Current Members

Professor. Curriculum vitae (PDF)
RNA Therapeutics Institute 
UMass Chan Medical School
andrei.korostelev@umassmed.edu

Graduate student
William.Cruz@umassmed.edu 

Will earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. In 2023, he joined the Korostelev lab, where his research focuses on the protein kinase General Control Nonderepressible 2 (GCN2). Outside of the lab, Will enjoys learning new languages, cooking, baking, and trying new foods. Since relocating from California to Massachusetts, he has particularly enjoyed hiking Mount Wachusett and highly recommends it for anyone looking for a stunning view of central Massachusetts.

Postdoctoral Researcher
stephen.diggs@umassmed.edu

Postdoctoral Researcher
Dmitrij.Golovenko@umassmed.edu

Postdoctoral Researcher
HansTobias.Gustafsson@umassmed.edu

Graduate Student, 2025 - present
Alijah.Griffith1@umassmed.edu

Ami earned her BSc in Biology from Rhode Island College in 2020, where she first developed her interest in protein biochemistry and structure-function relationships. She further strengthened these interests during her time as a research assistant, motivating her decision to pursue a PhD. In 2025, Ami joined both the Korostelev and Grigorieff labs at UMass Chan Medical School, where she is structurally characterizing Angiogenin’s molecular mechanism of translation inhibition. Outside of her time spent in the lab, Ami enjoys volunteering, reading, and spending time with her friends, family, and pets.

Graduate Student
ChunYing.Huang2@umassmed.edu

Sr. Research Scientist
Ebru.Kaymak@umassmed.edu

I earned my BSc from Bogazici University in Istanbul, my MSc from Sabanci University in Istanbul and my PhD from UMass Medical School where I did my doctoral thesis work on posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression in the lab of Sean Ryder. I did my postdoctoral training in UMass Chan Medical School as well in the lab of Oliver Rando.   

Research Associate
Isabelle.Loop@umassmed.edu

Izzy received her bachelor’s in biochemistry from Stony Brook University and her master’s in global health from National Taiwan University. After realizing her passion for biochemistry and molecular biology, she returned to the U.S. and joined the Korostelev Lab in 2024. Izzy is currently generating stable cell lines for testing premature stop codon readthrough candidates and for preparing translationally active lysates from cells. Outside of work, she likes to run, play sports, and read.

Assistant Professor
Anna.Loveland@umassmed.edu 

Dr. Loveland is an Assistant Professor at the RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Chan Medical School. She earned her B.A. in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University and her Ph.D, also in Biophysics, from Harvard University in 2012. As a Helen Hay Whitney post-doctoral fellow, she found her calling in structural biology while working with Profs. Niko Grigorieff, Melissa Moore, and Andrei Korostelev at Brandeis University and later UMass Medical School. Her post-doctoral work with Dr. Korostelev on the mechanism of tRNA decoding was awarded an RNA Society Scaringe Young Scientist Award in 2021. Dr. Loveland investigates molecular mechanisms at the intersection of translation and disease utilizing cryo-EM and biochemical approaches.  She currently focuses on two, distinct genes associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, C9orf72 and Angiogenin, whose products, unexpectedly, bind the ribosome and inhibit translation. She seeks a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanism of these proteins and their mutations to spur new therapeutics development. 

Graduate Student, 2025 - present
Vijayalalitha.Ramanarayanan1@umassmed.edu

Sr. Research Scientist
zahra.seraj@umassmed.edu

Graduate student
Emily.Sholi@umassmed.edu

Postdoctoral Researcher
denis.susorov@umassmed.edu

Denis received his Master’s in Biochemistry from Moscow State University (MSU) and PhD in Molecular Biology from MSU and the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology. In the Korostelev lab, Denis is developing treatments for premature stop codon diseases and studies structural aspects of protein synthesis. In his free time, Denis enjoys hiking, cycling, playing video games, and making digital and traditional art.