Lab Members

Dr. Andy Hoofnagle, MD, PhD

Dr. Hoofnagle’s laboratory focuses on research and development of novel biomarker assays that use mass spectrometry for the care of patients. Their research projects span the entire lifespan of a biomarker from discovery to application in clinical research to the development of robust, scalable methods for clinical care. Areas of interest include cancer, cardiovascular disease, doping in sports, nutrition, diabetes, metabolism, and dementia. Funding is currently provided by NIDDK, NIA, and the Partnership for Clean Competition. Partial equipment support is provided by Waters, Inc.
He wears fun socks and will sometimes enjoy a donut at group meeting.

Lili Barahona-Carrillo, Research Scientist 2

Lili is from Queretaro, Mexico but grew up in Washington state. She enjoys spending time with her familia, dancing, and traveling around Latin America. Lili has experience in different analytical fields, including a winery analytical lab for quality assurance testing of commercial and premium brands, the food safety and pesticide data sector running highly complex analysis of environmental products for pesticides, chemical residues, nutrients and elements, and protein-protein interactions to elucidate interfaces involved in the development of the mouse neocortex. Currently, she contributes to the Hoofnagle lab in research and development of analytical chemistry techniques to quantify proteins and small molecules in complex mixtures.

Jessica Becker, Medical Laboratory Scientist Lead

Jess is a Lead Medical Laboratory Scientist who earned her Masters while working in the Hoofnagle Lab and now loves to design experiments that answer interesting questions in analytical chemistry. She helped invent the first assay that uses peptide immunoaffinity enrichment in clinically relevant samples for an important clinical biomarker.

Hannah Buckingham, Clinical Lab Technician

Hannah (Hammer) enjoys many different parts of the research lab, the clinical lab, and the phlebotomy suite. She has never seen a median cubital vein she doesn't like.

Brant Criswell, Research Scientist 1

Brant completed his bachelor’s degree in Cell & Molecular Biology at Seattle University in 2019, while researching the genomics of freshwater chlorovirus. He joined the Biomarker Resource Lab at the University of Washington soon thereafter, developing ELISAs for biomarkers of chronic diseases sampled from dry blood spots. Brant joined the Hoofnagle Lab in 2023 and has worked on refining assays for mass spec in peptide-related projects, and further developed immunoassays for markers of kidney injury. Brant specializes in statistical analysis and data visualization, and also built this whole website from scratch! Outside of the lab, he enjoys cooking elaborate dinners for friends, bike touring, scouring Wikipedia, and practicing his French.

Janea Robinne Diloy, Clinical Lab Assistant

Lorem ipsum dolor sit, amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Rerum dolorem quo ullam reiciendis dolor aspernatur? Ut officia non ex, sapiente amet officiis dolore cumque quod ipsam placeat? Commodi, debitis laudantium. Lorem, ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Officiis, est repellendus laborum quibusdam expedita eaque illum aliquam temporibus voluptas minima nisi commodi fugit quod dicta. Nulla expedita mollitia architecto deleniti!

Alexandra Emmanuel, Research Scientist Engineer 3

Alexandra Emmanuel, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician, graduated from the Faculty of Health Sciences of Quisqueya University (UniQ-Haiti). She holds a Master’s degree in Parasitology-Mycology from Pierre and Marie Curie University (France) and a PhD in Immunology from Descartes University (France).
From January 2018 to March 2023, she worked at the laboratory Spectrométrie de Masse Biologie Protéomique (SMBP), located at the ESPCI in France. During this time, she characterized proteins and peptides, specifically antibodies, by LC-MS. In 2021, she was an associate researcher on the Climate Change Research Team (ERC2) of Quisqueya University (UniQ-Haiti) where she worked on the themes of climate change and human health.
In April 2023, Alexandra joined the Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington as a research scientist. She continues using mass spectrometry methods to characterize proteins and peptides that are impacted in human diseases.
In collaboration with other Haitian researchers, she founded in July 2024 the association Haiti Science and Society (HaSci-So). This nonprofit association aims to disseminate scientific culture through its projects in Haiti.

Katrina Forrest, Research Scientist 3

Kat Forrest's research journey began while she was an undergraduate at UCSD, where her microbiology coursework led to research on secondary metabolism and marine natural product chemistry. Thanks to a series of fortunate events, she was trained on how to operate the lab’s mass spectrometer and it’s been love ever since ❤. This new knowledge led to a project using molecular networking techniques to visualize and identify changes in the secreted secondary metabolome of a marine microbe in response to different environmental stressors.
Following graduation, Kat joined the metabolomics team at a synthetic biology company where she created new high-throughput small molecule assays to help support protein engineering efforts. When she joined Hoofnagle Laboratory in 2020, this experience was utilized to streamline existing assays and data analysis pipelines. Kat has since shifted her focus away from small molecules and has joined the wonderful and wacky world of proteomics, which has motivated her to obtain a master's degree with the Hoofnagle Laboratory.

Jeany R. Gaur, Research Scientist 2

Highly skilled and dedicated biochemist with several years of experience in molecular biology techniques, protein and RNA isolation, DNA analysis, and advanced biochemical assays. Proven expertise in Isoelectric Focusing, electrophoresis, Western Blotting, PCR, Restriction Enzyme Digestion, and enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISA). Proficient in mass spectrometry, procedure validations, SOP development, and QA/QC functions. Adept at protein and lipid analysis, including high sensitivity chemiluminescence-based immunoassays. Passionate about continuous learning and maintaining the highest standards in laboratory practices. Passionate about travel and exploring different cultures. Green thumb with a deep love for gardening in free time.

