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    Students in Graduate School

    PhD I Students

    Neal Amin

    • Email: neamin@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: Columbia University (2008), B.S., Biochemistry
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Neurosciences, Spinal Cord Injury
    • Laboratory rotations: Mark Tuszynski, Eliezer Masliah (Su 10); Sam Pfaff, Salk (Su 11)
    • Thesis Lab: Sam Pfaff, Salk
    • Publications: N/A

    Sagar Bapat

    • Email: sbapat@ucsd.edu 
    • Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University (2009), B.S., Chemistry
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Chemical Biology, Cancer Biology and Metastatic Disease
    • Laboratory rotations: Lei Wang, Salk (Su 09); Ron Evans, Ye Zheng, Salk (Su 10)
    • Thesis Lab: Ye Zheng, Salk
    • Publications: N/A

    Danielle Barrios

    • Email: dbarrios@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: California State University - Los Angeles (2008), B.S., Biology
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Natural Products Biosynthesis and Total Synthesis, Enzymology
    • Laboratory rotations: K.C. Nicolaou, TSRI (Su 10); Bill Gerwick (Su 10); Floyd Romesberg, K.C. Nicolaou, TSRI (Su 11)
    • Thesis Lab: N/A
    • Publications

    Dekker Deacon

    • Email: ddeacon@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: Middlebury College (2007), B.A., Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
    • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences 
    • Research Interest: Embryonic Stem Cells, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Non-coding RNAs, Developmental Cardiology
    • Laboratory rotations: Neil Chi/Gene Yeo (Su 10); Mark Mercola, Sanford-Burnham (Su 10); Gene Yeo/Neil Chi (Su 11)
    • Thesis Lab: Neil Chi
    • Publications

    Rahul Nene

    • Email: rnene@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: Brown University (2009), Sc.B., Biology
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Cancer and Immunology
    • Laboratory rotations: Judy Varner (Su 09); Richard Kolodner (Su 10)
    • Thesis Lab: N/A
    • Publications

    Tyler Steed

    • Email: tsteed@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2009), B.A., Molecular and Cell Biology, Neurobiology
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Neurovascular Coupling, Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Neurodegenerative Disorders
    • Laboratory rotations:  Warren Lockette (NMCSD Clinical Investigations Dept., Su 09); Anna Devor/Gabe Silva (Su 10); Jim Brewer (Su 10) 
    • Thesis Lab: N/A
    • Publications

    Cesar Virgen

    • Email: cvirgenl@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of Alberta (2006), B.S., Biology
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Virology, Infectious Diseases
    • Laboratory rotations:  Ian Wilson, TSRI (Su 09); Frank Chisari, Juan de la Torre; TSRI (Su 10)
    • Thesis Lab: Frank Chisari, TSRI
    • Publications

    Jean Wang

    • Email: jew027@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University (2008), B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering 
    • Graduate Department: N/A
    • Research Interests:  Biomaterials for Cell/Tissue Engineering and Drug Delivery
    • Laboratory rotations: Karen Christman (Su 10); Inder Verma, Salk (Su 10)
    • Thesis Lab: Karen Christman
    • Publications

     

    PhD II Students

    Amran Asadi

    • Email: aasadi@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of Florida (2008), B.S. Mechanical Engineering
    • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
    • Research Interest: Bioengineering
    • Laboratory rotations: Robert Sah (UCSD, Su 08); Howard Poizner (UCSD, Su 09); Kim Prisk (UCSD, Su 10)
    • Thesis Lab: Kim Prisk
    • Publications: N/A

    Csilla Felsen

    • Email: cfelsen@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Instituion: California Institute of Technology (2008), B.S. Biology and English
    • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
    • Research Interest: Cancer biology, imaging technology
    • Laboratory rotations: Judy Varner (UCSD, Su 09); Stuart Lipton (Sanford-Burnham, Su 09), Roger Tsien (UCSD, Su 10)
    • Thesis Lab: Roger Tsien
    • Publications

