LAB MEMBERS
KIRK HANSEN, PHD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Kirk C. Hansen is a world-leading expert in the field of quantitative and extracellular matrix proteomics. Former UCSF and CalTech alumnus, over the past decade Dr. Hansen and his lab have invested in the development and translational application of analytical strategies for the detection and quantification of proteins in health and disease, with a particular focus on the extracellular matrix. As Director of the University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Proteomics Facility Dr. Hansen has collaborated with a wide range of scientists and clinicians on a diverse set of research and clinical projects. This effort has resulted in over one hundred publications in less than 6 years.
RYAN HILL, PHD
Research Associate
Ryan received his doctoral degree in the Hansen Lab in July of 2016 and currently works as a member of the Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility. Ryan continues to pursue advancing technologies aimed at understanding the extracellular matrix with a focus on driving progress in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
JASON WILLIAMS, PHD
Post-doc
Jason is a native to Colorado and received his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from University of Colorado Denver, AMC. During his thesis, he focused on how neural crest cells migrated in the developing embryo. For his post-doctoral work, he wanted to try something completely new, so in 2018 he joined the Hansen lab to study ECM proteomics. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned a BS in Molecular Genetics with a minor in Biochemistry from Oklahoma State University. When not doing science, Jason enjoys rock climbing and working out, watching his daughter grow up, and gardening/being outdoors.
MAX MCCABE
Graduate Student
After graduating from Rollins College with a degree in Biochemistry, Max McCabe spent time working as a research associate in the medical field before pursuing his PhD in the Hansen Lab in 2017. Max is using proteomics to characterize the composition and architecture of the Extracellular Matrix across different organs, with the ultimate goal of composing an organ-specific ECM Atlas. Outside of the lab Max enjoys hiking, playing and seeing music, and cooking.
LAUREN SCHMITT
Graduate Student
Formerly a PRA in the Hansen Lab, Lauren has recently joined the STBB graduate program. Lauren graduated from Santa Clara University in 2016 with a degree in Biochemistry and Spanish Studies. Her work in the Hansen Lab focuses on characterizing the structure of blood clots through identification of FXIIIa cross-links.
LAB MEMBERS
KIRK HANSEN, PHD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Kirk C. Hansen is an expert in the field of quantitative and extracellular matrix proteomics. Former UCSF and CalTech alumnus, over the past decade Dr. Hansen and his lab have invested in the development and translational application of analytical strategies for the detection and quantification of proteins in health and disease, with a particular focus on the extracellular matrix. As Director of the University of Colorado, School of Medicine, Proteomics Facility Dr. Hansen has collaborated with a wide range of scientists and clinicians on a diverse set of research and clinical projects. Impactful team science is our mission!
ANTHONY SAVIOLA, PHD
Proteomics Core Manager -
Research Assistant Professor
Anthony received his doctoral degree in the Mackessy Lab in May of 2015 and most recently worked as a research associate in the Yates Lab at The Scripps Research institute before moving back to Colorado at the beginning of 2021. To date, Anthony has largely applied quantitative proteomic techniques to characterize the compositional trends and pharmacological properties of animal venoms.
MAX MCCABE
Manager of ECM Proteomics
After graduating from Rollins College with a degree in Biochemistry, Max McCabe spent time working as a research associate in the medical field before pursuing his PhD in the Hansen Lab in 2017. Max is using proteomics to characterize the composition and architecture of the Extracellular Matrix across different organs, with the ultimate goal of composing an organ-specific ECM Atlas. Outside of the lab Max enjoys hiking, playing and seeing music, and cooking.
LAUREN SCHMITT
Graduate Student
Formerly a PRA , Lauren is now pursuing her PhD in the Hansen Lab. Lauren graduated from Santa Clara University in 2016 with a degree in Biochemistry and Spanish Studies. Her work in the Hansen Lab focuses on characterizing the structure of blood clots through identification of FXIIIa cross-links. Our method utilizing cross-linking mass spectrometry (CL-MS) allows for the rapid identification of these cross-links. This will help improve our understanding of the structure of a blood clot and how that structure changes with varying coagulopathies.
CHRISTOPHER ERICKSON, PHD
Christopher's graduate work focused on designing and testing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine treatments for orthopedic injuries. Recently, he started developing bioinformatics and omics based platforms to build better substrates for tissue engineering, and to design novel clinical diagnostic assays. It is his hope that this work will improve our lifespan and health span.
MARK MASLANKA
Graduate Student
Mark grew up in Princeton, NJ, and received a B.Sc. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Rider University in 2018. Mark then participated in an internship program with the agricultural biochemical company FMC. He recently joined the Proteomics Core Facility and is learning the ropes of sample processing and data analysis. Outside of work, Mark manages ScienceofCoffee.org, sourcing coffee beans directly from farms all over the world and roasting them in his apartment paired with wildlife photos taken on the weekends.
IAN LACROIX
Graduate Student
Coagulopathy is a large contributor to mortality in the trauma patient population. A key player in coagulation is plasmin, which breakdowns blood clots and restores hemostasis. Activity of plasmin is controlled through protein-protein interactions, yet the specific upstream regulators remain unknown. Ian's current work utilizes thermal proteome profiling and mass spectrometry to investigate the plasmin interactome. His goal is to expand our understanding of clot breakdown and coagulopathy.
