Chemistry, 2018, University of Ibadan
tafolab1@vols.utk.edu
Neil Truslow (4th year GS)
B.S. in Chemistry, 2022, Youngstown State
ntruslow@vols.utk.edu
Claudia Dolan (2nd year GS)
B.S. in Biology, 2024, University of Maine
cdolan3@vols.utk.edu
Miranda Phillips (1st year GS)
B.S. in Chemistry, 2025, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
xcn683@vols.utk.edu
Undergraduate Students
Sophia Parcescu
Biochemistry Cell and Molecular Biology Major
Previous Graduate Students and Visiting Scientists
Frank M. Rossi
Visiting Scientist (1 year sabbatical)
Professor of Chemistry
SUNY Cortland
- Dr. Anna-Kay West – 2026 Ph.D. graduate
- Dr. Dillon McBee – 2025 Ph.D. graduate (currently post-doc in Prof. Blackwell lab at UW-Madison)
- Nicklas Johansen – 2025 M.S. graduate
- Vijani Wijayasekera – 2024 M.S. graduate
- Grace F. Neelankavil – 2024 M.S. graduate
- Kerani Davidson-Ross
Previous Undergraduates and Research Assistants
- Allyson Taylor – Chemistry
- Delaney Bone – BCMB
- Gracie Lin – BCMB
- Bijan Ghabussi – Chemistry and Biology
- Christian Martin – Chemistry
- Sierra Segura – BCMB
- Makayla Hedges – Chemistry
- Robby Turner – Research Assistant
- Lizbeth Cambron – Chemistry
- Hannah Dennis – BCMB
- William Mazur – Neuroscience and BCMB
- Briggs Marcantel – Chemistry
- Maggie Hodge – Chemistry
- Thaddeus Puzdrakiewicz – Chemistry
- Joseph Holdheide – Chemistry
- Camila Gonzales – REU Summer Student