    Aran Groves

    • Email: agroves@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of Northern Arizona (2008), B.S. Biology
    • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
    • Research Interest: Transplantation technology
    • Laboratory rotations: Fred Levine (Sanford-Burnham, Su 08); Eddie Koo (UCSD, Su 09); Jerold Chun (TSRI, Su 09)
    • Thesis Lab: Jerold Chun, TSRI
    • Publications: N/A

    Bruno Maranhao

    • Email: bmaranha@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2007), B.S. Electrical Engineering and Neuroscience
    • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
    • Research Interest: Neurosciences
    • Laboratory rotations: Roger Tsien (UCSD, Su '09) , Gabe Silva (UCSD, Su '09)
    • Thesis Lab: Gabe Silva, Terry Sejnowski, Salk
    • Publications

    Robert Saddawi-Konefka

    • Email: rsaddawi@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of Southern California (2008), B.A. Neuroscience and Spanish
    • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
    • Research Interest: Brain tumor immunology
    • Laboratory rotations: Anirvan Ghosh (UCSD, Su '09); Jack Bui (UCSD, Su '09); John Crawford (UCSD, Fa '10)
    • Thesis Lab: Jack Bui
    • Publications

    Aaron Simon

    • Email: aasimon@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: Brown University (2007), B.S. Biophysics
    • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
    • Research Interest:
    • Laboratory rotations: Richard Buxton (UCSD, Su '08); Andrew McCulloch (UCSD, Su '09); Gabe Silva (UCSD, Su '09)
    • Thesis Lab: Richard Buxton
    • Publications: N/A

    Panid Sharifnia

    • Email: psharifn@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2008), B.A. Molecular Cell Biology: Biochemistry
    • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
    • Research Interest: Molecular and cellular neuroscience
    • Laboratory rotations: Barbara Ranscht (Sanford-Burnham, Su '09); Sasha Du Luc (Salk, Su '09); Yishi Jin (UCSD, Su '10)
    • Thesis Lab: Yishi Jin
    • Publications: N/A

    Tim Tirrell

    • Email: ttirrell@ucsd.edu
    • Undergraduate Institution: California Institute of Technology (2006), B.S. Chemistry
    • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
    • Research Interest: Biochemical determinants of muscle mechanics and physiology
    • Laboratory rotations: Judy Kim (UCSD, Su '08) Karen Christman (UCSD, Su '09); Richard Lieber (UCSD, Su '09)
    • Thesis Lab: Richard Lieber
    • Publications

      Dawn Zhang

      • Email: daz001@ucsd.edu
      • Undergraduate Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2008), B.S. Biology
      • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
      • Research Interest: Transcription, immunology, macrophages, inflammation
      • Laboratory rotations: Victor Nizet (UCSD, Su '08); Jean Wang (UCSD, Su '09); Chris Glass (UCSD, Su '10)
      • Thesis Lab: Chris Glass
      • Publications

       

      PhD III Students

      Leela Davies

      • Email: ledavies@ucsd.edu
      • Undergraduate Institution: Brown University (2005), B.S. Neuroscience
      • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
      • Research Interest: Molecular biology, neurosciences, genetics, glycobiology
      • Laboratory rotations: Elizabeth Winzeler (TSRI, Su '08), Joe Gleeson (UCSD, Su '08); Yishi Jin (UCSD, Su '09); Ajit Varki (UCSD, Fa '09)
      • Thesis Lab: Ajit Varki
      • Publications

      Jesse Dixon

      • Email: j1dixon@ucsd.edu
      • Undergraduate Instituion: Princeton University (2006), B.A. Neuroscience
      • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
      • Research Interest: Biochemistry, biomedical engineering, biophysics
      • Laboratory rotations: Joe Gleeson (UCSD, Su '08); Ron Evans (Salk, Su '08); Bing Ren (UCSD, Su '09)
      • Thesis Lab: Bing Ren
      • Publications: N/A

