Karthickeyan Chella Krishnan, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

Karthick was a Biotechnology major from India who then received his PhD in Systems Genetics from the University of Cincinnati in 2015, under the expert mentorship of Dr. Malak Kotb. He then completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Jake Lusis in the Department of Medicine/Cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2021. In February 2021, he joined the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neurobiology and is currently an Associate Professor.

I started out as an engineer, then a microbiologist and now a metabolism guy. I wonder what the future holds for me. I love gaming (PlayStation and board games), reading manga and binge-watching anime series.

Brook Hemmelgarn, B.S.
Lab Manager

Brook graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Cincinnati in the spring of 2023. She earned her degree in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Cell & Molecular Biology. Brook is particularly interested in genetics and neurobiology, as well as learning more about how sex differences influence mitochondrial function & susceptibility to disease. She plans to obtain a PhD in the future.

I enjoy sci-fi movies, reading mystery novels, and playing board games with friends. I spend most of my free time adventuring with my dog or watching cooking shows to discover new recipes. My guilty pleasure is hot sauce!

Noble Kumar Talari, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Noble received his PhD from the University of Hyderabad, India. He then completed his first Postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Prof. Naresh Babu Sepuri, where he studied the role of mitochondria in liver metabolism. Currently, he is interested in understanding the role of peridroplet mitochondria in metabolic disorders such as obesity and MASLD. He would further like to decode the key events with respect to mitochondrial metabolism that drive sex differences in these metabolic disorders.

I live in a fantasy world where I can communicate with cells, organelles, lipid droplets and mitochondria through my dreams. Sometimes, I get answers for my experiments through my dreams. It is funny but it is real. I love to read publications and discuss about science. Also, I enjoy listening to music and I am a singer too.

Ilsa Miller, B.S.
Ph.D. Student

Ilsa is a PhD student in the Pharmacology and Physiology graduate program at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Ilsa joined K Lab directly after completing their undergraduate degree at Miami University in 2025, where they received a Merit Scholarship and gained early mentored research experience in biophysical chemistry. As an undergraduate, Ilsa contributed to the elucidation of ion channel protein structure, work that contributed to their mentor’s thesis and resulted in a co-authored publication. They also presented multiple posters on this research.

Since joining K Lab, Ilsa has expanded their research interests to liver biology and metabolism, with a particular focus on how mitochondrial maladaptation contributes to hypercholesterolemia.

Zoe Paxhia-Poppaw, B.S.
Ph.D. Student

Zoe graduated from Wright State University in the spring of 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. She received General Honors and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Zoe was also a member of the Wright State Women’s Bowling team. Zoe is currently enrolled in the Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology PhD program at the University of Cincinnati. She plans to investigate sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models during her time in the program.

I enjoy listening to music and playing old Wii games. Most of my free time is spent going out with my friends, cuddling with my cat, George, or watching YouTube deep dive videos. I do the NYT mini crossword and connections every day. My favorite food is chicken tenders.