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

Coline Arnould
Postdoctoral Fellow
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Investigating the role of gene regulatory elements in neurodegenerative diseases.

I love traveling, visiting the city and diving. I also really like food, reading Harry Potter (again) and cuddling my two cats.

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.

Liz Murray
Staff Research Associate
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Studying gene regulation in animal models of developmental and neurobiological diseases and disorders.

I like baking (more for the product than the process), drawing and painting (more for the process than the product), and animals, especially dogs! I also like bouldering, hiking, and ultimate frisbee.

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!

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.

Candace Chan
Graduate Student
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Understanding sequence features of regulatory elements and how their activity can control gene expression during development.

Reading, biking around the city, and meeting people’s pets.

Nick Page
Graduate Student
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Functional genomics approaches to understand and rescue changes in gene regulation that underlie autism spectrum disorders.

I love curling up with a good book or backpacking around California.

Ryder Easterlin
Graduate Student
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Studying the role of non-coding variation in archaic and modern human evolution, specifically regarding phenotypic divergence between the lineages.

Some of my favorite things to do outside of the lab are climbing, sailing on San Francisco Bay, and playing strategy boardgames and videogames. Always looking for new passions/hobbies as well!

Mai Nobuhara
Graduate Student
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Studying the function of gene regulatory elements during cardiac development and applying the resulting knowledge to therapeutic development.

I enjoy going to farmers’ markets to find seasonal ingredients and try new recipes. I also like to propagate plants in my room.

Andrew Blair
Graduate Student
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Deciphering the regulatory role of genomic elements in human development and disease with multi-modality integration modeling and functional validation.

Seeker of "the zone"- I pursue activities that engage the mind and body. I enjoy playing fingerstyle guitar, reading sci-fi, longboard surfing, swimming, biking, and hiking with friends and family.

Kelly An
Undergraduate Assistant
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CRISPRa gene therapy to treat diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Hiking, eating, and trying new things!

Cassandra Biellak
Undergraduate Assistant
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Investigating the use of gene therapy tools to prevent obesity and metabolic diseases.

I enjoy skiing, traveling to new places, taking walks with my dog, and playing the trumpet in my university's wind ensemble.

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.