Cassie Joiner
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Prof. Joiner received her Bachelors of Science in Chemistry at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. She moved to the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) for her PhD in Chemistry. There she worked under the supervision of Prof. Anna Mapp to design new photo-activatable unnatural amino acids to capture transient protein-protein interactions in live yeast. For her postdoctoral work she moved to Harvard Medical School to work with Prof. Suzanne Walker. There she fell in love with human O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and its mechanisms for substrate selection.
Prof. Joiner joined the chemistry faculty at St. Olaf in 2020. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of cofactor and substrate selection of human OGT and its eukaryotic homologs.
Tiarra Glogowski ’23
Postbaccalaureate Research Technician
Tiarra received her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry here at St. Olaf College. She enjoys playing with her dog (Murphy), hitting up a local CrossFit gym, listening to music, and multitasking numerous arts and crafts. After St. Olaf, Tiarra hopes to pursue medical or graduate school, as she is currently exploring both options.
Joined Fall 2023
Yousef Abualatta ’27
My full name is Yousef A Y Abualatta, I am pursuing a Chemistry major and a Biomolecular Sciences concentration. In my free time, I enjoy practising soccer, running, and working alongside others in developing college organisations and clubs. After St. Olaf, I am hoping to pursue a path in Medicine by going to medical school either in the US or abroad, however, I am still open to other options that could be better suited for me.
Joined Summer 2024
Lily Foster ’27
Lily is majoring in chemistry with a biomolecular science concentration. She enjoys painting, reading, playing with her dogs, and hiking in her free time. Lily is planning on attending graduate school at St. Olaf and pursing a career in biochemistry.
Joined Spring 2025
Addi Gager ’27
My name is Addi Gager (Gay-jer), and I am a Biology major with three concentrations: Neuroscience, Biomolecular Science, and Gender/Sexuality Studies. I play the French Horn and am involved in musical ensembles on campus. I love hiking and traveling to different National Parks (my favorite is Zion National Park!) and I do a variety of crafts such as crochet, embroidery, and cross-stitching, often while watching my comfort movie series: The Lord of the Rings! In the future I hope to progress my love for knowledge by studying neuroscience (or whatever else I decide) while keeping up with my hobbies of music and crafting.
Joined Spring 2025
Anna Lunstad ’26
Anna is majoring in chemistry with a concentration in biomolecular science. She enjoys dancing and spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, and climbing.
Joined Summer 2023
Ana Martell ’27
Ana is majoring in chemistry with a concentration in engineering studies. In her free time, Ana likes to dance, craft, and spend time with friends.
Joined Spring 2025
Kasandra (Kas) Padilla ’27
Kas is majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in Latin American Studies. In her free time, Kas loves playing sports like volleyball and has been liking pickle ball lately! She also loves listening to music while working out at the gym. After St. Olaf, she plans on attending Dental School.
Joined Spring 2024 – EMERGE SCHOLAR
Ragan Swanson ’28
Ragan is majoring in Chemistry and Biology with a concentration in Biomolecular Sciences. In her free time, she loves reading, watching movies with friends and family, singing/playing instruments, and doing crafts like crochet and embroidery.
Joined Summer 2025
Abby Towle ’26
Abby is majoring in Chemistry with a Biomolecular Sciences concentration. She enjoys playing clarinet, running, and tending to her plants. She also loves a vast variety of music. After St. Olaf, she hopes to attend dental school and possible pursue a career in orthodontic care.
Joined Spring 2023 – EMERGE SCHOLAR
Kris Xiong ’27
Kris is majoring in biology with a concentration in engineering. In his free time he likes to read fiction books and play badminton.
Joined Summer 2025
Ella Yarris ’26
Ella is pursuing a music major on the pre-medicine track. In her free time, she likes crafting, spending time outdoors, and making music.
Joined Summer 2023
Roz
Lab Mascot #1
Miss. Rosalyn Franklin (Roz for short) cheers on her mom’s research and is always up for donating cat whiskers in the name of science!
Fitz
Lab Mascot #2
Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald (Fitz for short) always provides goofiness and purrs of encouragement when science isn’t cooperating – when he isn’t writing he next big novel of course.
Joiner Lab Alumni
Roman Kendrick – Spring 2025
Ellie Sewall – Spring 2025
Peter Leach ’25 – Spring 2023 – Spring 2025
Meghan Moore ’25 – Spring 2023 – Spring 2025 – Medical Student, Brown University
Huy Huynh ’25 – Summer 2022 – Fall 2024 – Graduate Student, University of Chicago Biosciences PhD Program
Amelia Christensen ’25 – Spring 2024-Fall 2024
Kate Desrochers ’24 – Summer 2021 – Spring 2024 – Graduate Student, University of Michigan PhD Program in Chemical Biology – Kristin Koutmou Lab
Yalda Pourshaban ’24 – Summer 2023 – Spring 2024 – Research Assistant, Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University
Melanie Roberts ’24 – Fall 2021 – Spring 2024 – Graduate Student, University of California at San Diego, Chemistry PhD Program – Kubiak Lab
Jack Taylor ’24 – Summer 2021 – Spring 2024
Rose Lopez ’25 – Summer 2023 – TRIO McNair Scholar
Kate Dallmier ’23 – Summer 2021 – Spring 2023 – Graduate Student, University of Minnesota Chemistry PhD Program – Harki Lab
Simón Gutiérrez ’23 – Spring 2023
Holly Petersen ’23 – Summer 2022 – Spring 2023 – Graduate Student, University of Alabama – Birmingham Biochemistry/Structural Biology PhD Program – Wang Lab
Madi Rognerud ’23 – Summer 2022 – Spring 2023 – Medical Scribe
Ben Westrum ’23 – Spring 2023 – Surgical Dermatology Medical Assistant, Tareen Dermatology
Hahns Huebsch ’24 – Spring 2022-Summer 2022 – Peace Corp in Zambia
Kaitlyn Chalfant ’22 – Spring 2021 – Spring 2022 – Medical Student, Oakland University
Grace Wu ’23 – Fall 2022 – Spring 2022
Dana Nelson ’22 – Summer 2021 – Spring 2022 – Research Specialist I, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics
Erin NewRingeisen ’22 – Spring 2021 – Spring 2022 – Graduate Student, UC – Berkeley Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD Program – Niyogi Lab
Kaylee Philbrick ’22 – Summer 2021 – Spring 2022 – NIH IRTA Postbac Program, Hanover Lab
Jenelle Rolli ’22- Spring 2021 – Spring 2022 – Mayo Clinic Postbac, Maher Lab
Brian Olson ’22 – Spring 2021 – Fall 2022 – University of North Dakota Medical School
Hadia Mohammadzadah ’21 – Spring 2021