Erin S. Baker

Principal Investigator

Email: erinmsb@unc.edu

Erin was born and raised on a farm/ranch in central Montana. She attended the same school in Winifred, MT from kindergarten to her senior year of high school where she competed in basketball, volleyball and track and played the flute in concert band and the baritone in pep band. She received her B.S. in chemistry and a minor in mathematics from Montana State University in Bozeman. At MSU, Erin performed undergraduate research in Eric Grimsrud’s lab using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and grew to love the structural separations possible with this technique. She pursued IMS even further during her Ph.D. research in Michael Bowers’ Group at the University of California – Santa Barbara where she evaluated DNA duplexes and quadruplexes by coupling IMS with mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) measurements. Erin then traveled to Tricities, WA where she was a post-doctoral researcher and then a scientist in Richard Smith’s group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. During this time, she evaluated multidimensional separations for high-throughput proteomic, metabolomic, lipidomic, glycomic and exposomic measurements and worked with different software groups to develop programs to assess the complex data. Erin has published >150 manuscript on applications and methods using IMS-MS to evaluate complex environmental and biological systems. In her free time, she loves camping, hiking, whitewater rafting and snuggling with her dogs.

James N. Dodds

Research Assistant Professor

Email: jndodds@unc.edu

James is a research assistant professor in the Baker Lab and is currently developing analytical methods for quick solid phase extraction prior to IMS-MS analysis. Applications of these methods are currently focused on studying perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their isomeric diversity. He completed his B.S. in chemistry in 2013 at the University of North Georgia where he was an undergraduate researcher under the advisement of Dr. Dan Thompson focusing on developing an interface between a thermogravimetric analyzer and a single quadrupole mass spectrometer. He then went on to further study mass spectrometry with a focus on characterizing ion mobility separations under the advisement of Dr. John McLean at Vanderbilt University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry in 2018. In his free time James enjoys watching college football, eating at Taco Bell, and most importantly watching The Bachelor franchise.

Guozhi Zhang

Postdoctoral Researcher

Email: guozhi@unc.edu

Guozhi was born and raised in Suzhou, China, a small town about 2 hours from Shanghai. She completed her B.S. in Biochemistry/Chemistry with a minor in Math in 2017 at Kutztown University. She then traveled to the University of Arizona for graduate school where she worked in Michael Marty’s Lab evaluating membrane protein-lipid interactions with lipid exchange-mass spectrometry. In her free time, Guozhi enjoys watching game streaming.

Jack P. Ryan

Graduate Student

Email: jpryan3@unc.edu

Jack was born and raised in Housatonic, Massachusetts, a small town about 15 minutes from the New York State border. He completed his B.S. in chemistry with a minor in history at Boston College. After graduating in 2018 he began working as a research associate at Proteostasis Therapuetics Inc., a biotechnology company located in Boston. At PTI Jack worked primarily as a member of the electrophysiology department, with a special focus on PTI’s drug development pipeline. In his free time Jack enjoys golfing, reading, cooking, and is an avid Boston sports fan.

Anna K. Boatman

Graduate Student

Email: aboatman@unc.edu

Anna grew up in Wisconsin and received her B.S. in Pharmacology/Toxicology and Biology from UW-Madison in 2013. She worked as a production chemist, project manager, and production planner at MilliporeSigma in Madison before moving to North Carolina and starting grad school in 2020. When she’s not in the lab getting excited about analyzing environmental toxicants, you can find her hiking, biking, and climbing around Chapel Hill and out in the mountains.

Jessie R. Chappel

Graduate Student

Email: jrchapp3@ncsu.edu

Jessie grew up in Edwardsville, IL, a suburb 30 minutes east of St. Louis, MO. She attended undergrad at Greenville University where she double majored in biology and chemistry. During this time, she worked on a research project studying the neurological effects of the kava plant using a C. elegans model. While working on this project, she realized that her true interest is in data analysis, rather than conducting experiments. For this reason, she decided to pursue a PhD in bioinformatics, which she began at NC State in the fall of 2020. Outside of school, Jessie enjoys reality TV, playing with cats, and trying new restaurants.

