Lab Team
David Barefield, PhD
Assistant Professor
Hometown: Oak Park, IL
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
McNally Lab. 2014-2020
PhD, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL.
Sadayappan Lab. 2014
BA, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL. 2009
Hobby: Cooking, baking, painting, gardening
Research interest: Cardiac contractile dysfunction, cardiomyopathy, HCM, DCM, arrhythmia, atrial function, atrial fibrillation, myosin binding proteins
Project: Mostly emails. Occasionally investigates the atrial myopathy.
Quote: “We recruit for attitude and train for skill.” - Atul Gawande
Alexandra Peña
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Research Assistant II
Hometown: Chicago, IL
B.S. Biology, Bradley University
Hobbies: Watching a lot of TV shows and trying to watch a lot of movies in the theater
Project: Defining functional domains of myosin binding protein H-like
Quote: "No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind."
- Taylor Swift
Madison Reed, MS
Research Assistant I
Hometown: Trabuco Canyon, CA
B.S. Neuroscience
The George Washington University
M.S. Medical Physiology
Loyola University Chicago
Hobbies: Crocheting, drawing, watching bad reality TV, and hanging out with her cats.
Project: Defining functional domains of myosin binding protein H-like
Quote: "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love someone else?"
- RuPaul
Julia Bautel, MS
Research Assistant I
Hometown: Seattle, WA
BS in Molecular, Cellular, and Development Biology
University of Washington
MS in Medical Physiology
Loyola University Chicago
Hobby: Playing with my dog and cat, watching football (Go Huskies and Seahawks!), finding new coffee shops
Project: The role of contraction in Atrial Fibrillation
Quote: "We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
- Walt Disney
Antonina Gramatnikovska
Undergraduate SURPh Student
Hometown: Skopje, North Macedonia
Augustana College Undergraduate
Hobby: Volleyball, traveling, cooking, and learning about physiological pathways
Project: The role of contraction in Atrial Fibrillation
Quote: "Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out."
Tuan Bui
Research Assistant II
Hometown: San Jose, CA
B.S. Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis
Hobby: LEGOs, model kits, video games, and weightlifting
Project: Modeling atrial myopathy with hiPSC-derived
cardiomyocytes.
Quote: "Intelligence is not a privilege. It's a gift.
And you use it for the good of mankind."
- Otto Octavius, Spider-Man 2
Lab Alumni
Hannah Cizuaskas-Milleman, PhD
Position: PhD Student
Hometown: Westland, MI
Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow, Patterson Lab, Medical College of Wisconsin
Kelly Araujo, MS, PhD
Position: PhD Student
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow, Matter Lab, Lindquist Institute, UCLA
Alejandro Alvarez-Arce, PhD
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico
Currently: Postdoctoral Fellow, Husain Lab, University of Toronto
Geena Fritzmann, MS
Position: Lab Manager
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Currently: Grants Manager at Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
Hope Burnham, MS
Position: Master's Student
Hometown: Germantown, WI
Currently: Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine MD/PhD Program
Lucas Wittenkeller
Research Assistant II
Hometown: Minooka, IL
Currently: University of Cincinnati PhD Program