Past Lab Members

Seerat Elahi, M.D, Ph.D.

 Seerat joined the Olejniczak Lab in 2016 as a graduate student in the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences at SUNY Buffalo. Following an exceptionally productive (and short) 2.5 years in the lab she graduated with her Ph.D. in 2018. She then moved to Montreal to join the lab of Guy Sauvageau as a post-doctoral fellow and has since relocated to the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute to continue her post-doctoral work.

Shawn M. Egan, Ph.D.

Shawn joined the Olejniczak Lab as a post-doctoral fellow in 2016 and pioneered our in vivo efforts to characterize the function of the RNA binding protein ARS2 in adult hematopoiesis. Following a short tenure in the lab Shawn was recruited into a biotech analysis position at Citi, where he currently holds the title Senior Associate Analyst.

Rachel Kandefer, B.S.

Rachel was the first member of the Olejniczak Lab. She served as technician, lab manager, and head pastry chef for several years prior to moving to another lab at Roswell Park.

G. Aaron Holling, Ph.D.

Aaron received his B.S. in microbiology from Colorado State University in 2016, then began his Ph.D. at Roswell Park in 2016, joining the Olejniczak Lab in 2017. His thesis research is focused on understanding how the RNA binding protein ARS2 regulates RNA biogenesis in support of T cell metabolic reprogramming and effector differentiation upon activation. Aaron completed his thesis in 2021 and moved on to the University of Colorado for his post-doctoral work.