ESBG
EVOLUTIONARY SYSTEMS BIOLOGY LAB
Kannan Lab
Institute of Bioinformatics
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
University of Georgia
ESBG LAB
We are an interdisciplinary research group leveraging advances in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, and systems biochemistry to map the complex relationships connecting protein sequence, structure, function, and evolution. We focus on biomedically important protein families such as protein kinases, glycosyltransferases, and ion channels that are causally associated with human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. We aim to develop personalized therapeutic strategies for these diseases based on a deeper understanding of how these proteins work in normal and disease states.
If you are interested in joining our lab, please get in touch with Dr. Kannan to discuss current openings and opportunities.
ONGOING RESEARCH
This is an overview of current research in the lab. You can click on each title for detailed information.
Mapping genome-phenome relationships in large protein families
Proteins are essential for life and their malfunctions are linked to diseases. Our lab studies these complex molecules to develop new therapies.
READ MOREAI and Deep learning models for biochemical applications
AI is revolutionizing biochemistry by analyzing protein sequences, like a code, to predict changes, group enzymes, and classify proteins.
READ MOREEvolutionary Data Analytics
Huge datasets from "omic" studies hold promise for protein research, but require user-friendly tools to analyze this complex information. Our lab builds user friendly tools for researchers.
READ MORENews
2025-07-14
Saber got a Clinical Assistant Professor position at Georgia State University(GSU)!!
2025-06-01
Jason secured a MD-PHD position at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University!!
2025-04-03
Dr. Kannan was awarded Distinguished Research Professor at UGA for 2025!!
2025-04-01
Neha received the Emerging Student Leader of the Year 2025 from International Student Life(ISL) at UGA !!
2024-08-12
Congratulations to Brady for winning the best presentation award at the EMBO Pseudoenzymes meeting in Girona, Spain
2024-04-10
Grace Watterson receives NSF GRFP fellowship!
Software
All SoftwareLATEST SOFTWARE
github
PEOPLE
Meet our team members
Dr. Natarajan Kannan
Professor and Georgia Coalition Distinguished Scholar
Professor and Georgia Coalition Distinguished Scholar
Ansley Applestone
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Ryan Bhowmik
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Ruili Fang
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
Emory Gandy
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Nathan Gravel
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Neha Gupta
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Kamaleldin Hassan Kamaleldin
NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduate(REU) Scholar
Bioinformatics
Dr. Samiksha Katiyar
Research Scientist
Bioinformatics
Rezwan Mahmud
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
Lan Na
Postdoc
Biochemistry
Anup Kumar Prasad
Postdoc
Biochemistry
Saber Soleymani
Postdoc
Computer Science
Alumni
Ishan Aggarwal
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
George Bendzunas
Postdoc
Biochemistry
Claire Bunn
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Genetics
Rayna Carter
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Shima Dastgheyb
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
Ayda Farhadi
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
Navid Hashemi
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
Liang-Chin Huang
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Nathan Kleber
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Hyunjin Annie Kwon
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Andrew Lamb
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Jason Lu
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Daniel McSkimming
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Smita Mohanty
Postdoc
Biochemistry
Tuan Nguyen
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Brady O'Boyle
Graduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Krishnadev Oruganty
Postdoc
Biochemistry
Priyanka Parikh
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Parnian Rahimi
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Zheng Ruan
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Farzaneh Saadati
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
Mariah Salcedo
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Carlos E Sanz
Postdoc
Biochemistry
Steven Thomas Scott
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Genetics
Tej Shidhaye
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Safal Shrestha
Postdoc
Bioinformatics
Eric Talevich
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Rahil Taujale
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Niral Thaker
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Aarya Venkat
Graduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Grace Watterson
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Biochemistry
Wayland Yeung
Graduate Research Assistant
Bioinformatics
Zhongliang Zhou
Graduate Research Assistant
Computer Science
COLLABORATORS
Andrew F. Neuwald
(IGS)
Krys Kochut
(UGA)
Khaled Rasheed
(UGA)
Frank Sicheri
(Mount Sinai Hospital)
Alexandra Newton
(UC San Diego)
Susan S. Taylor
(UC San Diego)
Gerard Manning
(Genentech)
Christian Doerig
(Monash University)
Debopam Chakrabarti
(UCF)
Patrick Eyers
(University of Liverpool)
Art Edison
(UGA)
Sheng Li
(UGA)
Contact
