People

Andrew Wiemer, Ph.D.

photo of andrew wiemer

Dr. Wiemer is a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Wiemer received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Notre Dame. He earned a Ph.D. in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Iowa, where he developed inhibitors of geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase. He performed postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying T cell adhesion and migration. He has received research support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the American Cancer Society, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and the Frasch Foundation for Chemical Research. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Immunologists, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Wiemer has served as a grant reviewer for the United States National Institutes of Health, the United States National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Defense, the Israel Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, and the French National Research Agency.

Xueting Huang, B.S.

Xueting Huang

Xueting Huang is a Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. student in Dr. Wiemer’s lab studying Medicinal Chemistry. She received her B.S. in Pharmaceutical Engineering from China Pharmaceutical University, where she was involved in the research on anticancer peptides. Xueting’s research currently focuses on drug discovery in cancer immunology.

Yiming Jin, B.S., M.M.

Yiming Jin is a Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. student in Dr. Wiemer’s lab studying Medicinal Chemistry. He received his M.M. and B.S. from the Pharmacy School of Shandong University, where he was involved in research on chemical synthesis, nanomaterials, polysaccharide immunological activities and tumor vaccines.

Girija Pawge, B.Pharm., M.S.Pharm.

Girija Pawge is a Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. student in Dr. Wiemer’s lab studying Medicinal Chemistry. She received her B.Pharm. from Mumbai University and her M.S.Pharm. from NIPER Raibareli, where she was involved in research on design and exploration of senolytic drugs.

Rohit Singh, Ph.D.

Photo of Rohit Singh

Rohit Singh is a postdoctoral research associate in Dr. Wiemer’s lab. He received his B. Pharmacy and M. Pharmacy from the RGPV, Bhopal and completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, where he focused on synthetic modifications of anti-inflammatory natural products.  Rohit’s research focuses on synthesis and evaluation of novel phosphoantigens.

Sarita Rani, Ph.D.

Sarita Rani

Sarita Rani is a postdoctoral research associate in Dr. Wiemer’s lab. She completed her B. Pharmacy from MSIP, Janakpuri, New Delhi. She then received her M. Pharmacy and Ph.D. from the Central University of Rajasthan, where she focused on cancer cell biology and nano-mediated drug delivery.  Sarita’s research focuses on the role of BTN3A1 ligands in T-cell-mediated cancer immunotherapy.

 

Recent Alumni

Megan Schladetsch, Ph.D.

Megan Schladetsch

Megan Schladetsch received her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Connecticut in 2022. Megan’s research focused on development of phage display methods.

Michael Poe, Ph.D.

Photo of Mike Poe

Michael Poe completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Wiemer’s lab, with the support of an American Cancer Society fellowship. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he synthesized novel GABA agonists. Mike’s research in the Wiemer lab focused on synthesis and evaluation of novel butyrophilin agonists.

Jin Li, Ph.D.

Photo of Jin Li

Jin Li received her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Connecticut in 2019. She received support from the UConn-Munson Fellowship and the MCB/PS Fellowship. Jin’s research focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics and immunotherapeutics for malignant tumors. She performed postdoctoral research at the University of Connecticut and is now a scientist for Pfizer. 

Sarah San Vicente

Sarah San Vicente is an undergraduate student working in Dr. Wiemer’s lab, majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology. Her research focuses on the interconnected roles of immunotherapy and radiotherapy in novel cancer therapeutics.

Reinier González

Reinier Gonzalez

Reinier González received a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut. Reinier’s research focused on directional cloning to uncover potential immunotherapy ligands.

Anthony Zhang

Anthony Zhang received a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut. His research focused on immune checkpoint proteins and how they can be targeted for cancer therapy.

Benson Shi

Benson Shi received a B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut. His research focused on immune checkpoint proteins.