Mike’s longstanding research interest lies in understanding how proteins function by dynamically interconverting between different conformational states.

He was first introduced to structural biology and X-ray crystallography as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, where he was a research assistant in Tom Alber’s laboratory. In the Alber lab, he worked on efforts to determine the structures of signaling proteins that are required for virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In 2014, he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UCLA under the mentorship of Todd Yeates. As a graduate student, Mike investigated the role of conformational polymorphism in expanding the functional diversity of a key family of proteins that define a widespread class of prokaryotic organelles collectively known as “bacterial microcompartments.” His work revealed the role of conformational polymorphism in defining specialized functions of microcompartment shell proteins, including ligand binding and allosteric regulation.

Mike joined James Fraser’s lab at UCSF as a postdoc, where he helped develop new methods that combine temperature perturbations with static and time-resolved structural measurements to provide detailed insight into the conformational landscapes of biological macromolecules. These new methods, including multi-temperature and temperature-jump X-ray crystallography and solution scattering, are being applied by the Thompson lab and others to understand how protein function is modulated by genetic mutations, by interactions with other molecules, and by other physical stimuli. As a postdoctoral fellow, Mike was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the BioXFEL Science and Technology Center (NSF), a Kirschstein NRSA (F32) fellowship from NIH/NHLBI, and an Independent Postdoctoral Research Award from the UCSF Program in Breakthrough Biomedical Research (PBBR).

In 2020, Mike was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC Merced. He is co-PI of a Bioscience Campaign at the Linac Coherent Light Source, senior research personnel on the INSITE team, and a member of the NSF CREST-CCBM Center.

Since taking her first biology 001 class at UCM Sarah has been growing interest into the microscopic world. In the Thompson lab she’s been give an opportunity to further her interest in research and biological sciences. In the future she hopes to find her passion and hopes Thompson lab will be her stepping stone to finding what she truly wants to do.

In her free time Sarah loves annoying the stray cats around her apartment with food and affection. She is also a huge fan of rock climbing and skating transition.

Alexander is a current Ph.D candidate in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (CBC) at UC Merced. He received his Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry with a minor in philosophy from UC San Diego where he worked in the Paesani Research Group on their polarizable, many-body computational water model, specifically studying group 1 ion hydration. He also previously conducted research on G-protein Coupled Receptors at The Bridge Institute at USC, working under Raymond Stevens. While there he studied the allosteric effects of sodium and other cations on GPCR signal transduction. His current research interests are protein conformational dynamics and biochemistry, as well as small molecule and biologic drug design.

Zahra earned a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology with a focus on Biotechnology from Alzahra University in 2016. She then completed her Master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, where her research focused on improving the purity and efficiency of hyaluronic acid using microfluidic methods. In the Fall of 2022, she joined the Ph.D. program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at UC Merced.

Throughout her graduate studies, Zahra has gained valuable experience in protein purification, flow cytometry techniques, and advanced data analysis. Through this work, she developed a deep interest in protein structure and function. She is currently a graduate researcher in the Thompson Lab, focusing on protein crystallization and X-ray crystallography to assess the effects of distal mutations derived from directed evolution in Kemp Eliminase on the enzyme’s structure and function.

Emma is a current undergrad at UC Merced and has always found the study of sciences fascinating. Ever since she took Biochemistry with Dr. Thompson, she has been interested in the biochemical pathways and the relationship between structure and function in enzymes. The work she has done thus far has opened her eyes to the possibilities that the field of structural biology has to offer. She is eager to explore this world of research and see where it leads her.

Azeem earned his Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry in 2023 from California State University, Fullerton where he worked with the Keppetipola Research Lab on studying the localization and post-translational modifications in Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein 1, an RNA binding protein.

Azeem joined the Quantitative and Systems Biology (QSB) Ph.D. program in 2023 at UC Merced where he continued researching his interest in proteomics. He joined the Thompson Lab in Fall 2024 and is investigating the structure of the Soybean Lipoxygenase active site.