Cara Smith
Postdoctoral Scholar
Rockstar!
D'ALESSANDRO LAB - EXTENDED FAMILY
Daily partners and friends.
JULIE A. REISZ HAINES, PHD
Research Assistant Professor
Julie is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and received her PhD in Chemistry from Wake Forest University where she used NMR and MS to investigate the reactivity of nitrogen oxides with organophosphines and thiol- and heme-containing enzymes. She managed the MS facility at Wake Forest, then joined the University of Colorado in 2015 where she utilizes high throughput metabolomics to profile metabolic responses occurring in numerous diseases and physiological perturbations. Her specific research interests include metabolic responses along the spectrum from hypoxia to oxidative stress and investigating RBC protein oxidation during storage.
TRAVIS NEMKOV, PHD
Research Assistant Professor
Travis completed his PhD in Dr. Kirk Hansen’s lab at the University of Colorado Denver where he developed high-throughput methods for metabolomics to study RBC responses to hypoxia and storage and published more than 40 papers in the process. Travis moved to Angelo's lab as a post-doctoral fellow where he has been focused now on high-throughput metabolomics. In addition, he is interested in understanding the role of metabolism in blood cell development throughout the arc of life. Born and raised in Colorado, Travis refuses to leave if he doesn’t have to, and just prefers to travel the world instead.
RACHEL CULP-HILL, M.SC.
Graduate Student
Rachel is a PhD student in the STBB program, where she uses mass spectrometry to study the unique metabolome of leukemic stem cells in acute myeloid leukemia. Her previous training applied metabolomics to numerous projects including metabolic alterations in Down Syndrome, breast cancer, and transfusion medicine. In addition to earning a M.S. in Microbiology from the University of Florida, she received her B.C. in Biochemistry at Michigan State University while using mass spectrometry for method development at the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. When she’s not in the lab, Rachel enjoys hiking, embroidering, and spending time with her dog Kelby.
AARON ISSAIAN, PHD
Research Associate
After graduating from University of Arizona, Aaron pursued his PhD in the Hansen Lab and graduated in December 2020. His primary focus was the characterization of Olduvai protein domains as they relate to brain size and cognitive function. He also worked on chemical cross-linking and applied it to a myriad of collaborative projects. Aaron now works as a research associate in the D'Alessandro Lab. Aaron is truly a joy to be around and makes it a pleasure to come to work every single day.
ANGELO D'ALESSANDRO, PHD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Angelo D’Alessandro is an Assistant Professor and founder and director of the Metabolomics Core at the University of Colorado Denver – Anschutz Medical Campus. He received his PhD at Tuscia University (Italy) under the aegis of the Italian National Blood Center. Angelo serves as Linda Crnic Investigator for the Linda Crnic Institute of Down Syndrome. He is a founder and CSO of Omix Technologies Inc. and Altis Biosciences LLC. He serves as Associate Editor for the journal Blood Transfusion.
FORMER LAB MEMBERS
ALEX BARRETT, PHD
Graduate Student
Alex is a former Graduate Student in the Hansen Lab and a Postdoc in the D'Alessandro Lab. He focused on the development and application of preventative and diagnostic tools to treat solid tumors and diseases characterized by fibrosis and stromal remodeling. Currently, Alex works as a Clinical and Research Liaison for Tempus inc.
ZSUZSA DARULA, PHD
Visiting Research Associate
Dr. Darula earned her doctoral degree at the University of Szeged before joining the Laboratory of Proteomics Research at the Hungarian National Academy of Sciences, where she specializes in glycopeptide and PTM analysis. She worked as a visiting researcher in the Hansen Lab, lending her expertise in analytical mass spectrometry and in-depth crosslink and PTM characterization.
TRUC PHAM
Professional Research Assistant
Truc Pham graduated from Colorado College in 2017 and spent the next year in culinary school. She joined the Hansen Lab in 2018 and quickly became a key member of the lab - developing protocols for our cross-linking amino acid analysis and GAG analysis.
RYAN HILL, PHD
Research Associate
Ryan received his doctoral degree in the Hansen Lab in July of 2016 and currently works as a member of the Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility. Ryan continues to pursue advancing technologies aimed at understanding the extracellular matrix with a focus on driving progress in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
JASON WILLIAMS, PHD
Post-doc
Jason is a native to Colorado and received his Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from University of Colorado Denver, AMC. During his thesis, he focused on how neural crest cells migrated in the developing embryo. For his post-doctoral work, he wanted to try something completely new, so in 2018 he joined the Hansen lab to study ECM proteomics. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned a BS in Molecular Genetics with a minor in Biochemistry from Oklahoma State University. When not doing science, Jason enjoys rock climbing and working out, watching his daughter grow up, and gardening/being outdoors.
IGOR ZAKHAREVICH
Professional Research Assistant
Originally from the Bay Area in California, Igor received his Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2016. After graduation, he joined a mass spectrometry research lab back in San Francisco at UCSF, where he utilized small molecule analysis to investigate environmental compounds and novel psychoactive substances in clinical cases. He has now returned to Colorado to join the Hansen lab and learn how mass spectrometry can be applied to proteomics. Outside of lab, he is an avid snowboarder.
