Our Team

Brendan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Lindenwood University in the spring of 2020, and joined the Bateman lab as a full time research tech in late 2021. He has since been primarily working with the team studying the Tau profile in Alzheimer’s disease.

Taraneh Atri is a junior undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. She is majoring in biology, neuroscience and has minors in music and applied linguistics. Taraneh joined the Bateman Lab in the spring of 2023 and is working primarily with the NfL team to better characterize neurofilament light. She plans to attend medical school after completing her undergraduate education. Outside of the lab, Taraneh serves as a Matched Academic Mentor and is principal double bassist of the WashU Symphony Orchestra.

Nicolas Barthélemy obtained his PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Strasbourg. He specializes in protein characterization and quantitation by mass spectrometry. He joined the Bateman laboratory as postdoctoral associate in 2015. As research instructor, Barthélemy focuses his research on tau protein phosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease and tau modifications in other tauopathies. His research led to the discovery of new tau biomarkers for AD, including ptau217 in plasma/spinal fluid, and has provided new understanding on molecular mechanisms involved in tauopathies.

James Bollinger’s studies have focused on the development and application of novel analytical techniques for the profiling of enzymes of clinical relevance. Specifically, he has utilized the LC-ESI-MS/MS analytical platform to design reagents and assays that enable the sensitive and specific analysis of individual proteins as well as metabolite profiles derived from their enzymatic activity. In collaboration with multiple other labs, he has applied these assays to characterize relative abundance and kinetic profiles of several proteins with the greater intent of investigating in vivo roles in cellular homeostasis and disease progression. Current efforts in the Bateman lab are focused on LC/MS method development for; 1) the assessment of alpha synuclein protein turnover kinetics in human CSF 2) the assessment of Superoxide Dismutase 1 protein turnover kinetics in human CSF 3) the assessment of CNS amyloidosis through blood-based biomarkers 4) the assessment of Apolipoprotein E’s role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disease.

Melanie Burton received her bachelor’s in psychology in the summer of 2020 and has developed an interest in the pathophysiology of neurological disorders, which brought her to the team. She is working on the SEABIRD project and loves to being involved in the progression of diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s disease. Burton is also involved in the cataloging of the samples collected for the SEABIRD study via the use of a composite sample organization program entitled FreezerWorks.

John earned his PhD in analytical chemistry from Saint Louis University, where he developed novel sample preparation platforms for LC-MS based metabolomics. He joined the Bateman lab in the fall of 2021, and is working on IP-MS method development toward the characterization of neurofilament light in various biofluids.

Reid Coyle graduated from Maryville University in spring 2022 with his bachelor’s degree in chemistry along with two minors in math and physics. He joined the Bateman lab in summer of 2022 as a full-time research tech and currently works with the Tau team.

Rickey George received his BS in psychology in December of 2019. During his education, he became drawn to the prospect of research but decided to pursue other areas of work to broaden his experience. However, research was his true passion, which eventually brought him to the Bateman lab. He is currently working on the SEABIRD project and is passionate in aiding the fight against Alzheimer’s disease through the progression of research aimed at improving diagnostic techniques. This involves screening participants and working closely on blood draws, as well as sample processing.

Yingxin (Chloe) He joined the Bateman laboratory in June 2019. She obtained her PhD in chemical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. She focuses her research on tau and amyloid-beta measurement in human CSF, plasma and brain. Her current work also includes the development of the IP-MS methods for measurement of NfL in human CSF, plasma and brain to enable SILK.

Cynthia (Cindy) Hodge joined the Bateman Lab in December 2020 as the lab manager. She provides general management, organization and administration assistance to the lab.  Her background is in neuroimaging, development & aging research, from coordination and management, at WUSTL and vocational rehabilitation and career development prior to her research career.