      Wes Gifford

      • Email: wgifford@ucsd.edu
      • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (2005), B.S. Neuroscience
      • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
      • Research Interest: Neural development; regenerative medicine; Next Gen sequencing
      • Laboratory rotations: Kristin Baldwin (TSRI, Su '08), Sam Pfaff (Salk, Su '08)
      • Thesis Lab: Sam Pfaff, Salk
      • Publications

        Alex Hui

        • Email: alhui@ucsd.edu
        • Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University (2007), B.S. Biomedical Engineering
        • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
        • Research Interest: Biomedical engineering
        • Laboratory rotations: Robert Sah (UCSD, Su '08); Gabe Silva (UCSD, Su '08)
        • Thesis Lab: Robert Sah
        • Publications: N/A

        Kentson Lam

        • Email: k8lam@ucsd.edu
        • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2005), B.A. Molecular and Cell Biology
        • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
        • Research Interest: Genetics, stem cells, hematology, oncology, biochemistry
        • Laboratory rotations: Larry Goldstein (UCSD, Su '07); David Traver (UCSD, Su '08); Silvia Evans (UCSD, Su '08); Dong-Er Zhang (UCSD, Su '09)
        • Thesis Lab: Dong-Er Zhang
        • Publications: N/A

        Adnan Majid

        • Email: dmajid@ucsd.edu
        • Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University (2007), B.S. Symbolic Systems
        • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
        • Research Interest: Neurosciences
        • Laboratory rotations: Dennis O'Leary (Salk, Su '08); Ed Callaway (Salk, Su '08); Adam Aron (UCSD, Su '09)
        • Thesis Lab: Adam Aron
        • Publications

        Liz Murphy

        • Email: eareed@ucsd.edu
        • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, San Diego (2007), B.A. Mathematics
        • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
        • Research Interest: Quantitative neuroimaging, dementia, structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging
        • Laboratory rotations: Eric Courchesne/Karen Pierce (UCSD, Su '08); George Koob (TSRI, Su '08); James Brewer (UCSD, Su '09)
        • Thesis Lab: James Brewer
        • Publications

        Robert Thomas

        • Email: rlthomas@ucsd.edu
        • Undergraduate Institution: Santa Clara University (2006), B.S. Chemistry
        • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
        • Research Interest: Biochemistry
        • Laboratory rotation with: Victor Nizet (UCSD, Su '08); Chris Glass (UCSD, Su '08); Francisco Villarreal (UCSD, Su '09)
        • Thesis Lab: Asa Gustafsson
        • Publications

          PhD IV Students

          Kristen Berendzen

          • Email: kberendzen@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Vanderbilt University (2004), B.S. Neuroscience 
          • Graduate Department: Neuroscience
          • Research Interests: Molecular biology, neurosciences
          • Laboratory rotations: Anrivan Ghosh (UCSD, Su '06); Ron Evans (Salk, Su '07); Andrew Dillin (Salk, Su '08)
          • Thesis Lab: Andrew Dillin
          • Publications: N/A

          Mithun Diwaker

          • Email: mdiwakar@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution:  California Institute of Technology (2006), B.S. Biology
          • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
          • Research Interests: Bioengineering
          • Laboratory rotation with: Mingxiong Huang (UCSD, Su '07); James Brewer (UCSD, Su '08)
          • Thesis Lab: Mingxiong Huang
          • Publications: N/A

          Matt Gonzales

          • Email: mjgonzales@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: UCSD (2006), B.S. Chemical Engineering 
          • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
          • Research Interests: Biophysics, computational biology
          • Laboratory rotations: Kim Janda (TSRI, Su '06); Terry Sejnowski (Salk, Su '07); Andrew McCulloch (UCSD, Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab: Andrew McCulloch
          • Publications: N/A

          Val Griffeth

          • Email: vgriffeth@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Vassar College (2004), B.A. Biochemistry and Mathematics
          • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
          • Research Interests: Physiological basis of functional MRI, mechanisms altering the relationship between blood flow and oxygen metabolism, developing fMRI for use as a clinical tool
          • Laboratory rotations: Robert Sah (UCSD, Su '07), Rich Lieber (UCSD, Su '07); Richard Buxton (UCSD, Su '08)
          • Thesis Lab: Richard Buxton
          • Publications: N/A

