Blessing Njoku
Graduate Student

Blessing majored in Neurobiochemistry, with a minor in Philosophy, at Trinity College. During that time, she did research with Sarah Raskin and Michael Puljung. Her research in the Raskin lab focused on the link between traumatic brain injury in female domestic violence survivors and cognitive impairments. Her work in the Puljung lab focused on the relationship between ATP binding and the activity of purinergic P2X receptors. Blessing began her studies in the Rockefeller PhD program in 2023 and joined the Alushin lab in 2024. Her current work focuses on the structural mechanisms of directional catch bonding by cell adhesion proteins.
LAB MEMBERS
Greg Alushin
Principal Investigator
Xiaoyu Sun
Research Associate
Keith Hamilton
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ian Windham
Postdoctoral Fellow
Sarah Connolly
Postdoctoral Fellow
Blessing Njoku
Graduate Student
Hannah Ye
Graduate Student
Emily Mazur
Graduate Student
Anirban Chakraborty
MD-PhD Student
Hassan Sohail
Research Assistant
Mara Mindrup
Research Assistant
Qiulei Hu
Lab Administrator
ALUMNI
Bob Cail, Ph.D.
2014-2015
NIH Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Currently: Postdoc, Goldman / Ostap labs, U. Penn
Laura Yen, M.S.
2014-2016
NIH Biologist
Currently: Biophysics PhD Student, Columbia U.
Luke Axiotakis, M.D.
2015-2016
NIH Postbaccalaureate Fellow
Currently: Resident, New York Presbyterian
Pinar Gurel, Ph.D.
2015-2017
Postdoctoral Fellow
Currently: Principal Scientist, Mural Oncology
Santiago Espinosa de los Reyes, B.S.
2017-2019
Research Assistant
Currently: MD-PhD Student, Stonybrook U.
Carla Hachicho, B.S.
2019-2021
Research Assistant
Currently: MD Student, SUNY Downstate
Lin Mei, Ph.D.
2017-2021
Graduate Student
Currently: Scientist, Seismic Therapeutic
Ayala Carl, Ph.D.
2018-2023
Graduate Student
Currently: Field Application Scientist, ThermoFisher
Joe Levin, Ph.D.
2018-2024
Graduate Student
Currently: Investment Analyst, Baillie Gifford
Ariel Pan, B.A.
2021-2024
Research Assistant
Currently: PhD Student, TPCB
Rui Gong, Ph.D.
2017-2024
Postdoctoral Fellow
Currently: Assistant Professor, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology
Matthew Reynolds, Ph.D.
2019-2024
Graduate Student
Currently: Postdoc, Rui Zhang lab, WUSTL
Opeoluwa Olaniyan, B.S.
2022-2024
Sloan Undergraduate Researcher
Currently: College Assistant, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Michael Barrett
2022-2024
Sloan Undergraduate Researcher
Currently: Undergraduate, Hunter College
Donovan Phua, Ph.D.
2019-2025
Graduate Student
Currently: Postdoc, Nolan / Meyerowitz labs, Caltech
Lily Sutton, B.A., M.S.
2023-2025
Research Assistant
Currently: Medical Student, Yale
John Watters, Ph.D.
2021-2026
Graduate Student
Currently: Postdoc, Shao lab, HMS
Alfred Chin, Ph.D.
2021-2026
MD-PhD Student
Currently: Returned to medical school