Lab Members
We share our interest in various aspects of venom research, ranging from venom discovery, evolution, phylogenetics, biochemistry, pharmacology, chemistry, and therapeutic application. We come from diverse scientific backgrounds and develop and implement research ideas both individually and together.
In addition to being dedicated scientists, we care about the motivation, success, and well-being of team members and ensure a safe, positive, and inclusive environment where scientific problems and ideas can be openly shared, and where we learn from each other, regardless of background and academic rank.
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Helena Safavi, PhD
Associate Professor
Bio: MSc in Biology (2006, University of Cologne, Germany), PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2011, University of Melbourne, Australia), Postdoc (2012-2017, University of Utah, USA and University of Copenhagen, Denmark)
Passion: Research and education, being in nature
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Anastasiya Kulikova, PhD
Research Associate
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Nicholas Schumann, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Bio: BSc Chemistry (2015), MPhil Medicinal Chemistry (2018), PhD Medicinal Chemistry (2023), Postdoc (2023-Ongoing, University of Utah)
Skills: Medicinal Chemistry, Organic Synthesis, Peptide Synthesis, SAR Studies, Characterization of Organic Compounds, In-Silico Docking
Passion: Snowboarding, Hiking, Cooking, Traveling, Road Trips
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Zildjian Acyatan
Graduate Student
Bio: BSc Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (2017, University of the Philippines), MSc Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (2020, University of the Philippines), Graduate student (2024 – ongoing)
Skills: Cone snail biology and peptide purification, dissection, calcium imaging, cell culture
Passion: Running, skin and SCUBA diving, cooking, rock climbing, teaching, pinoy henyo
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Drake Hampton
Graduate Student
Bio: BSc Chemical Engineering (2023, Colorado School of Mines), Graduate student (2024 - ongoing)
Skills: Peptide synthesis, Electron microscopy, HPLC/LCMS, Molecular biology
Passion: The great outdoors, chess, figuring out how things work
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Reza Moosavi
Graduate Student
Bio: PharmD (2017, Tehran University of Medical Sciences), PhD student in Molecular Pharmaceutics at the University of Utah (2021 – ongoing)
Skills: Bioinformatics, Machine learning, Computational structural biology, Molecular simulation, Drug discovery, Protein design, In vitro assays, Protein expression, FACS
Passion: Volleyball, Tennis, Hiking
The Cone Snail
Treasured object of our research
Bio: Relatively young genus (oldest fossil: 55 million years); highly diverse (700-800 extant species); predation on polychaete worms was the ancestral state and the majority of living snails prey on worms. Snail and fish-hunting clades evolved later with the major radiation of fish-hunting cone snails during the Miocene, 15-10 mya.
Selected Skills: High-throughput peptide mutagenesis, biosynthesis and delivery
Passion: Enjoys the warm weather of the tropics with the greatest diversity found in the Indo-Pacific region, uses highly efficient venom delivery system to envenomate prey with a complex mixture of peptides (conopeptides or conotoxins).
Alumni & Copenhagen Safavi Lab
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Walden Bjørn-Yoshimoto
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Copenhagen
(2017 - present)
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Ebbe Engholm, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Copenhagen
(2020 - present)
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Joshua Torres, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Copenhagen
(2020 - present)
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Lea Cecilie Christensen, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Copenhagen
(2021 - present)
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Sophie Heiden Laugesen
PhD Student
University of Copenhagen
(2018 - present)
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Iris Bea Ramiro
PhD Student
University of Copenhagen
(2018 - present)
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Paula Flórez Salcedo
PhD Student
University of Utah
(2017 - present)
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Robert Paul Baskin
Undergraduate Researcher
University of Utah
(2017 - 2018)
Medical Student, Ohio State Medical School
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Colton Gschwandtner, MS
Masters Student
University of Utah
(2024 - 2025)
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Tian Zhao
Lab Technician
University of Utah
(2023 - 2025)
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Aymeric Rogalski, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Utah
(2023 - 2025)
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Thomas Koch, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Copenhagen,
University of Utah(2020 - 2025)
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Ho Yan Yeung, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Copenhagen,
University of Utah(2020 - 2025)