Vraja Gandhi

Vraja Gandhi began her scientific journey with a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science, specializing in Chemistry, from the University of New Haven, where she gained valuable technical skills through an internship focused on different analytical techniques. After her undergrad she worked as an Associate Scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, where she contributed to drug discovery and optimized chromatographic techniques.
Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s in Applied Chemical Sciences and Technology at the University of Washington, where she serves as a Research Assistant in the Hooflab, conducting method validation for Dry Blood Spot (DBS) analysis. Her primary project involves developing a high-throughput LC-MS/MS assay for anti-doping testing, a role in which she applies her expertise in mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography to design effective, high-precision analytical methods.

Elisha Goonatilleke, PhD

Elisha received a B.S. in Chemistry from University of California, Davis. She completed her PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the University of California, Davis where she joined the Laboratory of Dr. Carlito Lebrilla. In the Lebrilla lab, she has used mass spectrometry to characterize and quantify oligosaccharides and glycosylation of proteins. During her graduate studies, she also worked as an Instrumentation scientist at InterVenn BioSciences where she used mass spectrometry-based platform for the discovery and validation of biomarkers for cancer. When she moved to Washington in 2019, she joined Hoofnagle Laboratory where she continued her work on developing targeted proteomic methods to quantify proteins in biological fluids.

Maya Hatten-Beck, goob

Maya is a Masters student in the Department of Larboratory Medicine and Pathology who grew up in Bellingham and graduated from Whitman College. Since joinging the Hoofnagle Lab, she has been working on mass spectrometric assays of small molecules and loves to use Skyline, particularly in Eggplant Lemonade mode. If she isn't haunting campus, she is likely skiing or spending time in the beautiful outdoors. And yes, she did go as a Costco hot dog for Halloween.

Huu Hien Huynh, PhD, Acting Instructor

Dr. Huu Hien Huynh is a scientist originally from Vietnam. He began his academic journey in France, earning a Pharm.D. from the University of Paris Descartes, along with master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Chimie ParisTech-PSL and analytical chemistry from PSL and Sorbonne University. He later obtained a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry and metrology from ESPCI Paris-PSL in collaboration with the French National Metrology Institute (LNE).
Huynh specializes in developing mass spectrometry methods to enhance biomarker quantification in clinical research. He is particularly dedicated to the global standardization and harmonization of laboratory results. Based in Seattle, he works in the Hoofnagle Lab at the University of Washington, contributing to the development of metrological standards for protein measurements in anti-doping and clinical research, with a focus on kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. Outside the lab, he enjoys hiking in the Pacific Northwest and exploring diverse cuisines.

Matt Karasu, Research Scientist Engineer 2

Matthew is a teacher-cum-researcher in pharmaceutics, mass spec, and ELISA. His interests lie in educating and understanding how protein expression differ in ages, heredity, and environment. Mostly he does ELISA, mass spec assays, getting things done for the lab, and safety-oriented tasks as the CHO. Outside the lab he enjoys the silence of Vashon, riding his bicycle, meditating in a good RPG and writing adventures for his D&D players to enjoy.

Del Landicho, Medical Laboratory Scientist Lead

Del is a graduate of UW in 1982 with B.S. Medical Technology (now renamed to Medical Laboratory Science). He has worked for UW Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology with four groups: A) patient monitoring with Dr. Margaret Kenny using transcutaneous O2 and CO2, oxygen saturation and tissue pH, B) Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at Harborview Hall with Drs Bob Labbe, Mark Wener and Dan Bankson, C) dried spot laboratory with Drs Mark Wener and Alan Potter to measure CRP, EBV, cholesterol, triglyceride and HDL from dried blood spots and D) currently with Dr. Andy Hoofnagle. His specialty is managing large number of samples, that need to be run in many different stations. He has been a Medical Laboratory Scientist Lead since Aug 2001 (23+ years).
Besides work, he likes to build and repair PCs and notebooks for fun, played men’s and coed soccer for 12 years, ran 550+ career races in 40 years. He has finished 63 marathons, 122 half marathons, 44 triathlons (swim, bike, run) in six years out of which five were full Ironman triathlons (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run). He has done Seattle to Portland bike ride (STP) 4X and the 10,000 ft elevation gain ride around Mt Rainier in one day (RAMROD) 3X. He still manages to finish Honolulu marathon every year!
He believes that his being healthy is connected to spending his entire lifetime staying physically fit.

Sara Shijo

Sara received her BS in Biology in 2014 and has worked in a variety of healthcare laboratories since. She is currently working on an assay for early detection of type 1 diabetes. She has two cats, thinks dad jokes are actually pretty funny, and tries to get through her TBR book list in her free time.

Poonam Trivedi, Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Poonam has more than 10 years of experience in the area of synthetic and analytical chemistry in various modules of research. She obtained her Doctor of Technology from Åbo Akademi University Finland. Her doctoral research was focused on cellulose chemistry and product development. She also has 6 years of Industrial experience in design and synthesis of small molecules, their characterization and purification. In Hooflab she is gaining experience in utilization of Targeted Mass Spectrometry for patient care in various disease areas. In leisure time she likes to spend time with family.

Lab Alumni

Sean Agger

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Quos dolorum alias iure aliquam architecto, repellat, adipisci labore cumque amet laborum, magnam pariatur deserunt sunt voluptatibus incidunt magni beatae? Ad, amet!

Hannah Bahram-Pour

Cora Best, PhD

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Quos dolorum alias iure aliquam architecto, repellat, adipisci labore cumque amet laborum,

Visit Cora's page at UF