Students in Graduate School

PhD I Students

Mark Buckup
- Email: mbuckup@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University (2019), B.S. with Honors in Bioengineering
- Graduate Program: Bioengineering
- Research Interests: Biomedical Imaging, Regenerative Medicine, Medical Devices, Bioengineering
- Laboratory Rotation: Shaochen Chen (Su '22), Albert Hsiao (Su '23), & Francisco Contijoch (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Francisco Contijoch
- Publications: ORCID
Michael Ko

Email: mlko@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University (2020), B.A. Psychology, M.S. Statistics
- Gradaute Program: Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI)
- Research Interests: Computer Vision, Medical Imaging, Data Analytics, Precision Health
- Laboratory Rotation: Albert Hsiao (Su '22), Francisco Contijoch (Wi '23), & Andrew McCullough (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Jingbo Shang & Giorgio Quer
- Publications: ORCID
Tanya Kumar
- Email: tkumar@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2019), B.S. Microbial Biology
- Graduate Program: Bioengineering
- Research Interests: Microbiome, Immunology/Infection, Bioengineering
- Laboratory Rotation: Rob Knight (Su '21), Gurol Suel (Wi '23), & Jeff Hasty (Su '23)
Min Jun Li
- Email: mil084@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Smith College (2020), B.A. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Cancer Biology, Immunology
- Laboratory Rotation: Axel Nimmerjahn (Su '22), Richard Daneman (Su '23), & Jing Yang (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Axel Nimmerjahn
- Publications: ORCID
Brandon Liu
- - Email: brandonmliu@health.ucsd.edu
  - Undergraduate Institution: California State University, Los Angeles (2019), B.S. Biochemistry
  - Graduate Program: Scripps Research
  - Research Interests: Chemical Biology, Pharmacology, Drug Discovery
  - Laboratory Rotation: Christopher Parker, Scripps Research (Su '22), Neal Devaraj (Su '22), & Michael Erb, Scripps Research (Su '23)
  - Publications: ORCID
Grace McAuley
- Email: gmcauley@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2020), B.S. Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
- Research Interests: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy, Immunotherapy, Immunology, Regenerative Medicine, RNA Therapeutics
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Laboratory Rotation: Dan Kaufman (Su '23), Gene Yeo (Su '23), Don Cleveland (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Gene Yeo
- Publications: ORCID
Katie Mostoller
- Email: kmostoller@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington (2020), B.A. Neuroscience, B.S. Biochemistry
- Research Interests: Neuropharmacology, Neuroendocrinology, Neuroimaging Techniques
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Laboratory Rotation: Kelli Breen-Church (Su '22), Nicole Coufal (Su '23), & Richard Daneman (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Nicole Coufal
- Publications: ORCID
Rachel Oshiro
- Email: rloshiro@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Harvard University (2019), A.B. Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Developmental Biology, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Epigenetics, Molecular Biology
- Laboratory Rotation: Joseph Gleeson (Su 22), Xin Jin, Scripps (Su 23, & Bing Ren (Su 23), Joseph Ecker (Su 24)
- Thesis Lab: Bing Ren
- Publications: ORCID
Logan Sigua
- Email: lsigua@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Boston University (2019), B.S. Chemistry
- Graduate Program: Scripps Research
- Research Interests: Chemical Biology, Chromatin Biology
- Laboratory Rotation: Fleur Ferguson (Su '22), Michael Erb, Scripps Research (Su '22), Ben Cravatt, Scripps Research (Su '23), & Li Ye, Scripps Research (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Li Ye & Ben Cravatt
- Publications: ORCID
Anna Tifrea
- Email: atifrea@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: California Institute of Technology (2022), B.S. Physics
- Graduate Program: Physics
- Research Interests: Biophysics, Bioengineering, Medical Imaging
- Laboratory Rotation: Wouter-Jan Rappel (Su '22), Elizabeth Villa (Su '23), and Karen Cristman & Mariana Alperin (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Elizabeth Villa
- Publications: ORCID
Ellen Wang
- Email: ewangfan@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Pomona College (2020), B.A. Molecular Biology
- Gradaute Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Neuroimmunology, Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Laboratory Rotation: Nicole Coufal (Su '22), Matthew Shtrahman (Su '23), & Nicola Allen (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Binhai Zheng
- Publications: ORCID

