Members
Tom Zongtao Lin, PhD
Principal Investigator
Email: tom.z.lin at rutgers.edu
Tom Lin has a profound research interest in Medicinal Proteomics. Tom is investigating PTM functions and biology to develop novel therapeutic strategies fighting against human diseases such as cancers and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., AD). Using state-of-the-art technologies including proteomics, medicinal chemistry, chemical probes, and cell biology, Tom aims to make breakthroughs in protein modifications, PTM-targeted protein degradation, and drug discovery.
Tom was born and grew up in a rural village in Xinyang City, Henan Province, China, before 2005. He studied Pharmacy during undergraduate and performed research in Liquid Chromatography (Caifang Wang lab) and thesis research in Medicinal Chemistry (Hongmin Liu lab), where he became interested in research and an academic career. He studied LCMS of Natural Products during MS, Medicinal Chemistry of Vitamin D3 during PhD, Chemical Proteomics during Postdoc, and PTM Proteomics during Scientist and Instructor. His academic journey, spanning >20 years’ experience in education and research at the interface of Analytical Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry, has been shaped by his persistent pursuit of new technologies, cutting-edge sciences, and novel therapeutic strategies. As the first degree receiver and first English speaker of the family, he has broken through significant barriers up to this point in his career. These experiences have prepared him to be most understanding of the struggles faced by early-stage scientists, and to become the most supportive mentor.
Education & Training
2023.08-2025.08 Instructor, Washington University in St Louis
2021.11-2023.07 Staff Scientist, Washington University in St Louis
2017.09-2021.10 Postdoc, University of Pennsylvania
2012.08-2017.08 PhD, University of Tennessee HSC
2009.09-2012.07 MS, Peking University
2005.09-2009.07 BS, Zhengzhou University
Changfeng Deng, PhD
Postdoc
Email: cd1191 at pharmacy.rutgers.edu
Changfeng Deng was born in Nanchang, China. He received his B.Sc. from Sichuan University in 2018 and then moved to the United State for M.S. (2018-2020) and Ph.D. (2020-2025) at University of Pennsylvania. His doctoral research in David Chenoweth lab focuses on developing photoactivable chemically induced proximity probes to modulate protein-protein interactions with high spatiotemporal precision. In 2025, Changfeng joined the Tom Lin lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Outside the lab, he enjoys table tennis, movies and anime.
Education & Training
2025.11- Postdoc, Rutgers University
2020-2025 PhD, University of Pennsylvania
2018-2020 MS, University of Pennsylvania
2014-2018 BS, Sichuan University
Mingyang Jiang
PhD student
Email: mj1025 at pharmacy.rutgers.edu
Mingyang Jiang received his B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his M.S. in Chemistry from New York University. He has two years of industry research experience in medicinal chemistry and is currently a PhD student in Medicinal Chemistry. His research interests focus on medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, with an emphasis on peptidomimetic synthesis, solid-phase chemistry, and small molecule screening. He is particularly interested in developing efficient synthetic strategies to support early-stage hit discovery and structure–activity relationship studies. Outside the lab, he enjoys gaming, playing basketball, and collecting mugs.
Education & Training
2025.09- PhD student, Rutgers University
2023.09-2025.05 MS, New York University
2016.08-2021.05 BS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Anika Song
PhD student
Email: anika.song at rutgers.edu
Anika Song was born in Pennsylvania and received her B.S.E. from Yonsei University. She has two years of undergraduate research experience in medicinal chemistry and protein dynamics laboratories and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry. Her research interests lie at the interface of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, focusing on the design and synthesis of bioactive small molecules as potential therapeutics, as well as the development of chemical tools to address complex biological problems, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Outside the lab, she enjoys listening to music, playing sports, and watching baseball.
Education & Training
2026.09- PhD Student, Rutgers University
2021.03-2026.02 BSE, Yonsei University
Tessa Yeseul Cha
PharmD student
Email: yc1492 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Tessa is a Class of 2030 PharmD student at EMSOP, Rutgers. She currently works as an undergraduate researcher in the lab.
Period: 2026.05-
Khoi Vu
Undergraduate student
Email: kvm29 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Khoi is an undergraduate student in Computer Science (Class of 2027). He is an Rutgers BMIHAI Summer Intern.
Period: 2026.06-2026.07
Kevin Lu
Undergraduate student
Email: klu29 at jh.edu
Kevin is an undergraduate student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University (Class of 2029). He is an Rutgers 2026 SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) Fellow, and a Grover Scholar.
Period: 2026.06-2026.07
Andrew Guarnaccia
Proteomics Trainee
Email: andrewguarnaccia95 at gmail.com
Andrew is learning Proteomics in the lab.
Period: 2026.07-
Jessica Pan
Undergraduate student
Email: jp2400 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Jessica is an undergraduate RA from Rutgers Aresty Research Assistant Program.
Period: 2026.09-
Audrey Gaona
Undergraduate student
Email: asg343 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Audrey is an undergraduate RA from Rutgers Aresty Research Assistant Program.
Period: 2026.09-
Alumni
Sambavi Elangovan, PhD
Lab Role: Volunteer
Period: 2025.12-2026.06
After lab: Lab Technician, Rutgers NJMS
Email: sambavie28 at gmail.com
Priya Patel
Lab Role: PharmD student (Class of 2029)
Period: 2026.01-2026.06
Email: pp832 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Owen Dietz
Lab Role: PharmD student (Class of 2030)
Period: 2026.01-2026.06
Email: omd26 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Ashvini Patel
Lab Role: PharmD student (Class of 2029)
Period: 2026.01-2026.05
Email: aap274 at scarletmail.rutgers.edu
Lab alumni, please share your updates to Tom.