2017-18 CERSI Scholars

David Glass

PhD Candidate, Stanford University

David Glass is a PhD student in the Computational and Systems Immunology program at Stanford University. He received his B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas, where he worked under the supervision of Dr. George Georgiou to engineer therapeutic antibodies. At Stanford, he is developing new approaches to interrogate complex cell preparations using high-dimensional mass cytometry and next-generation sequencing. David is co-mentored by Dr. Sean Bendall and Dr. Steve Quake.

Evelyn Lee

PhD Candidate, UCSF

Evelyn Lee is a PhD candidate in the Pharmaceutical Sciences & Pharmacogenomics program at UCSF. Prior to graduate school, she completed a B.S. in Pharmacy in National University of Singapore in 2010 and worked for a few years as a hospital pharmacist in Singapore. Evelyn currently works at Laura van ‘t Veer’s lab on the development of proteomic biomarkers for a novel breast cancer targeted therapy neratinib. With success, discovery of novel predictive biomarkers will facilitate the development of companion diagnostic tool(s) to better identify patients that will respond to neratinib in the clinic. She is particularly interested in regulatory science surrounding precision medicine; her long-term career goal is to be involved in developing new regulatory frameworks that will help to address the unique challenges of precision medicine and unlock its potential.

Marcus C. Parrish

SPARK Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University

Joshua Pottel

Postdoctoral Fellow, UCSF

Joshua Pottel is pursuing postdoctoral studies with Prof. Brian Shoichet at UCSF. He completed his B.Sc. in chemistry at McGill University in 2011 along with a minor in computer science. Under the supervision of Nicolas Moitessier, he obtained his Ph.D. from McGill, focusing his research on software development in chemo- and bioinformatics. His current research as an NRSA fellow uses computational techniques to rationally predict relevant polypharmacology followed by confirmatory in-vitro assays. As a CERSI scholar, Josh is extending this approach to predict biological targets of excipients, which are often simply assumed to be inert--a theory that he doubts based on his data demonstrating activity at a variety of enzymes and transporters. He and the Shoichet Lab have also built a new excipients browser to spark innovation in this field from the community.

Stefano Rensi

PhD Candidate, Stanford University

Stefano Rensi is a PhD candidate in the Bioengineering department at Stanford University. Prior to his time at Stanford, he worked in industry as a benchtop R&D scientist developing a handheld point of care biosensor platform; and prior to that, he completed a BS in Bioengineering at UC San Diego. His doctoral research focuses on computational representation, organization, and search of chemical information to support the discovery and development of new medicines. In addition to working as a bioscience researcher, he has held roles in enterprise software sales, IT support, and broadcast news. His areas of interest are artificial intelligence, biotechnology, pharmacogenomics and personalized/precision medicine, IP and regulatory strategy, product design, and entrepreneurship.

Nathaniel Stockham

PhD Candidate, Stanford University

Nate Stockham's research focuses on discovering the underlying genetic contribution to autism and other psychiatric disorders. His work combines deep phenotyping methods using mobile technology with large scale genetic analysis to elucidate distinct subtypes within the broad diagnostic class of autism. Concurrently, he works on the development of methods and procedures to manage massive datasets in a fashion that enables successful research programs, allows for open access, and protects patient privacy.

David Szeto

PharmD Candidate, UCSF

David Szeto is a third-year student in the Health Services & Policy Research Pathway under the PharmD program at UCSF. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Engineering from UC Irvine and a Master of Science in NanoEngineering from UC San Diego. Prior to UCSF, his research involved biomedical microelectromechanical systems and molecular-level simulation models. He has worked briefly in several healthcare stakeholders, including consultancies, pharma, and payers, which drives his fascination with how the regulatory system influences the healthcare system at large. Under the guidance of Leslie Wilson, PhD, David is collaborating with the FDA to develop conjoint analysis and standard gamble tools to measure upper limb loss patient preferences. He hopes to find success by engaging all prosthetic stakeholders’ interests and then accurately measure and meaningfully demonstrate the utility of patient preferences in the regulatory approval process.

Ivy Vuong

DDS candidate, UCSF

Ivy Vuong is a 2nd year doctoral student in the D.D.S. program at UCSF School of Dentistry. She studied Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis on Cell and Developmental Biology and Physiology at the University of California, Berkeley. In her previous research projects, she worked with Dr. Susan Ivey, MD, MSHA and Dr. Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, MD, MPH of the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program and Health Research for Action investigating the efficaciousness of dental public health interventions in Vietnam. As a CERSI Scholar, Ivy aims to further investigate opioid fabrication in the lab, as well as draw relationships between the growing opioid epidemic and the FDA Opioid Action Plan and mitigation strategy. Additionally, she will investigate the claims of reduced side effects in FDA-proposed alternative treatments.