Luisa earned her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. She studied allosteric communication in ERK2 and its mutants using computational modeling and molecular simulations in Dr. Daniel A. Barr’s lab.

During her undergrad, she discovered her passion for teaching and research. She pioneered the Learning Assistant (LA) program for Chemistry classes and was involved in a variety of language and science teaching opportunities.

In Fall 2021, Luisa joined the Thompson lab as UC Merced’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Ph.D. student.

Leila obtained her B.S. degree in Biology with a minor in Zoology from Razi University and also earned a master’s degree in Biophysics from the University of Tehran. During her final year of PhD studies in Biophysics, she moved to USC as a visiting research scholar. The majority of her research has been conducted on bacterial extracellular electron transfer (EET), linking intracellular reactions to external electrode surfaces in a bioelectrochemical fuel cell and a microscopic reactor before joining the Chemical Biology and Chemistry (CBC) program at UC Merced, as in Fall 2023. Additionally, she has a strong passion for understanding the structure and function of proteins, which are the building blocks of life.

Leila is currently a graduate student in the Thompson lab, where she employs a variety of cutting-edge techniques, including NMR, EPR, and X-ray protein crystallography, to investigate the structural dynamics of the enzyme Human CLK1 at physiological temperatures.

Alec earned a B.S. in Chemical Sciences at UC Merced in 2020.

While working to complete his undergraduate degree, he developed an interest in secondary education in STEM fields. After graduating, he started his educational career by teaching mathematics from 2020 - 2022. He is currently in the process of obtaining M.A. Teaching, Science Education.

In Fall 2022, he joined the Sukenik & Thompson labs as Lab Manager.

Josh earned a B.S. in Biochemistry at CSU Fresno in 2019. There, he found an interest in structural biology and crystallography while performing research under Dr. Cory L. Brooks. Josh’s research in the Brooks Lab focused on expressing and purifying novel antibody fragments that target cancerous forms of certain members of the mucin family of proteins.

In the Fall of 2020, Josh entered UC Merced’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Ph.D. program and began research in the Thompson Lab. He is currently working to biochemically characterize and determine the crystal structure of human IRF-3 in complex with HIV Vpu, an effort that hopes to reveal potential for host-directed antiviral therapies.

Behnoush developed interest in proteins at first in 2019 after obtaining a Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Tehran, Iran. She adores the world of Organic Chemistry, but preferred to continue education on an interplay of chemistry and biology. She got admitted in the PhD program of the University of California, Merced on Fall 2021 and started working with the Thompson lab right away. She is currently a graduate researcher in the Thompson lab. Her research focus right now is using protein crystallization methods and X-ray Crystallography for assessing the effect of conformational dynamics of the enzymes on their function. These data can be used for designing de novo enzymes specified for organic reactions of interest.

Andree earned her Bachelor’s degree from UCM in 2023 in Molecular and Cellular Biology. During that time, she worked in the Thompson Lab as an undergraduate researcher conducting an independent research project on drug discovery potentials on Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2, by exploring its previously lesser known active and inactive conformations. Upon graduation, she continued the CDK2 project in the Thompson Lab as a research assistant for a year before ultimately deciding that UC Merced was the perfect path for her PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

As a PhD student, Andree now studies temperature sensing proteins in the CMGC kinase family to investigate the mechanisms behind their temperature-sensing ability from a structural perspective. This work encompasses a lot of Andree’s work from her undergrad to the present and utilizes the skills she’s picked up along the way while expanding her skillset.

Alex has a broad range of scientific interests, with a primary focus on using X-ray methods to investigate protein dynamics. He earned his Ph.D. in the Fraser Lab at UCSF, where he explored how temperature jumps can perturb protein structures and developed time-resolved X-ray experiments to monitor these changes. His work also examined diffuse scattering as a potential source of insight into protein structural dynamics.

In the Thompson Lab, Alex helped establish time-resolved temperature-jump methods and is now expanding their application to new systems that provide fundamental insights into enzymatic catalysis. His research also aims to further refine our understanding of solvent-protein interactions and their role in driving protein dynamics.