People

Josefina received a Licenciatura degree in Biology from the University of Buenos Aires and a PhD in Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics from the Rockefeller University with Rod MacKinnon. She pursued postdoctoral training with Steve Brohawn at UC Berkeley and with Vanessa Ruta at the Rockefeller University, before joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School as Assistant Professor in 2022. Outside lab, Josefina spends most of her time touring the playgrounds of Boston with her very active 5 year old daughter, Ellie. 

Andy is currently a student in the Program in Neuroscience (PiN). He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2021 with an arts degree in Biochemistry, having hopped from hardcore single-molecule biophysics to neuroscience in the labs of Carlos Bustamante and Marla Feller respectively. In Josefina’s lab he hopes to do a bit of both! Outside of lab he enjoys playing the pipe organ, running, hiking, medieval polyphonic music, and TGI Friday's. Like female mosquitos in search of a blood meal, he also exhibits very robust chemotactic behavior integrating polymodal sensory cues (emails, slack messages from multiple departments, and word of mouth) when roaming around the HMS campus in search of free food.

Steve’s PhD work focused on understanding the molecular mechanism of RNA stem-loop folding, and more broadly, understand the physical principles that govern the folding process of RNA. To gain insights into RNA folding, Steve developed and implemented a carbon nanotube based single-molecule approach that enables tracking of RNA conformational dynamic in real time. Steve’s current work is focused on understanding the molecular basis of insect odorant receptors. He is broadly interested in the structural and dynamic properties of these receptors that lead to their odorant ligand sensitivity and selectivity. Steve has a dog (named Bori) and a cat (named Bruce)!

Guido received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, working under the supervision of Dr. Hugo Adamo at the Institute of Biological Chemistry and Biophysics (IQUIFIB). His doctoral work focused on the biochemical characterization of a P-type ATPase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Aside from research, Guido enjoys teaching and mentoring. He worked as a Teaching Assistant of Biological Chemistry and Biochemistry of Metabolopathies, and served as a coordinator of the postgraduate course 'Mutagenesis and Functional Characterization of Eukaryotic Proteins'. He also participated as an instructor of the International Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences, offered jointly by the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and Albert Ludwigs University in Germany. Outside of the lab, Guido enjoys playing football (locally known as 'soccer'), appreciating art, traveling, and hiking.

Diana received her doctorate from the Cell Biology Department at Yale University, where she trained with Pro. Karin Reinisch, investigating the molecular basis for lipid homeostasis in the cell and the role of lipid transfer proteins during autophagosome biogenesis. She then did a 2-year postdoc appointment in the Department of Biochemistry at Duke university, where she trained with Prof. Seok-Yong Lee in cryo-EM  of membrane transport proteins. Diana joined the del Mármol Lab in 2023, where she is now enthused and immersed in exploring the many unresolved scientific wonders of insect biology at the molecular mechanistic level. Outside of the lab, Diana indulges in the art of gardening with her mum and has recently developed a slight addiction to Barry's, where she gleefully sweats it out with her big bruh and friends.
 

Bailey received her B.S. in Biological Sciences and Entomology from Cornell University (2020), where she researched the Aedes albopictus virome under the supervision of Dr. Laura Harrington. Before beginning her doctoral research, she worked for two years as a research assistant at Harvard School of Public Health under the supervision of Dr. Flaminia Catteruccia. There, she worked on a project investigating the effects of Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility genes on Anopheles mosquito reproduction. In 2022, she joined the Harvard Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) PhD program and is co-mentored by Josefina del Mármol and Flaminia Catteruccia. Bailey is interested in how mosquitoes perceive their environment, and how vector biology can influence pathogen transmission. Outside the lab, she loves to bike, read, cook new recipes, and look for cool insects.

Jiawei received his Ph.D. degree in Biology from Tsinghua University School of Life Sciences in January 2021. He was a graduate student with Prof. Brian Kobilka and worked on conformational dynamics of the µ-opioid receptor using smFRET and DEER. Jiawei joined the del Mármol lab as a postdoc in 2022 and he is interested in the structural and functional basis of insect olfaction. Outside the lab, Jiawei likes reading and cooking.