People

Emily Blythe, PhD

Assistant Professor

Emily grew up in Michigan. After getting her B.A. in Biological Chemistry from Grinnell College, she briefly crossed the pond to get an M.Phil. at the University of Cambridge, where she studied the structure of growth factors with Marko Hyvönen. Emily earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Caltech in 2019. For her thesis work with Raymond Deshaies, she characterized protein unfolding by the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Her postdoc work with Mark von Zastrow at UCSF focused on signal transduction mediated by G protein-coupled receptors, and this work forms the basis for the Blythe lab at UMN. Emily started as an assistant professor in March 2025 and is very excited to see where the science will take the team next! Outside of lab, Emily enjoys reading and sewing.

Zach Baker, PhD

Postdoc

Zach was born in Missouri and found himself up north in Bemidji, MN where he received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biology. He came to the University of Minnesota to complete his PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics under the mentorship of Nick Levinson, developing biosensors to study conformational changes in kinases. Zach is excited to explore a new field and apply his expertise in kinases and biosensors to a cellular context. Outside of lab, Zach enjoys all things nature and wildlife.

Chantel Mastos, PhD

Postdoc

Chantel joins the lab from Melbourne (Australia) where she studied a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne before a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science with Honours at Monash University. She remained at Monash University to complete her PhD, in which she developed a synthetic optogenetic system as a complementary approach to understanding the spatial compartmentalisation of GPCR signalling. She hopes to continue to strengthen her expertise in GPCR signalling during her postdoc work and plans to spend her down time exploring the many lakes and waterfalls of Minnesota!

Eamon Cole

Researcher 1

Eamon was born and raised in Washington, DC and came to the Midwest to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Chemistry and German Studies at Grinnell College. After graduating, he joined the Blythe Lab in June of 2025 as a Researcher 1 appointee. While at Grinnell, he studied antibiotic resistance in the lab of Professor Shannon Hinsa-Leasure, and spent the summer of 2024 researching cancer immunology in the lab of Lucas Chang, Ph.D., at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. He is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology. Outside of the lab he enjoys cooking and is an avid biker, slowly exploring the many bike trails around the Twin Cities.

Ece Killic

Rotation Student, MCDB&G

Ece was born in Istanbul, Turkey and was raised in Minnesota. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. During her time at UW, she investigated the role of kinetochores in faithful mitotic cell division with Dr. Aussie Suzuki. Post graduation, Ece moved to Merck Research Laboratories in Boston, MA to join both the Oncology and Neuroimmunology drug discovery teams. She is currently a first-year Ph.D. student in the Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, and Genetics program at the University of Minnesota. Outside of lab, Ece enjoys exploring new restaurants and traveling!