About Us
We are a young lab recently established in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics at UVA, Charlottesville, Virginia. We are studying how nascent protein localization is affected in Cancer and during cellular stress.
Meet The Team
Ahmad Jomaa
Principal Investigator
Ahmad was born and grew up in Saida, Lebanon. After one year at the American University of Beirut, he moved to Hamilton, Canada. He studied at McMaster University, where he obtained a bachelors degree in Biology and then a PhD in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. Ahmad then moved to Switzerland where he did his post-doctoral training at the ETH Zurich. Ahmad joined UVA as an assistant professor in 2022. Ahmad enjoys doing sports and being outdoors.
Yelena Peskova
Senior Lab Specialist
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Amy Wang
Undergraduate Student
Amy is a rising 3rd year at UVA majoring in Biology and minoring in Computer Science. She enjoys playing tennis, going to the gym, and going on foodventures in her free time.
Sarah Marks
Undergraduate Student
Sarah is a rising third year premed student studying biochemistry at the University of Virginia. She enjoys volunteering, reading, and watching movies in her free time.
Emily Alley
Undergraduate Student
Emily is a fourth-year student majoring in both biochemistry and English at the University of Virginia. In her free time, she can be found knitting, drawing, and taking care of her many plants.
Maciej GÅ‚uc
Visiting Graduate Student
Maciej was born in Nowy Sącz, Poland where he grew up. He obtained a bachelors degree in Biotechnology and is finishing his masters degree in Molecular Biotechnology under the supervision of Prof. Miękus at Jagiellonian University in Cracow. In 2022 he joined Jomaa Lab as a visiting research graduate student. In his free time, Maciej enjoys working out and reading fantasy series.
Jamal Hamze
Lab Specialist
Jamal is a recent graduate from the University of Virginia, where he majored in biology. He spends his free time playing guitar or piano and reading.
Ibtissam Jomaa
Lab Manager
Ibtissam (Samo) was born in Canada but lived in Switzerland most of her life. She can fluently speak three languages, including English, German, and Arabic. In her free time from being a middle school student, she visits the lab and oversees our research activities.
Yusuf Jomaa
Research Adviser
Yusuf was born in Switzerland. After he finishes his homework, he is the acting research advisor on building 3D models in COOT. Yusuf loves Formula 1 and is a big supporter of Lewis Hamilton.
Maryam Jomaa
Lab Queen
Our newest recruit!