Principal Investigator

Research Associate Professor

BS, Texas Christian University

PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Main Interests: development of D-peptide inhibitors of viral entry and the application of biophysical techniques to the characterization of macromolecular interactions, including analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR)

Research Assistant Professor

Riley received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He joined the Kay lab as a graduate student and worked on developing new chemical tools and advancing the fields of chemical protein synthesis and synthetic biology. After graduating in 2021, he worked at Entrada Therapeutics (located in Boston, MA) in the discovery and process chemistry groups where he synthesized peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates for the treatment of neuromuscular diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and myotonic dystrophy I.

Riley rejoined the Kay lab as a research assistant professor and works on a variety of peptide and protein chemistry projects that include both basic research and the development of D-peptide therapeutics.

Outside of work, Riley enjoys being outside with his dog and family, reading, and exploring new parts of Utah.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Steven received his B.S. in Biochemistry at Brigham Young University-Idaho and his Ph.D. from Brigham Young University in Chemistry where he studied under Dr. Joshua Price. His thesis was on the effects of conjugating polyethylene glycol on peptide conformational stability and non-covalent interactions.

Steven joined the Kay lab in 2020 and works on developing a biotin orthogonal streptavidin system (BOSS) by synthesizing D-streptavidin. BOSS will avoid the high immunogenicity of streptavidin and interference from natural biotin in living systems to enable the targeting of toxic drugs in patients.

Graduate Student

Lindsay received her B.S. in Molecular Genetics from the University of Vermont with minors in both microbiology and neuroscience. Her past research included investigating the genetics of neurodegenerative disorders in Dr. Nimrat Chatterjee’s lab and studying the mechanism of action of OyaGen Inc.’s novel HIV compound with Dr. Harold Smith, Dr. Ryan Bennet, and Dr. Jason Salter.

Lindsay joined the Kay Lab in May 2023 and works on the development of a heterochiral antibody-drug conjugate for HIV. This consists of a D-peptide drug previously established by the Kay Lab and a variety of broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies. She uses a variety of techniques, including LC-MS, RP-HPLC, solid-phase peptide synthesis, tissue culture, and BSL-3 pseudovirion assays.

Outside of lab, Lindsay enjoys hiking with her dog, exploring national parks, skiing, and photography.

Graduate Student

Matt attended Saint Louis University where he received his B.S. in Medical Laboratory Sciences. He began research under Dr. Uthayashanker Ezekiel studying phytochemicals and their effects on colon cancer. After graduating, he began working at Barnes Jewish Hospital in the immunohematology department performing blood bank testing and transfusion services. Alongside this, he worked with Dr. Christopher Farnsworth from Washington University to develop and test diagnostic assays for use in the clinical lab. This included a collaboration with Dr. Gaya Amarasinghe, where he developed immunoassays for SARS-CoV-2 and Ebola.

Matt joined the Kay Lab in May 2023. He uses several techniques including chemical protein synthesis, biophysical characterization, mirror-image phage display, and pseudovirion assays to discover and develop D-peptide inhibitors for henipavirus infection.

Outside of lab, Matt enjoys snowboarding, playing music, and hiking.

Graudate Student

Paul received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Western Washington University, where he worked in the lab of Dr. O’Neil. He focused on developing silane derivatives capable of C-C bond formation for chemoselective allylations and precise modifications of molecules.

In 2020, Paul became a member of the Kay lab, dedicating his efforts to templated peptide ligations for the intricate chemical synthesis of challenging proteins. His project involves a spectrum of techniques, including solid-phase peptide synthesis, peptide and oligo conjugation, native chemical ligation, RP-HPLC, LC-MS, and more.

Outside the lab, Paul enjoys pickleball, mountain biking, and hiking with his dogs.

Graduate Student

Marcy received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Utah with a minor in Chemistry. Marcy then worked alongside Dr. Katherine Beebe in Dr. Carl Thummel’s lab as a research technician in the Human Genetics department at Utah. This research included investigating the estrogen-related receptor (ERR), an important transcription factor that regulates metabolism throughout development from larvae to adults in Drosophila.

Marcy joined the Kay Lab in May 2020 and works on the design of a fully synthetic, mirror-image protein for the purpose of mirror-image phage display drug discovery. Her target protein, FimH, is a critical component to urinary tract infection pathogenesis and a highly desirable drug target.

Graduate Student

Sam is interested in applying computational protein design tools to chemically synthesized proteins that serve as drug discovery targets. His current work involves the computationally-directed stabilization of proteins for use as targets in mirror-image phage display. More broadly, Sam is interested in applying new tools from the machine-learning space to protein optimization and design problems.

The University of Utah is a great home for Sam, as he frequently takes advantage of the incredible skiing, mountain biking, and road biking opportunities in the area.