Molecular Biology · Cell Division · Protein Biochemistry

Dylan S. Blohm

I study how cells build the machinery of division.

Based inPrinceton, NJ / NYC Get in touch View CV
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About

I'm a Princeton molecular biology PhD candidate bridging spindle biology, biochemistry, and structural research with a growing interest in computational drug discovery, biotech and healthcare investing, and entrepreneurship.

I'm currently studying the molecular choreography of cell division — how the spindle, the structure that segregates chromosomes, is built from its individual protein parts.

My work rebuilds these systems from purified components and watches them assemble in real time under TIRF microscopy — using in vitro reconstitution to turn molecular events into something I can observe directly.

Watching molecules behave in real time is what drew me to this work, and it's what keeps me at the bench.

Focus Spindle assembly & microtubule dynamics Methods TIRF microscopy · in vitro reconstitution · protein biochemistry Affiliation Princeton University
Petry Lab Education PhD Candidate, Molecular Biology
Princeton University · 2023–present
M.A. Molecular Biology · Princeton · 2025
B.S. Biology with Honors · Georgia Tech · 2020 Previously Research Specialist, Structural Biology
Emory University · 2021–2023
Cryo-EM & X-ray crystallography Honors President's Fellowship, Princeton
Graduate Scholars Program, Princeton
NSF-GRFP Honorable Mention · 2025 Based in Princeton, NJ / NYC
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Research Focus

Spindle assembly & microtubule dynamics

Core focus

How the bipolar spindle is built from branching microtubule nucleation and the molecular motor proteins that organize them — the central question driving my doctoral work.

Phase separation & motor regulation

Mechanism

How phase-separating proteins tune the activity of molecular motors and shape microtubule dynamics for cell division.

In vitro reconstitution by TIRF

Method

TIRF microscopy and biochemical assays that reconstitute biological spindle components from purified proteins, making remarkable molecular events directly observable.

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Selected Work

Open Educational Platform

MoleBio Toolkit

A focused set of interactive molecular biology tools for lecture and lab — central dogma flow, codon translation, micropipette viewers, dilution calculators, primer/PCR design, and more. Designed and built solo with AI-assisted coding.

Open the live toolkit
molebiolab.github.io/Toolkit Open full screen ↗

Live preview of the MoleBio Toolkit, running in-page.

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Skills, Techniques & Instrumentation

Microscopy & structure

  • TIRF microscopy Single-molecule
  • Single-particle cryo-EM Structural
  • X-ray crystallography Structural
  • Negative staining & cryo-grid prep Sample prep
  • Fluorescence imaging & analysis Imaging

Protein biochemistry

  • Protein purification FPLC
  • Affinity · size-exclusion · ion-exchange Chromatography
  • In vitro reconstitution Assay design
  • SDS-PAGE Analysis
  • Dynamic light scattering Biophysics

Molecular & cell biology

  • Cloning Molecular
  • PCR & DNA purification Molecular
  • Bacterial · insect · mammalian culture Cell culture
  • Microtubule dynamics Quantitative

Computation

  • Python Primary
  • Data analysis & visualization Analysis
  • Web development AI
  • RELION · cryoSPARC · EMAN2 · ChimeraX Cryo-EM

Key instrumentation

FEI Talos 120 kV TEM Vitrobot Mark IV Pelco glow discharger ÄKTA Pure FPLC Wyatt DynaPro Plate Reader III ARI Crystal Phoenix
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Publications & Talks

Publications

2025

Tumors hijack macrophages for iron supply to promote bone metastasis and anemia.

Han Y, Sarkar H, Xu Z, et al., Blohm DS, et al., Kang Y. Cell · 188(22):6335–6354 · 2025 · doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.013
2023

Structural basis of the American mink ACE2 binding by Y453F trimeric spike glycoproteins of SARS-CoV-2.

Ahn H, Calderon BM, Fan X, et al., Blohm DS, et al., Liang B. Journal of Medical Virology · 95(10):e29163 · 2023 · doi.org/10.1002/jmv.29163

Talks

2026

Investigating how the phase-separating protein TPX2 and molecular motor Eg5 cooperate to create a bipolar spindle.

Princeton MOLBIO Colloquium. February 27, 2026
2024

Investigating how branching microtubule nucleation and molecular motor activity build a spindle.

Princeton MOLBIO Colloquium. November 8, 2024
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Teaching & Mentorship

Teaching Assistant — Princeton University

MOL 214 Introduction to Cellular & Molecular Biology
MOL 345 Biochemistry
MOL 504a Cellular Biochemistry & Biophysics

Mentorship Philosophy

My approach to teaching and mentoring rests on a simple idea: growth lives on the far side of discomfort. The moments that feel hardest — the experiment that won't work, the concept that won't click, the question you're afraid to ask — are exactly where the deepest learning happens.

So I try to help students get comfortable being uncomfortable: to treat confusion as a signal of progress rather than failure, and to build the resilience to keep pushing when the answer isn't obvious. That's how I learned at the bench, and it's what I try to pass on.

I've put this into practice mentoring high-school students, undergraduates, and graduate students in protein purification and biochemical methods, and I carry the same approach into the classroom and beyond.

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Contact