Dr. Jaume Amengual
Dr. Amengual is from Spain (Palma de Mallorca). He obtained his PhD in 2009 at the University of the Balearic Islands (Spain). He was a post-doctoral fellow at Case Western Reserve University (2009-2013) and at New York University (2013-2015). In 2016 he became a Research Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine – NYU (2016-2017). In 2018, he joined the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign.
Molly Black, CVT
Molly joined the lab in the spring of 2018. She has worked on campus since 1996 for various labs in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. Currently she helps with ordering, safety protocols, and helping students with their projects.
Donald Molina, BS
Donald is from Nicaragua. He received his BS in Food Science from Zamorano University in 2019. He had the opportunity to work as a research scholar at Purdue University and Texas Tech University in 2020, where he worked in food chemistry and microbiology. He joined the Amengual Lab in the fall of 2021 and is now a PhD student. Donald’s research focuses on the role of LRAT on lipid secretion, and he collaborates on projects related to atherosclerosis regression.
Amparo Blanco Cirer, MSc
Amparo joined the lab in January 2022 as a PhD student for the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. She received her BSc in Biotechnology at the Universitat de Barcelona in 2017. For her final thesis she performed an Erasmus program internship in the Wurzburg Universitat, where she studied Chlamydia trachomatis and ovarian carcinoma. Amparo carried out her MSc in Regenerative Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. Her master thesis consisted of the study of Padre-Willi syndrome, where she had the opportunity to work with neural stem cell cultures.
Michelle Zhu, BS
Michelle joined the lab in October of 2023 as an undergraduate, and in August 2025 became our newest grad student. She obtained a prestigious 2-year graduate school fellowship from the Department.
Eva Hu, Undergraduate
Eva joined the lab in January of 2024. She is currently a senior majoring in Food Science and Human Nutrition with a concentration in Dietetics. Eva recently got her first research publication in the lab, where she contributed to determine the effect of EcoHIV, a virus that resembles HIV, in atherosclerosis. She was also awarded a prestigious undergraduate research fellowship, the Nishida Undergraduate Research Award. After graduating in May 2026, Eva plans to pursue a research-based master’s degree and aims to become a clinical dietitian.
Michael Pitello, Undergraduate
Michael joined the lab in September of 2024. He is currently majoring in Human Nutrition. His future plan is to go to dental school. When he is not working in the lab, he enjoys lifting weights and playing basketball and football with his friends!
Rishin Parikh, Undergraduate
Rishin joined the lab in May 2025. He is majoring in both Psychology and Chemistry. His goal is to go to medical school to later become a cardiologist. Rishin loves traveling, going on hikes, and playing basketball.
Tiernan Price, Undergraduate
Tiernan joined the lab in August 2025. He is majoring in Nutrition and Health. After graduating, he plans to attend Medical School. Other than the Amengual lab, his favorite hobby is playing tennis!
