Our Team
Lisa Denning
Lisa Denning was born and raised in California. As a child she aspired to be an archaeologist and architect, and at one point a bus driver. During high school, she developed an interest in science and medicine. As an undergraduate student at California State University, Sacramento, she major in Biology and minored in Chemistry, following the coursework required for a premedical background. While applying for medical school she realized she enjoyed working at the bench during her science classes and changed course to pursue a Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Her thesis research, conducted at the University of California in Davis, consisted of designing a custom resequencing microarray that could be used for high throughput mutational analysis of patients with congenital myasthenic syndromes. She graduated with her Master’s degree in 2006.
In 2007 she joined the laboratory of Dr. Atom Sarkar. Work in the laboratory focuses on the use of nanotechnology in neurological diseases and tumors of the brain. She currently lives in Columbus with her husband, one dog, two cats, and one cat who thinks he is a dog.
Ph: 614.247.8464 Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Jay Rammohan
Jayan Rammohan’s family has had roots in Columbus, Ohio ever since his father, a neurologist at OSU Medical Center, started the state’s first Multiple Sclerosis center here in 1982. As a child, Jayan aspired to become a physician as well as a wide receiver for The Ohio State University football team. As it became obvious that his strengths were more academic than athletic, Jayan’s lifelong interest in science and medicine led him to Case Western Reserve University where he earned BS and MS degrees in biomedical engineering. During this time, he worked in the Nanoscale Orthopedic Biomaterials Laboratory where he first learned to use atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study protein structure and function. He joined the Sarkar research team in February 2008 primarily to use AFM to study single molecule mechanics by force spectroscopy.
Ph: 614.247.8464 Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Jessica DeJesus
Jessica DeJesus hails from Chicago, IL, where, as a child, she spent most of her time honing her ballet technique. As a result of 14 years of competitive dancing, visits to the doctor’s office occurred frequently in order to tend to various knee and ankle injuries. Though they did not facilitate her career as a ballerina, it was these experiences that allowed her to realize her interest in sports medicine. She completed her pre-medical studies at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO; however, as she advanced through the curriculum, more career options within the scientific community became apparent to her, particularly within the realms of medical research. Her enthusiasm for research was further solidified by working for a pharmaceutical research company examining the efficacy and safety of novel anti-psychotic drugs. Upon graduation, she decided to defer medical school and accept a position in Dr. Sarkar’s lab at the Ohio State University. While the clinical aspect of medicine remains of interest to her, she is excited to be part of this exploration into the capabilities of nanotechnology in the field of neurosurgery.
Ph: 614.247.8464 Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Kristin Dahl
Kristin Dahl was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her family raised poultry, rabbits and reptiles of various types and at one point a horse; this gave Kristin her initial introduction to animals and animal behavior. She became interested in medical research when she would visit her father’s lab and sat in on various animal surgeries.
The first year of high school her family was relocated to Columbus, Ohio where Kristin became very active in the Science club. She worked as a service worker after school to fund an educational trip to Europe after graduation. When she returned after three months of exploring European science museums, she promptly started school at the Miami University. The next quarter she moved back to Columbus and enrolled at The Ohio State University. She then accepted a job as a student research assistant in a lab studying lung cancer. Exploring her options she decided to take a position as an intern with The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. She graduated from The Ohio State University in spring 2007, and was accepted for a position in Dr. Sarkar’s lab in the Department of neurological surgery.