CIRM Scholars

Jingwen Ding

| Graduate Student | Department of Neurology | Pollen Lab |

Research Topic: Role of Tumor Derived Exosomes in Immune Cell Differentiation and Metastasis

My name is Jingwen Ding and I am a BMS graduate student in Alex Pollen’s lab. I graduated with a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Tokyo where I studied epigenetic regulation of mouse neural development. My current research focuses on understanding mechanisms governing cell fate transitions in human cortical neurogenesis and how they are impacted in neurodevelopmental disorders. Outside of lab, I enjoy exploring new coffee and boba shops, hiking, and swimming.

Sarah Fong

| Postdoctoral Fellow | Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences | Ahituv Lab |

Research Topic: Engineering electromagnetic-controlled gene regulation to induce osteoblast differentiation

I am a post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Nadav Ahituv’s lab. My research goal is to engineer regulatory elements that precisely control gene expression for gene therapy applications. I use computational and deep neural network approaches to learn and optimize cell-type-specific and environmental factors that drive gene regulation in neurons, fibroblast, liver cells, and osteoblast progenitors. I received my Ph.D. in Human Genetics from Vanderbilt University, where I researched evolutionary divergence and human genetics of mammalian gene regulatory elements with Dr. Tony Capra. Outside of lab, I enjoy running, seeing friends, and playing Debussy on the piano.

Hannah Greenfeld

| Postdoctoral Fellow | Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences | Wagner Lab |

Research Topic: Decoding BMP signaling during patterning of the dorsal neural tube

My name is Hannah Greenfeld and I am a postdoc in Dan Wagner's lab investigating how morphogen signaling patterns the dorsal neural tube. I received my B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and completed my PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. As a PhD student in Mary Mullins’ lab, I studied how BMP signaling was interpreted to pattern the dorsal-ventral body axis during gastrulation. When outside the lab, I have been enjoying weightlifting, knitting, and exploring the national parks in California!

Wei Jiang

| Postdoctoral Fellow | Cardiovascular Research Institute | Ma Lab |

Research Topic: Translating extremotolerant physiology into gene therapy for alleviating ischemic injuries

My name is Wei Jiang and I am a post-doctoral in Dr. Ma’s Laboratory, where I am studying how genes make cells stress resilient and organisms adapt to environment stresses, including hypoxia (low oxygen) or high temperature (heat). Before joining the Ma Lab, I completed my Ph.D.’s degree and first post-doctoral in neuroscience with a specialization in ischemic stroke from Hunan University in China. Outside of the lab, I love taking afternoon walks. 

Tsukasa Kadota

| Postdoctoral Fellow | Department of Medicine (Pulmonary) | Peng Lab |

Research Topic: Stromal factor promotes transdifferentiation of metaplastic basal stem cells into alveolar type 2 cells in the fibrotic lung

My name is Tsukasa Kadota, and I am a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Tien Peng's lab. My work focuses on developing therapies that can reverse differentiated pathological cells back into endogenous stem cells in the diseased lung. I earned my M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from The Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan, where I studied the role of extracellular vesicles in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. Outside of the lab, I enjoy hiking and exploring California's national parks with my family.

Sally Salomonsson

| Postdoctoral Fellow | UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences | Clelland Lab |

Research Topic: Therapeutic gene editing of APOE4 for Alzheimer’s disease

I am a postdoctoral fellow in Claire Clelland’s lab, where we broadly focus on developing gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. I am originally from Sweden, though I lived in the UK (Scotland and England) for many years. I carried out my PhD work in Adrian Isaacs’ lab at UCL, with a scholarship from the UK Medical Research Council, investigating C9orf72-associated ALS/FTD mainly in patient-derived iPSC-motor neurons. Since completing my PhD, I have worked as a postdoc in the Clelland lab and chosen to work on therapies for Alzheimer’s disease linked to the APOE4 gene variant.

I was attracted to UCSF because of the closely connected and collaborative scientific and clinical communities, since I aspire to conduct neuroscience research with high clinical impact, and to work more closely with families affected by neurodegenerative diseases. Outside of work, I enjoy travelling, hiking and exploring, home microbiology (e.g. making kombucha) and creating and experiencing art. Check out my neuron art here: https://innercinema.co.uk/

Marilyn Steyert

| Graduate Student | Department of Neurological Surgery | Nowakoski Lab |

Research Topic: Unraveling shared molecular programming in truncated radial glia and supratentorial ependymoma

I’m a BMS graduate student in the Nowakowski lab and I’m interested in exploring how the human cortex is formed during development. Specifically, I am dissecting the roles of distinct populations of neural progenitors in healthy and altered states using lineage tracing. With some of these alterations, my goal is to create scalable models for pediatric brain tumors.

Before I joined UCSF, I received my BS in Biology with minors in Neuroscience and Music from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Then, I was at University of Maryland Baltimore for a few years developing novel genome engineering tools to study cortical circuitry wiring, which was where I first fell in love with studying brain development. I spend most of my free time rock climbing— ideally outside somewhere beautiful.

Elena Turkalj

| Graduate Student | Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics | Vissers Lab |

Research Topic: Elucidating the role of rRNA methylation in neural development using forebrain organoids

Hi I’m Elena and I’m a graduate student in the developmental and stem cell biology program. I have a B.S. in Neuroscience and Physiology and a M.S. in Biology from UC San Diego. During my Masters, I studied how bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae) inject virulent proteins that change the circadian rhythms in plants. My Masters research sparked my interest in molecular dynamics at the cellular level and at the organism level. Now, I am in the Vissers lab studying the role of ribosomal RNA methylation on proper neurodevelopment using forebrain organoids. Basically, how do those dynamic RNA methylation events effect neural differentiation over time. My major goal in life is to develop real-time tools to continuously monitor human hormones and other dynamic proteins to provide insight into how the human body functions. In my free time, you can find me exploring new coffee shops, baking gluten-free goods, or spending time outdoors.

Li Wang

| Graduate Student | Department of Urology | Blelloch Lab |

Research Topic: Role of Tumor Derived Exosomes in Immune Cell Differentiation and Metastasis

My name is Li. I am a BMS graduate student in Robert Blelloch’s lab. I graduated with a B.S. in Human Biology and an M.S. in Biology from UC San Diego. In my undergraduate and master's research, I studied the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying cardiomyopathies. My current research focuses on understanding the role of the immune system in cancer metastasis. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms by which tumor cells alter immune cell states, and how the differential tumor cell-immune cell interactions impact metastatic outcomes. Outside of research, I enjoy photography, trying out coffee shops, hiking, and reading.