 ZACHARY T. BALL PhD Associate Professor of Chemistry zachary.ball@rice.edu |
Prof. Ball is the faculty director of the IBB and Associate Professor of Chemistry. Zachary's research group is interested in biological and medical applications of organic and inorganic chemistry. Of particular interest is catalyst design for selective chemical postranslational protein modification. The laboratory works collaboratively on a number of approaches to non-traditional, next-generation drug development. Ball received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1999 and earned his Ph.D. from Stanford in 2004. He was a Miller Fellow at the University of California-Berkeley from 2004 to 2006. Ball serves as Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Chemistry Department. |
 PAUL CHERUKURI PhD Executive Director cheru@rice.edu |
As Executive Director, Paul is responsible for the development and implementation of cross-disciplinary research and educational programs that strengthen bio-related science and engineering at Rice University. He serves as key liaison between Rice and the Texas Medical Center in order to establish collaborative research opportunities for IBB faculty and the broader Rice science/engineering community. Paul earned his PhD in Chemistry at Rice in 2008 under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Richard E. Smalley and R. Bruce Weisman. He also directs an innovative research program in the field of scalable directed self-assembly of artificial and biological nanoscale materials (Teslaphoresis). |
 LISA SANGER BLINN Associate Director lisblinn@rice.edu |
As Associate Director, Lisa provides administrative direction for IBB activities that fosters the interdisciplinary needs of our faculty and also serves as the program director and co-creator of the highly-lauded IBB Girls STEM Initiative aimed at developing impactful outreach opportunities with K-12 partners in Texas. Lisa was honored with a Rice Centennial Star in 2012. Before joining Rice in 2003, she served as an HISD middle school studies teacher; the Director of Operations of the Houston regional office of Teach for America; and as a Patient Services Coordinator for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Lisa received her BA in History from Bard College. She loves to explore native wetlands, hills, prairies, and deserts with her husband Eric - and dig deep into her interests including art, storytelling, creative writing, and ritual creation. |
 DYANI BANDA Graduate Program Administrator dbanda@rice.edu |
As Graduate Program Administrator, Dyani provides administrative and financial management of the PhD Program in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology (SSPB) where she serves as the main point of contact for SSPB graduate students and faculty. She plays a key role in the strategy development and long-range planning for the SSPB program and is personally committed to the educational improvement of all students from elementary school through college. She is also the IBB Girls STEM Initiative program coordinator, taking care of all the details that make the program run, providing a welcome shoulder to everyone involved, keeping the chaos to a minimum, and constantly looking for growth opportunities for the participants. Dyani stays busy with two very active children, many nieces and nephews, and her community and is a lifelong Houstonian who graduated from Austin High School. |
 K.A. M'CARVER Program and Communications Administrator kms@rice.edu |
As the Program and Communications Administrator, Kimberly is responsible for the IBB's media relations including the design, implementation, and maintenance of IBB related web sites (PoLS, HRREI, CTBP, SSPB, BRC) and design and publication of flyers, brochures, and other marketing materials to promote the IBB's mission. She also serves as the administrator for several undergraduate summer internship programs (BioNetworks, BioXFEL, AHA SCRIP, BUILDing Scholars). After studying music in Dallas and UT Austin, she moved to Houston. She also holds a B.Sc. in Anthropology from the UH, and an AS in veterinary science (as a licensed veterinary technician). Kimberly is an award-winning singer/songwriter whose music can be found on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. She and her husband, James Sokolowski (a '92 PhD Rice graduate in Astrophysics), share their home with five dog kids. |
 STACEY KALOVIDOURIS PhD Special Projects Director sk7@rice.edu |
As the Special Projects Director, Stacey administers the NIH T32 Cancer Nanotechnology Program between MDACC and Rice, and organizes Rice's Responsible Conduct of Research Course (UNIV 594). Bringing 19 years of experience working at the forefront of early stage scientific advances and discoveries, she also completed the prestigious Kauffman Fellows Program, Class 19. An inventor on a patent for a carbohydrate-protein method of inducing neuronal growth, she's published research papers on nanotechnology, glycobiology, immunology, neuroscience, and drug deliver of cancer therapeutics. Prior, Stacey was the Executive Director of the IBB, and a Senior Scientist for Calando Pharmaceuticals. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, and was trained by 2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart. She received her BA in Biochemistry from Swarthmore College. She also serves as the Executive Director of Health-Related Research and Educational Initiatives in the Office of the Advisor to the Provost. |