PhD II Students

Ravi Agarwal
- Email: rkagarwa@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California San Diego (2019), B.S. Human Biology
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Thesis Lab: Fred Gage, Salk Institute
- Publications: ORCID
Sean Chapman
- Email: schapman@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Brigham Young University (2020), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Chem/Biochem, the Phoenix Suns
- Laboratory Rotation: William Mobley (Su '21), Richard Daneman/Eric Nudleman (Su '22), Derek Welsbie (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Derek Welsbie
- Publications: ORCID
Summer Fair
- Email: sfair@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: The Ohio State University Main Campus (2017), B.S. Biomedical Sciences
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Stem Cell Technologies, Neurodevelopment, and RNA Biology
- Laboratory Rotation: Gabriel Haddad (Su 21), Alysson Muotri (Su 22), Mana Parast (Su 22), & Eugene Yeo (Su 23)
- Thesis Lab: Eugene Yeo
- Publications: ORCID
Hunter Gage
- Email: hgage@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Wisconsin-Madison (2020), B.S. Biology
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Immunology/Infection, Bioinformatics
- Laboratory Rotation: Elizabeth Winzeler (Su '21), Rob Knight (Su '22) and Victor Nizet (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Victor Nizet
- Publications: ORCID
Jonathan Gunn
- Email: jogunn@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University (2019), B.S. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Mathematics
- Graduate Program: Bioengineering
- Research Interests: Bioengineering, Immunology/Infection, and Neuroscience
- Laboratory Rotation: Gene Yeo (Su '21), Luke Lairson (Su '22), Dan Kaufman (Su '22), Gurol Suel (Su '23), Ester Kwon (Su '23)
- Thesis Lab: Ester Kwon & Dan Kaufman
- Publications: ORCID
Shivani Lakkaraju
- Email: slakkara@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California San Diego (2019), B.S. Human Biology
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Gene Therapy for Neuromuscular Disease
- Laboratory Rotation: Hannah Carter (Su '21), Prashant Mali (Su '21), Sam Pfaff, Salk (Su '22), Bing Ren (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Bing Ren
- Publications: ORCID
Koushik Muralidharan
- Email: kmuralidharan@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Monmouth University (2019), B.S. Biology
- Graduate Program: Scripps Research , Integrative Structural and Computational Biology
- Research Interests: Cancer Biology, RNA Biology, Liquid Biopsy
- Laboratory Rotation: Shankar Subramaniam (Su '21), Ian Macrae (Su '22), Tariq Rana (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Ian Macrae, Scripps Research
- Publications: ORCID
Amanda Nguyen
- Email: avn006@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Davis (2020), B.S. Global Disease Biology
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience
- Laboratory Rotation: Arden Patapoutian (Su '21), Matthew Banghart (Su '22), Kay Tye, Salk (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Monique Smith
- Publications: ORCID
Lucas Patel
- Email: lpatel@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, San Diego (2019), B.S. Biology with a Speciality in Bioinformatics
- Graduate Program: Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Research Interests: Bioinformatics, Microbiology, Machine Learning
- Laboratory Rotation: Rachel Dutton (Su '21), Rob Knight (Su '22), And Albert Hsiao (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Rob Knight
- Publications: ORCID
Jose Sandoval
- Email: j3sandoval@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Davis (2020), B.S. Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Endocrinology/Metabolism, Cardiovascular Research, Bioengineering
- Laboratory Rotation: Alan Saltiel (Su '21), Reuben Shaw (Su '22), Neil Chi (Su '22)
- Thesis Lab: Reuben Shaw & Neil Chi
- Publications: ORCID

