top of page

ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Alexandra obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science an Art, and then her doctoral degree in Molecular Biophysics from The Rockefeller University. She conducted postdoctoral studies in the group of HHMI investigator, Dr. Niko Grigorieff, first at Brandeis University and later at the HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus as a Damon Runyon Fellow. She is the recipient of a At the Interfaces Award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,  a Medical Research Award from The Rhode Island Foundation, a Salomon Faculty Research Award from Brown University, and awards from the German Society of Biochemistry, The International Brain Organization and Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. She is excited about structural biology, responses to stress and DNA damage, microtubules and things biochemical.

E-mail: alexandra_deaconescu[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401) 863-3215

Alexandra Deaconescu,
B.E., Ph.D.

MEMBERS

Christiane Brugger, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

E-mail: 

christiane_brugger[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401) 863-6729

Christiane is a native of Austria, where she obtained both a bachelor's and master's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Vienna).  She then completed her doctoral degree in structural biology at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), where she worked on chromatin remodelers in the group of Thomas Schalch. Her scientific interests in the lab center on the regulation of transcription-repair coupling factors. Christiane is co-author on our papers published in Genes & Development (2019), Protein Science (2021) and Frontiers in Genetics (2022), and a first author on our papers in Nature Communications (2020), Bio-protocol (2021, Biorxiv (2022; 2023) and Journal of Biological Chemistry (2023).

          Rebecca Kim

Research assistant

E-mail: Rebecca_kim[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401) 863-6729

RebeccaKim.jpg

I grew up in both New Jersey and South Korea, and now I am studying for my ScB in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Brown University. I developed an interest in structural biology during a summer internship working in the Tsai Lab at the Baylor College of Medicine and am excited to continue my work in this area with the Deaconescu group.  In my free time, I like to swim, draw, and ride my cruiser! I have a strong interest in ClpXP biology. Rebecca  is co-author on our paper published in Journal of Biological Chemistry (2023),

Sophia Chung

Research assistant

E-mail:

sophia_chung[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401)863-6729

Pears

Coming soon

Christopher Pawul

Undergraduate Researcher

E-mail:

christopher_pawul[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401) 863-6729

Ange Karondo

Undergraduate Researcher

E-mail:

zelie_karondo[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401) 863-6729

Tammy Glass

Administrative Assistant

E-mail:

tammy_glass[at]brown.edu

Phone: (401) 863-7446

Pawul.jpg

I am a junior from Killingly, CT concentrating in biological physics (and possibly applied math). Structural biology interests me because of the powerful predictions and perspectives the field offers for protein function. In the lab, I am interested in how bacteria respond to phosphate starvation and hope to learn some cryo-EM.  In my free time, I enjoy reading, weight lifting, and playing trombone as part of the Brown Band and The Bear Bones

IMG_3705.HEIC

Originally from Burundi, located in East Africa, Ange is a student at Brown University and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as well as a Certificate in Data Fluency. Influenced by her origins and the different people who populate her life, Ange has different interests that touch on tropical infectious diseases and tissue engineering, and likes to explore the ethical questions that these interests raise. Her research in the Deaconescu lab focuses on understanding the role of the Mfd protein in mutagenesis. In her spare time, Ange enjoys walking for hours admiring nature and dancing when there are no more restaurants to try, all three her favorite elements when it comes to exploring another culture.

Pink Flowers

Tammy  is invaluable to the lab and we could not do without her!

bottom of page