QCB Announces 2025 Postdocs

QCB is proud to announce their 2025 Postdoctoral Fellows. Abner Apsley , Eric Shinn, and Jan Stevens were selected for their scholarly research and capabilities to enhance and expand the research that is the Center’s mission: developing 4D (space plus time) whole-cell models and experiments to transform our understanding of how cells function.

Abner Apsley
Dr. Apsley  received a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences at The Pennsylvania State University in May 2025 and started as a QCB postdoctoral research in July. He currently works with QCB Director Zaida Luthey-Schulten and Julia Mahamid, European Molecular Biology Laboratory. His research focuses on the creation and implementation of eukaryotic whole-cell models. Some of his current projects include using whole cell modeling methods to predict gene regulatory behavior in yeast and the generation of both metabolic and signal transduction modules for human neutrophil whole-cell models. In collaboration with Dr. Mahamid, Apsley also plans to incorporate spatial information from cryo-ET experiments into eukaryotic whole-cell models.

Eric Shinn
Dr. Shinn was awarded his PhD in Biophysics and Quantitative Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Fall 2024. As a QCB fellow, he will work on integrative, whole-cell modeling of the red blood cell, incorporating structural, proteomics, lipidomics, and glycomics data into models for study using molecular dynamics simulations. His work involves developing and deploying cell-scale modeling methodologies for efficient assembly of large molecular models. Eric’s scientific interest in the permeation of metabolic gases oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide across biological membranes motivates his modeling of the red blood cell. Eric will begin his fellowship early in 2026, working with QCB faculty Professors Erik Lindahl, Stockholm University, and Emad Tajkhorshid, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, leaders in the field of MD simulations.

Jan Stevens
Dr. Stevens did his PhD at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, where he worked with Professor Siewert-Jan Marrink on developing whole-cell molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the Martini force field. During his doctoral work, he constructed the first bacterial cell model with Martini and developed computational tools to integrate experimental data into MD simulations. Jan will begin his fellowship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in early 2026, working with Luthey-Schulten, Aleksei Aksimentiev, and Emad Tajkhorshid. His research focuses on creating a computational framework that combines multi-scale simulation methods and reaction-diffusion models to bridge molecular detail with cellular-scale phenomena. He will also focus on exploring the possibilities of scientific outreach using the computational models built during this research.