Team

Dr. Sobolevsky graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1996 and received his PhD in biophysics in 2000. Then he joined Dr. Lonnie Wollmuth lab at the SUNY at Stony Brook. In 2004 he joined Dr. Eric Gouaux lab at OHSU where he studied protein works and X-ray crystallography. He received independent position as Assistant Professor at Columbia university in September, 2010. In 2017 Dr. Sobolevsky was promoted to Associate Professor. In 2024 Dr. Sobolevsky was promoted to Full Professor.

Maria graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and holds PhD in biophysics. Maria joined the lab in 2010.

Shanti Pal recevied PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2014. Then he joined G. Rudenko lab at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston  where he studied the Structural and functional aspects of synaptic cell adhesion molecules implicated in various neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases like autism spectrum disease and schizophrenia. Shanti Pal joined the Sobolevsky lab in 2019 and works on ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), studying their structure, function, and modulation. 

Rutu received her B.Sc (2012) from Ravenshaw University, and M.Sc (2014) from Sambalpur University, India. Then she joined Amal Kanti Bera’s lab in Indian Institute of Technology, Madras for her Ph.D (2015-2022) During her PhD, she investigated the interaction of Pannexin-1 and P2X7 ion channels using whole cell patch clamping and calcium imaging techniques. She joined Dave Maclean’s lab at the University of Rochester Medical Center, NY in 2022. There she was working on ASICs and AMPA receptors using outside-out excised patch clamping. She joined Sobolevsky lab in July-2024 and is currently working on structure-function of TRPV channels.

Ira graduated with a BSc in Bioorganic Chemistry from the Biological Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2020 and earned her MSc in Life Sciences from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in 2022. During her undergraduate and master’s studies, she worked on Toll-like receptors using NMR spectroscopy and biochemical methods at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, RAS. In 2022, Ira enrolled in the Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies.

Irina joined the lab in 2023

Tommy received his BA in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (2022) from Rutgers University of New Jersey. There, he worked with Dr. Wei Dai, using cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) to study the structure, function, and distribution of photosynthetic protein complexes in native chloroplasts extracted from a marine diatom species. A student in the Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Studies Umbrella Program, Tommy joined the Sobolevsky lab in June 2023 and works on ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), studying their structure, function, and modulation. 

John received his BS (2024) in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he worked with Steve Buratto on platinum nanoparticle catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. He officially joined the Sobolevsky Lab in December 2024 and is currently working on structure-function mechanisms of TRP channels.

Alexey received his BSc in Physics and MSc in Biophysics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He earned his PhD (2020) with Prof. Valentin Gordeliy at RWTH Aachen University, performing patch clamp electrophysiology and structure-based bioinformatics of microbial rhodopsins. He joined the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience as a postdoc (Prof. Tobias Moser, Göttingen) in 2022, focusing on the characterization and engineering of channelrhodopsins for optogenetics, using high-throughput automated patch clamp and confocal microscopy. In 2025, Alexey joined the Sobolevsky lab to study TRP channels, combining cryo-EM and electrophysiology. Outside the lab, he enjoys badminton, cycling, and traveling.

In the lab: 2014-2019.

Current position:  Professor at IIT Kanpur, India.

Marriah N. Green — PhD Candidate (Nutritional and Metabolic Biology Program).

Marriah graduated from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry in 2017. In 2017 she enrolled in the Nutrional and Metabolic Biology PhD program at Columbia University where she joined the Sobolevsky Lab in 2018, received a Master of Arts degree in 2019, and a Master of Philosophy in 2020. She serves as a board member for Women in Science at Columbia (WISC) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) as the Communications Director and Marketing Chair. Marriah also holds another leadership position as the Social Networking Chair and board member of CUIMC Graduate Initiative for Diversity (GID). Passionate about outreach, she enjoys volunteering for events like Girls Science Day at Columbia University.

Email: mng2123@cumc.columbia.edu

Twitter: @ItsGreenScience

In the lab -2018-2023

Current Position — Postdoc at HHU in Dusseldorf, Germany

In the lab in 2019-2024

Current position — Senior Scientist at AstraZeneca

In the lab: 2019.

Current position: Scientist at IMCA-CAT.

In the lab: 2016-2019.

Current position: Scientist at Regeneron.

In the lab: 2014-2018.

Current position: Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University (Ed Twomey lab).

In the lab: 2013-2017.

Current position: Scientist at Regeneron (Tarrytown, NY)

In the lab: 2011-2013.

Current position: Scientist at Accelagen Inc.

 

 

In the lab in 2020-2021

Current position — Assistant Professor at UT San Antonio

In the lab: 2020 — 2023

Current position: Professorship für Molecular Imaging, Walther Straub Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Munich, Germany

In the lab: 2019-2020

In the lab: 2019

In the lab in 2019 -2024

Current position — Graduate School at John Hopkins University

Laura received her BS in Biology (2010) and MS in Biology (2012) from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she worked with Dr. Inga Schmidt-Krey on the 2D crystallization of leukotriene C4 synthase. She then worked with Dr. Gregory Alushin at the NIH/NHLBI, studying F-actin and F-actin binding proteins, from 2013 — 2016. Following her work at the NIH, she moved to NYC to join the scientific staff at the Simons Electron Microscopy Center (NYSBC), headed by Bridget Carragher and Clint Potter, from 2016 — 2020. In the Fall of 2020, Laura joined the graduate program, within the Physiology and Cellular Biophysics Department, and officially joined the Sobolevsky lab in January 2022. Laura loves coffee, ultimate frisbee and her twins.

In the lab 2022-2025

Angshu received his B. Sc degree in Zoology (2013) and M. Sc degree in Life Sciences (2015) from Dibrugarh University, Assam, India. He then received his PhD degree in Structural and Computational Biology (2023) from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India. Outside of research, Angshu likes to read books, attend book-related events, cook and bike. Twitter: @dutta_angshu

In the lab — 2024-2025.

Current position — PostDoc at Vanderbilt University