Group members

A. Sloan Devlin, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Principal Investigator
sloan_devlin@g.harvard.edu

About Sloan

Chelsea Powell, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
chelsea_powell@hms.harvard.edu

After growing up in New York City, Chelsea attended Stanford University where she received a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering with Honors in 2014. For her honors thesis research Chelsea worked in Dr. Matthew Bogyo’s lab, studying matrix metalloproteases using activity-based probes. She completed her Ph.D. in the Chemical Biology Program at Harvard University in September 2019. Her dissertation research was performed in Dr. Nathanael Gray’s lab (Harvard University/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute) and was focused on developing novel cancer therapeutics by either inhibiting kinases or inducing their degradation with small molecules. In the Devlin lab, she studies the effects of bacterial metabolites on signaling pathways involved in human health and disease.

Outside of the lab, Chelsea enjoys writing and performing sketch comedy, game nights with her friends, seeing movies, and Broadway in Boston.

Elizabeth (Liz) Jones, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
elizabeth_jones@hms.harvard.edu

Liz received B.S. and M.S. degrees in medicinal chemistry from Northeastern University in her hometown of Boston, under the guidance of Michael Pollastri in the Laboratory for Neglected Tropical Diseases. She next worked in the medicinal chemistry group at Ensemble Therapeutics for 3 years before joining the research group of Stefan France at Georgia Tech in 2017 to pursue a Ph.D. Her doctoral work focused on methodological development and target-oriented syntheses for medicinally relevant scaffolds. While working as a teaching assistant and instructor during graduate school, Liz piloted a chemical education research program within the First-Year Chemistry curriculum, and in 2022 was named the Georgia Tech Graduate Student Instructor of the Year. Liz joined the Devlin lab in June 2022 to help develop chemical tools for deciphering host-microbe interactions in the gut and their impacts on health and diseases.

Liz is a longtime ultimate frisbee player and coach, currently coaching the Boston men’s club team Big Wrench. In her free time she enjoys putting her synthetic skills to the culinary test, expanding her vegan-cooking repertoire and is a budding mixologist.

Megan McCurry, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow (formerly Chemical Biology Ph.D. Student)
meganmccurry@g.harvard.edu

Originally from Atlanta, GA, Megan earned her BS in Biochemistry & Cell Biology from Rice University in 2017. As an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Yousif Shamoo’s lab at Rice, she studied experimental evolution to antibiotic resistance as a method to understand antibiotic mechanisms of action. In the Devlin lab, Megan is working to discover novel steroid metabolism by gut bacteria and to understand the impact of these metabolites on human health and disease. She defended her thesis in May 2023 and currently holds a temporary postdoc position to finish up a few of her projects.

Outside of the lab, Megan enjoys singing (and is a member of the Longwood Chorus), bouldering, seeing movies, attending concerts, and exploring new cuisines and restaurants with friends.

Wei Li
Chemistry & Chemical Biology Ph.D. Student
wei_li@g.harvard.edu

Originally from Singapore, Wei earned her B.S. in Chemistry from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2018. At UCLA, she worked with Dr Ken Houk, where she studied the mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed and Lewis acid-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions and their origins of stereoselectivity. Wei joined the Devlin Lab in 2019, and she is investigating the bacterial biosynthesis of secondary bile acids that has effects on host immune system.

Outside the lab, you can catch Wei spending her time exploring the food scene, binging on Netflix shows, and trying to bake successfully.

Gabriel D’Agostino
Chemical Biology Ph.D. Student
gabriel_dagostino@g.harvard.edu

Originally from York, South Carolina, Gabriel earned his B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of South Carolina in 2019. As an undergraduate researcher, Gabriel worked in Dr. Thomas Makris’s lab at USC studying substrate binding affinities in P450s and the enzymology of diiron enzymes. Additionally, he participated in NSF REU programs in Dr. Brian Bachmann’s lab at Vanderbilt University and Dr. Squire Booker’s lab at Pennsylvania State University.

Outside of lab, Gabriel can be found experimenting in the kitchen, catching a daily workout at the gym, or working/playing on his computer.

Jasmine Walsh
Chemical Biology Ph.D. Student
jasminewalsh@g.harvard.edu

After growing up in Southern California, Jasmine got her B.S in biochemistry at Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL. During her time at Oakwood, she did summer research internships at Loma Linda University and Boston University. She then did a post-baccalaureate program in Elizabeth Grice’s lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Her project centered around utilizing antimicrobials produced from the skin microbiome to inhibit the growth of MRSA.

Jasmine enjoys spending time with her friends, traveling, meditating, and taking care of her plants.

Melissa Tran
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Student
melissatran@g.harvard.edu

Originally from Illinois, Melissa received her B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard College in 2019. As an undergraduate and lab technician, she worked in Dr. Aleksandar Kostic’s lab studying the ability of gut microbes to stimulate pancreatic development and attenuate diabetes symptoms. She is excited to be co-mentored in the Devlin and Huh labs, where she will study the role of gut bacterial metabolites in guiding host immunology and neurobiology.

When not in lab, Melissa enjoys painting, dancing with her troupe, and making and eating soup.

Cecilia Kim
Biological Sciences in Public Health Ph.D. Student
cecilia_kim@g.harvard.edu

After growing up in Vancouver, Canada, Cecilia received her B.A. in Chemistry from Princeton University in 2023. At Princeton, Cecilia worked in Dr. Robert Knowles’ lab, where she studied the use of light-driven reactions in the synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and contra-thermodynamic isomerization of olefins. Cecilia joined the Devlin Lab in 2024, and she is excited to study the effect of gut bacterial metabolites in mediating microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions.

Outside the lab, Cecilia enjoys reading, taekwondo, and exploring Boston’s bookstores and restaurants with her friends.