Our Team
Rae Cho (CV) – Principal Investigator / ucho@email.unc.edu
Rae was born and mostly raised in Seoul, Korea. During elementary school years, he lived in Tokyo, Japan. In college and graduate school, he was trained as a chemical biologist. He developed multiple technologies including lanthanide-based time-resolved imaging, protein degrons for worms and flies, and Seoul-fluor-based pH sensors. He also studied advanced microscopy at the Marine Biological Laboratory during his PhD. He then wanted to pursue question-driven research in the field of cell biology, and joined the laboratory of Prof. Martin Hetzer for his postdoctoral training. There, he investigated how caspases proteolytically modulate the nuclear pore complex during myoblast-to-myotube transition. Rae's training was supported by Samsung, Glenn Foundation, and NIH/NIAMS. In Jan 2024, he started his lab at UNC Chapel Hill. When not in the lab, he spends time perfecting his french press and spam musubi recipes.
Clay Becker – Postdoctoral Researcher / clayton_becker@med.unc.edu
Clay grew up in southern Indiana and earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame. At Notre Dame, he studied the role of ADAM10 in retinal regeneration in zebrafish under the mentorship of Dr. David Hyde, sparking a sustained interest in developmental and stem cell biology. After graduating, he joined Dr. Ken Poss's lab at Duke University. In the Poss lab, he developed tools to visualize JNK signaling in vivo in the zebrafish spinal cord during development and regeneration, earning his Ph.D in Cell Biology. Scientifically, he has a keen interest in the creation of molecular and genetic tools to uncover fundamental truths about cell biology. Outside of lab, he has an equally keen interest in his two cats, performing in community bands, and native plant gardening.
Brady Cline – Research Technician / btcline@email.unc.edu
Brady was born in Connecticut and grew up in Georgia. He attended the University of North Georgia where he earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. While at UNG, he studied sea urchin skeletal development with Dr. Meg Smith and Dr. Shane Webb. Continuing with the developmental biology theme, Brady moved to Cincinnati, Ohio after graduating to study vertebrate segmentation and somitogenesis in Zebrafish models with Dr. Ertugrul Ozbudak at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. There, he participated in projects studying protein-protein interactions in vivo. Outside of lab, he enjoys reading, watching movies, and cooking.
Betty Fan – Research Technician / wfan9@unc.edu
Betty is a post-bacc technician who graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2025 with a B.S. in Biology with Highest Distinction. She joined the Cho laboratory as an undergraduate in April 2024 and has been actively involved in research since then. Outside of academics, she enjoys reading, trying new foods, and playing board games with friends.
Minseob Koh – Visiting Scientist / bioseob@unc.edu
Minseob was born and raised in Korea and received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Seung Bum Park at Seoul National University, where he was trained as a chemical biologist. He then conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Peter Schultz at Scripps, working on genetic code expansion and protein engineering. He is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Pusan National University, focusing on genetic code expansion-based synthetic biology and protein engineering. He is currently working as a visiting scholar in Rae Cho’s laboratory at UNC Chapel Hill, applying chemical proteomics to muscle cells. Outside of research, he enjoys hiking, traveling with his family, and working on puzzles.
Chad Torrice – Lab Manager / chad_torrice@med.unc.edu
Chad was born in Massachusetts and later moved to an apple orchard in upstate New York. He earned his bachelor's in Biology and Kinesiology at SUNY Plattsburgh. After a stint as an athletic trainer, he moved to Chapel Hill and studied cell cycle regulation in cancer under Dr. Norman Sharpless. He then worked on pharmacogenetics of Tacrolimus in bone marrow transplant patients. He then moved to Duke University and worked on androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer before returning to UNC and Dr. Cho's Lab. Outside of the lab you can find him building something out of wood and pulling weeds in the garden.
Sahaj Sapovadia – Undergraduate Researcher / sahajs@unc.edu
Sahaj is a senior studying nutrition with a minor in chemistry, and is working on an honors thesis in the Cho lab. In Oct 2025, he received a Sarah Steele Danhoff Undergraduate Research Award. He hopes to pursue a career in the medical field as a physician, continuing to stay involved in research. Outside of school, he enjoys working as an EMT, cooking and trying new foods, and watching movies with friends.
Oli – Visiting Scientist / digital detoxing
Oli (born May 17th, 2021) is a furry biochemist who grew up in San Diego. He is our one-and-oli canine lab member. He mostly works from home. He studies (1) proteins in egg white, chicken breast, and greek yogurt and (2) carbohydrates in steamed sweet potato. He secretly likes his dad more than his mom. His long-term career goal is to become a jedi or a Maine Coon.