People

Nadav Ahituv, PhD
Professor
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Discovering gene regulatory elements in the human genome and linking mutations within them to specific phenotypes.

Juggling, biking, indie movies and music, perfecting my homemade hummus and doing scientific outreach.

Michael Guernsey
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Understanding the genetic and developmental basis of evolutionary change in vertebrates, particularly limb and pigmentation phenotypes in bats.

I enjoy playing Nintendo (especially Pokemon), traveling, visiting the beach, and seeing cool animals, wherever they can be found!

Ofer Yizhar Barnea
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Studying the coding and non-coding roles of short DNA sequences that were lost during evolution or the onset of a cancerous process.

I love physical activity, specifically soccer and hiking. I try to get moving in a group or as an individual as much as I can. Mens sana in corpore sano.

Navneet Matharu
Assistant Researcher
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Understanding the complex nature of regulatory elements and their functional mechanisms for controlling gene expression during development and evolution.

I need a healthy dose of walk or talk with friends. More often in my free time I cook or think.

JingJing Zhao
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Computational work on the ENCODE project. Select candidate sequences for functional analyses and carry out computational analyses of results from our massively parallel reporter assays and other genomic assays.

I enjoy food, random zumba dancing, and interacting across cultures with people from diverse backgrounds.

Aki Ushiki
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Understanding the genetic basis for limb morphological diversity and congenital malformations through in vivo functional dissection of cis-regulatory elements.

I like listening to classical instrumental music. I often visit the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall.

Ilias Georgakopoulos Soares
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Studying gene regulation with bioinformatic approaches and the associated implications in disease development.

I love reading books and playing chess. I enjoy creative writing.

Yarden Golan Maor
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Identification and characterization of genes that regulate human milk production in different cells types in the mammary gland during lactation and identification of genetic and epigenetic factors leading to low human breast milk supply.

I love to ride my bike, hike, and spend time with my family.

Weiyu Li
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Exploring the molecular mechanisms of regulatory element and TADs, especially their functions to the associated diseases.

I like playing ball games, such as table tennis, badminton, and tennis. I also work out and go swimming on weekends.

Hai Nguyen
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Identifying regulatory elements of genes that are associated with obesity and sexual dimorphism in adipose tissue distribution.

Tennis, travel, and FOOD!

Chengyu Deng
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Functional characterization of regulatory elements involved in neural disease and discovering novel systems for precise gene regulation.

I enjoy reading, watching sci-fi movies and eating hotpot

Zizheng Li
Assistant Specialist
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Development of a novel adeno-associated virus mediated gene delivery system, which can overcome the cellular barrier and enhance the efficiency of gene therapy delivery.

I enjoy playing soccer and traveling, or relaxing and watching movies at home.

Rory Sheng
Staff Research Associate
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Investigating the roles of cis-regulatory elements of PAX1 in musculoskeletal development using mouse models. Understanding the genetic differences between bats and mice in limb development using mouse models.

I enjoy listening to audiobooks and discovering underrated documentary films. On weekends, you can find me enthusiastically working on home cooking and baking projects.

Serena Tamura
Graduate Student
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Exploring novel treatments for neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders by targeting gene regulatory elements with CRISPR based gene editing tools.

You can find me at the park with my two dogs Soma and Kuma! I’m also passionate about cooking, staying active with the UCSF F45 community, F1 racing, and the Warriors. Go Dubs!

Ryan Ziffra
Graduate Student
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Elucidating the epigenetic and gene regulatory programs underlying human neurodevelopment and how their dysfunction may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders.

I try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. I am an avid runner and skier and try to go hiking and camping as much as possible.

Gracie Gordon
Graduate Student
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Understanding how non-coding variation influences gene expression in different cellular environments and how these changes contribute to disease.

You can find me exploring the city, hiking, or trying my hand at cooking a new recipe.

Lana Harshman
Graduate Student
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Exploring how regulatory elements and genome structure have influenced evolution and understanding how changes may have contributed to human-specific traits.

I enjoy being outside, whether that’s hiking, running, or biking. I’m passionate about making our lab greener, and making UCSF a more inclusive environment, especially for women, through Women in Life Sciences (WiLS).

Wei Gordon
Graduate Student
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Investigating the genetic changes involved in the evolution of dietary specializations.

My passions are education, fitness, and food. I love teaching, for example through the Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP). I enjoy working out with the F45 community, and I am an avid baker!

Xujia Zhou
Graduate Student
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Understanding how transporters and drug-related enzymes change through evolution and how these changes contribute to diseases.

I enjoy walking around the city, being surrounded by nature, and also trying to learn more about cooking.

Dianne Laboy Cintron
Graduate Student
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Exploring the role of gene regulatory elements in disease and neurodevelopment.

I enjoy exploring new restaurants and coffee shops around the city. Most weekends you can find me at Dolores Park enjoying the sun and a Mission burrito.

Jasmine Sims
Graduate Student
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Exploring how changes in short DNA sequences influence gene regulation, using bioinformatics as a tool.

I enjoy roller skating, traveling, listening to audible books, spending time with friends and family, and of course science.

Rachael Bradley
Laboratory Manager
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Exploring how gene regulatory elements can affect human disease and applying this understanding to potential diagnostics and therapeutics for disease, as well as administrative work as Lab Manager.

I enjoy spending time with my friends discovering cool places around the bay or doing things outside like hiking and kayaking or just doing some yoga. I also like to draw, play piano, and cook when I have the time, and spend time with the pets in our house, as I love animals.