          Al Kaye

          • Email: akaye@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2004), B.A. Comparative Literature and Molecular and Cell Biology
          • Graduate Department: Neuroscience
          • Research Interests: Neurosciences
          • Laboratory rotations: N/A
          • Thesis Lab: Tatyana Sharpee/Ed Callaway
          • Publications: N/A

          Navin Mahadevan

          • Email: nmahadevan@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Washington University in St. Louis (2005), B.A. Biology
          • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
          • Research Interests: Cancer biology, stem cell biology, immunology, tumor immunology
          • Laboratory rotations: Jeanne Loring (Sanford-Burnham, '06); Maurizio Zanetti (UCSD, '07); Jack Bui (UCSD, '07)
          • Thesis Lab: Maurizio Zanetti
          • Publications

           

          Advanced PhD Students

          Robert De Conde

          • Email: rdeconde@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University (2004), B.S. Biology, M.S. Biomedical Informatics
          • Graduate Department: Bioengineering
          • Research Interests: Immunology, oncology, genetics
          • Laboratory rotations: Bernhard Palsson (UCSD, Su '06)
          • Thesis Lab:  Trey Ideker
          • Publications

          Daniel Goff

          • Email: dgoff@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, San Diego (2004), B.S. Microbiology 
          • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
          • Research Interests: Stem cells, leukemia, apoptosis regulation
          • Laboratory rotations: Catriona Jamieson (UCSD, Su '06); Inder Verma (Salk, Su '07); John Guatelli (UCSD, Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab: Catriona Jamieson
          • Publications

          Marika Orlov

          • Email: morlov@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, San Diego (2004), B.S. Molecular Biology
          • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
          • Research Interests: Molecular biology
          • Laboratory rotations: Reuben Shaw (Salk, Su '06); Robert Schooley (UCSD, Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab:  Robert Schooley
          • Publications

          Becca Saenz

          • Email: rsaenz@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Yale University (2002), B.S. Biomedical Engineering, M.S. Bioengineering
          • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
          • Research Interests: Cancer biology, vaccine development, immunology, tumor immunology, nanoengineering
          • Laboratory rotations: Thomas Kipps (UCSD, Su '06);  Stephen Howell (UCSD, Su '07), Sadik Esener (UCSD, Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab:  Sadik Esener
          • Publications

          Priya Velu

          • Email: pvelu@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Johns Hopkins University (2005), B.A. Biophysics
          • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
          • Research Interests: Brain computer interfaces, EEG, machine learning
          • Laboratory rotations: Terry Sejnowski (Salk Su '05); Larry Goldstein (UCSD Su '06); Larry Squire (UCSD Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab:  Virginia da Sa
          • Publications

          Sarah Welsh

          • Email: swelsh@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Bryn Mawr College (2003), B.A. Chemistry and French
          • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
          • Research Interests: Infectious diseases, virology
          • Laboratory rotation with: Roger Tsien (Su '06), Michael Buchmeier (Su '07), Deborah Spector (Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab:  Deborah Spector
          • Publications:  N/A

           

          Postdoctoral Graduate Students

          Michael Lam

          • Email: mtlam@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: University of California, Berkeley (2003), B.A. Molecular and Cell Biology
          • Graduate Department: Biomedical Sciences
          • Research Interests: Cardiovascular research
          • Laboratory rotations:  Chris Glass (UCSD, Su '06); Judith Varner (UCSD, Su '06); Inder Verma (Salk, Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab: Chris Glass
          • Publications:  N/A

          Caleb Stokes

          • Email: cstokes@ucsd.edu
          • Undergraduate Institution: Stanford University (2003), B.S. Biological Sciences
          • Graduate Department: Neurosciences
          • Research Interests: Neurosciences
          • Laboratory rotation with: Anirvan Ghosh (UCSD, Su '06); Jeff Isaacson (UCSD, Su '07)
          • Thesis Lab:  Jeff Isaacson
          • Publications
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