Lab Members

Rafal Donczew, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Rafal got his PhD degree in Wroclaw, Poland for a biochemical characterization of DNA replication in an important human pathogen Helicobacter pylori. Even though a microbiologist by education, he decided to change research interests for his postdoctoral training and join the lab of Steven Hahn at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. During his postdoc, he was studying the fundamental mechanisms of transcription in eukaryotes in order to understand how potential problems in these processes can contribute to development and progression of human diseases. Since August 2022 he continues this research at OMRF. In his free time Rafal enjoys swimming, skiing, and exploring the outdoor opportunities around Oklahoma City and beyond with his family.

Magdalena Donczew, Ph.D.

Assistant Staff Scientist

Magda earned her PhD from the University of Wroclaw where she studied differentiation and chromosome segregation of Streptomyces venezuelae. She later switched her research interests to the mechanisms of drug resistance in pathogenic bacteria. She did post-doctoral research in the Sherman laboratory at the University of Washington. Her project focused on applying microscopic tools to characterize mechanisms underlying drug-induced phenotypic heterogeneity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She joined the Donczew lab in September 2022 as a Staff Scientist. She continues her interests in the mechanisms of drug response and resistance and is currently exploring how healthy and diseased eukaryotic cells respond to anti-cancer drugs targeting chromatin readers from the BET family. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking and traveling.

John Ridenour, Ph.D.

Assistant Staff Scientist

John moved to Oklahoma City to join the Donczew lab as a Staff Scientist in November 2022. John received his MS and PhD from the University of Arkansas, where he studied how fungal pathogens recognize and adapt to their host and how gene regulation facilitates this complex interaction. For postdoctoral training, John worked with Michael Freitag at Oregon State University. In Michael’s lab, John used filamentous fungi as a model to study mechanisms of chromatin-mediated gene silencing. John is currently interested in understanding how chromatin and chromatin-associated factors contribute to the recruitment and activity of core transcriptional machinery. Outside the lab, John loves exploring the outdoors, finding a great restaurant, and spending time with family and friends.

Agnieszka Machowska

Research Trainee

Agnieszka graduated with a bachelor's degree in biotechnology from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow in Poland. After the second year, she completed a two-month internship at the I3S institute in Porto, where she studied transcriptional cis-regulation in the pancreas of zebrafish. Agnieszka continued her studies in Krakow on a master's degree in molecular biotechnology. After completing the first year, she applied to the BioLab program and in July 2023 she joined the Donczew lab as a Research Trainee. Her project is focused on a comprehensive investigation of the contributions of all conserved domains of BET proteins to transcription in yeast cells. Outside the lab, Agnieszka loves meeting with friends, travelling and spending time actively in the gym, horse riding or snowboarding.