PhD III Students

Alis Balayan
- Email: abalayan@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2018), B.S. Biochemistry
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Stem Cell Research, Regenerative Medicine
- Laboratory Rotation: Shaochen Chen (Su '20), Sam Ward (Su '21), Karl Wahlin (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Sam Ward & Shaochen Chen
- Publications: ORCID
Oye Bosompra
- Email:n1bosomp@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles(2018), B.S. Biomedical Sciences
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Breast cancer, Cell signaling, Metabolism, Nutrient-sensing pathways
- Laboratory Rotation: Nicholas Webster (Su 20), JoAnn Trejo (Su22)
- Thesis Lab: Joann Trejo
- Publications: ORCID
Trever Carter
- Email: tcarter@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Notre Dame (2019), B.S. Biochemistry
- Graduate Program: The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Chemistry
- Research Interests: Pharmacology/Drug Discovery, Chem/Biochem
- Laboratory Rotation: Michael Erb, Scripps Research (Su '20), Ryan Shenvi (Su '21), Ben Cravatt (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Michael Erb
- Publications: ORCID
Jianna Cressy
- Email: jcressy@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins (2018), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Genetics, Pharmacology
- Laboratory Rotation: Kay Tye (Su '21), Ed Callaway (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Kay Tye, Salk Institute
- Publications: ORCID
Genevieve Curtin
- Email: gcurtin@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Tulane University (2019), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Immunology/Infection, Chemistry/Biochemistry
- Laboratory Rotation: Jeff Kelly, Scripps Research (Su '20), Nicole Coufal (Su '21) and Samara Reck-Peterson (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Nicole Coufal
- Publications: ORCID
Matthew Donnelly
- Email: mpdonnel@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Cornell University (2018), B.A. Biology
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Mitochondrial Biology, Cell Biology, and Cardiovascular Disease
- Laboratory Rotation: Bing Ren (Su '20), Uri Manor (Su '21), Gerald Shadel (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Gerald Shadel, Salk Institute
- Publications: ORCID
MK Duff
- Email: mduff@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University (2013), B.A. Philosphy; Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Immunology/Infection, Endocrinology/Metabolism, Pharmacology/Drug Discovery
- Laboratory Rotation: Axel Nimmerjahn, Salk (Su '19), Lisa Eyler (Su '20), and Paula Desplats (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Axel Nimmerjahn, Salk Institute
- Publications: ORCID
Liam Fitzgerald
- Email: lfitzger@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst (2019), B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Exercise Physiology, Skeletal Muscle Contractile Performance, Metabolism
- Thesis Lab: Simon Schenk
- Publications: ORCID
Quetzal Flores-Ramirez
- Email: qfloresramirez@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2013), B.A. Molecular Biology
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroplasticity, Neurodevelopment, Brain Repair
- Laboratory Rotation: Marga Behrens, Salk (Su '20), Robert Hevner (Su '21) and Ed Callaway (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Marga Behrens & Ed Callaway
- Publications: ORCID
Amin Mahmoodi
- Email: amahmoodi@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Irvine (2016), B.S. Biomedical Engineering
- Graduate Program: Bioengineering
- Research Interests: Bioengineering, Data science
- Laboratory Rotation: Albert Hsiao (Su '20), Shadi Dayeh (Su '21), Bradley Voytek (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Albert Hsiao
- Publications: ORCID
Lauren Ostrowski
- Email: lostrows@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Brown University (2019), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neural Dynamics, Machine Learning, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Speech and Language
- Laboratory Rotation: Eran Mukamel (Su 20), Vikash Gilja & Timothy Gentner (Su 21); Eric Halgren (Su 21)
- Thesis Lab: Vikash Gilja & Timothy Gentner
- Awards: Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion Research Fellow & Merkin Graduate Fellow
- Publications: ORCID
Alta Steward
- Email: amstewar@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Washington (2016), B.S. Neurobiology; Mathematics
- Graduate Program: Bioengineering
- Research Interests: Deep Learning, Bioengineering, Mathematics, Epidemiology/Public Health, Medical Imaging, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Genomics
- Laboratory Rotation: Paula Desplats (Su '19), Albert Hsiao (Su '20), Jill Mesirov (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Albert Hsiao
- Publications: ORCID
Brett Taylor
- Email: b5taylor@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Fordham University (2018), B.S. Integrative Neuroscience and Philosophy
- Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
- Research Interests: Cancer Biology, Computational Biology, Stem Cell Biology, Neuroscience
- Laboratory Rotation: Gene Yeo & Frank Furnari (Su '20), Bing Ren (Su '21), Alysson Muotri (Su '21)
- Thesis Lab: Frank Furnari & Bing Ren
- Awards: T32 Cancer Biology Informatics and OMICs (CBIO) Training Grant
- Publications: ORCID
Akhilesh Yeluru
- Email: ayeluru@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California San Diego (2019), B.S. Bioengineering: Biotechnology
- Graduate Program: Bioengineering
- Research Interests: Radiology, Cardiac Imaging, AI & Deep Learning, Bioengineering
- Thesis Lab: Albert Hsiao
- Publications: ORCID

PhD IV Students

Althea Hansel-Harris
- Email: ahansel@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Harvey Mudd College (2019), B.S. Chemistry
- Graduate Program: Scripps Graduate Program
- Research Interests: Pharmacology/Drug Discovery, Chemistry/Biochemistry, and Cancer Biology
- Laboratory Rotation: Rommie Amaro (Su '19), Andrew Ward (Su '20), Stefano Forli, Scripps Research (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Stefano Forli, Scripps Research
- Publications: ORCID
Chase Morgan
- Email: c1morgan@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University (2017), B.A. Biochemistry
- Graduate Program: Biological Sciences
- Research Interests: Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Infectious Disease
- Laboratory Rotation: Liz Villa (Su '19), Kevin Corbett (Su '20), Joe Pogliano (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Joe Pogliano
- Publications: ORCID
Celina Nguyen
- Email: ctn004@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Arizona (2017), B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neurodevelopment, Neuroimmunology, Cell-Type Specific Gene Regulation
- Laboratory Rotation: Bing Ren (Su '19), Nicole Coufal & Chris Glass (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Nicole Coufal & Chris Glass
- Publications: ORCID
Jack Olmstead
- Email: jolmstea@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Baylor University (2017), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neurosciences and Bioengineering
- Laboratory Rotation: Sung Han (Su '19), Brenda Bloodgood (Su '20), Eric Halgren, Alex Nimmerjahn
- Thesis Lab: Brenda Bloodgood
- Publications: ORCID
Alexandra Stream
- Email: astream@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2017), B.S. Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
- Graduate Program: Biological Sciences
- Research Interests: Immunology/Infection
- Laboratory Rotation: Bruce Torbett (Su '19), Victor Nizet and Cressida Madigan (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Victor Nizet
- Publications: ORCID
Ilya Verzhbinsky
- Email: iverzhbi@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2018), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Human Brain Electrophysiology
- Laboratory Rotation: Terrence Sejnowski (Su '19), Eran Mukamel and Eric Halgren (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Eric Halgren
- Awards: NIMH F31
- Publications: ORCID