Ashlee T. Falls

Graduate Student

Email: atfalls@unc.edu

Ashlee grew up in Hickory, North Carolina before attending UNC-Wilmington, where she completed her B.S. in chemistry with a minor in mathematics in 2022. At UNCW, her undergraduate research with Dr. Soon Goo Lee focused on studying the protein activity of a variety of flavonoids, or secondary metabolites found in plants. Her time at UNCW sparked a passion for environmental chemistry, inspiring her to continue her education in the Baker Lab at UNC Chapel Hill. In her free time, Ashlee enjoys listening to music, nature walks, travel, and quality time with friends and family.

Amie M. Solosky

Graduate Student

Email: asolosky@unc.edu

Amie grew up in Ballston Spa, New York, a small town just outside of Saratoga. She completed her B.S. in Chemistry in 2019 at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. Her love for analytical chemistry started at the NYS Department of Health where she started developing biomonitoring LC-MS methods and ran emergency response GC-MS methods to protect New Yorkers in the event of a chemical threat. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys reading, baking/cooking, listening to Taylor Swift, and cuddling with her cats.

Greg Kudzin

Graduate Student

Email: gregk@ad.unc.edu

Greg Kudzin (right) grew up in Ascot, a small town one hour away from London, UK. He attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland where he obtained a B.S. in Chemistry in 2022. His undergraduate research with Professor Russell Morris and Professor Sharon Ashbrook focused on using solid-state NMR to study the behavior of MOFs and develop their application to phosphate ester hydrolysis. This research interest has since grown into a passion to use mass spec to better understand the world around us joining the Baker Lab in November 2022. When not in the lab he enjoys UNC sports, bad movies, and Love Island.

Kara Joseph

Graduate Student

Email: karamj@unc.edu

Kara grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and obtained a B.S in Chemistry and in Biology, with minors in Spanish
and English from Marshall University in Huntington, WV. At Marshall, she worked in the lab of Dr.
Derrick R. J. Kolling where she researched the biochemical mechanisms associated with tardigrade stress
responses. Kara discovered her interest in mass spectrometry through her lab’s collaboration with the
Hicks Lab at UNC-CH. Now, Kara hopes to use mass spectrometry as a tool to better understand how
anthropogenic materials enter and interact with the environment. Outside of lab, Kara enjoys running,
CrossFit and knitting.

Allison Fry

Graduate Student

Email: anfry@unc.edu

Allison grew up in the small town of Oil City, located in northwest Pennsylvania. She earned both her B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She worked alongside Dr. Michael Van Stipdonk as a member of his research group for three years. During this time, her research focused on using computational chemistry to investigate competing mechanisms of fragmentation observed when performing tandem mass spectrometry experiments on polypeptide species. From this experience, Allison learned that she was most interested in adapting both experimental and computational approaches in her research. Outside of the lab, Allison enjoys reading, crocheting, baking new recipes, and playing with her cats.

Emily Crawford

Graduate Student

Email: crawkem@unc.edu

Emily grew up in McDonough, GA and received her B.S. in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2023. As a yellow jacket, her most recent undergraduate research with Dr. Amanda Stockton focused on in situ organic analysis in the search for extraterrestrial life. This research sparked her interest in analytical and environmental chemistry, and she is thrilled to be a member of the Baker lab. When not in the lab, Emily enjoys playing board games, riding rollercoasters, and cuddling with her cats.

Haley Jostes

Graduate Student

Email: hjostes@unc.edu

Haley grew up in Stillwater, MN and received her B.A. in Chemistry and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, with minors in Statistics and Management from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. As she grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes, she has always had a keen interest in environmental research and discovered her desire to combine it with analytical techniques during her time in undergrad. As a Gustie researcher, Haley had the opportunity to work in both Dr. Dwight Stoll’s and Dr. Jeff Jeremiason’s labs which centered around 2D-LC analysis of small molecules and ICP-MS analysis of mercury in environmental samples respectively. When she is not in the lab, Haley loves hiking, cooking, 1,000-piece puzzles, and traveling.

Sarah Clark

Graduate Student

Email: sgclar@unc.edu

Sarah grew up in Cumming, Georgia, and completed her B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Kinesiology at the University of North Georgia in 2023. Her undergraduate research with Dr. Royce Dansby-Sparks focused on using total reflection X-ray fluorescence to determine the metal content of community well water. After participating in an REU in Dr. Leslie Hicks’ lab at UNC-Chapel Hill in summer 2022, Sarah discovered her love for mass spectrometry. Outside of research, she loves to watch horror movies, explore all the hiking trails in Chapel Hill, and pet any cats she can find.