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 ZACHARY T. BALL PhD Faculty Director 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). |
 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 design, implementation, and maintenance of IBB's related web sites (PoLS, ENRICH, CTBP, SSPB), and design and publication of flyers, brochures, and other marketing materials to promote the IBB's mission. She is also administrator for the undergraduate summer internship programs: BioNetworks, BioXFEL, AHA SCRIP, & BUILDing Scholars. She studied as a voice major in Dallas and at UT Austin, then moved to Houston where she received a B.Sc. in anthropology at UH, and an AS in veterinary science (LVT). She is an award-winning singer/songwriter whose music can be found on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. She also sings with the Rice Chorale. Kimberly and her husband, James Sokolowski (a '92 PhD Rice graduate in Astrophysics), share their home with six dog kids. |
 MEG MCDONALD Graduate Program Coordinator megmcdonald@rice.edu |
As Graduate Program Coordinator, Meg is responsible for 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 strategy development and long-range planning for the SSPB program. Meg’s undergraduate studies were in English and Psychology at Vassar College, and her graduate studies were in Business Administration and Executive Leadership at University of Washington and Seattle University. Prior to joining Rice, Meg lead her own and others’ entrepreneurial companies. She grew up in Houston, attended The Kinkaid School, and participated in the Rice Summer Sessions program while in high school. |
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