PhD V+ Students

Iris Garcia-Pak
- Email: igarciap@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Brown University (2015), B.S. Biomedical Engineering
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuropsychiatric Disease, Brain Excitation and Signaling, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Laboratory Rotation: Kristin Baldwin (Su '18), Richard Daneman (Su '19), Olivier George (Su '19)
- Thesis Lab: Richard Daneman
- Awards: UC GradSLAM 2024 1^st place & David S. Miller Junior Scientist Award
- Publications: ORCID
Chris Garza
- Email: c1garza@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Colorado at Denver (2017), B.S. Public Health,
- Graduate Program: Scripps Graduate Program
- Research Interests: Chemistry/Biochemistry, Biophysics
- Laboratory Rotation: Bruce Torbett & Stefano Forli (Su '17), Jeff Kelly, Albert Hsiao (Su '18)
- Thesis Lab: Bruce Torbett & Stefano Forli, Scripps Research
- Publications: ORCID
Alon Gelber
- Email: agelber@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Massachusetts (2016), B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mathematics
- Graduate Program: Bio-Engineering
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Bioinformatics
- Laboratory Rotation: Gert Cauwenberghs (Su '18), Tanya Sharpee (Su '19), Byunkook Lim (Su '19), Eran Mukamel (Su '20)
- Thesis Lab: Eran Mukamel
- Publications: ORCID
Adrian Guerrero
- Email: amg101@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley (2015), B.S. Pre-Med, Chemistry
- Graduate Program: Scripps Graduate Program
- Research Interests: Chemistry/Biochemistry, Pharmacology/Drug Discovery.
- Laboratory Rotation: Jeff Kelly, Scripps Research (Su '17), Ben Cravatt, Scripps Research and Adam Halberstadt (Su '18)
- Thesis Lab: Jeff Kelly, Scripps Research
- Publications: ORCID
Ryan Hsu
- Email: rhhsu@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2017), B.S. Microbial Biology
- Graduate Program: Bio-Engineering
- Research Interests: Immunology/Infection, Bioinformatics, Bioengineering
- Laboratory Rotation: Rob Knight (Su '18), Rachel Dutton (Su '19), Trey Ideker (Su '19)
- Thesis Lab: Sam Pfaff, Salk Institute
- Publications: ORCID
Maria Klingler
- Email mklingler@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of Michigan (2013), B.S. Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Anthropology
- Research Interests: Biology, Anthropology, Public Health
- Laboratory Rotation: Amy Non (Su '18), Molly Fox, UCLA (Su '19)
- Thesis Lab: Amy Non
- Publications: ORCID
Caroline Jia
- Email: cljia@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2016), B.S. Neuroscience
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience
- Laboratory Rotation: Axel Nimmerjahn, Salk (Su '17), Richard Daneman and Sung Han, Salk (Su '18)
- Thesis Lab: Kay Tye, Salk Institute
- Publications: ORCID
Kevin Tenerelli
- Email: k1tenerelli@ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: Cal State San Marcos (2017), B.S. Biology
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Cancer Biology, Immunology
- Laboratory Rotation: Hollis Cline, Scripps Research (Su '18), Derek Welsbie, Karl Wahlin, Jonathan Lin; Richard Daneman/Eric Nudleman (Su '19)
- Thesis Lab: Richard Daneman and Eric Nudleman
- Publications: ORCID
Joyce Tran
- Email: jot013@health.ucsd.edu
- Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2016), B.S. Biochemistry
- Graduate Program: Neurosciences
- Research Interests: Neuroscience, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Epidemiology/Public Health
- Laboratory Rotation: Stuart Lipton, Scripps Research (Su '18), Susan Ackerman and Jerold Chun (Su '19)
- Thesis Lab: Susan Ackerman
- Publications: ORCID