Alumni

Project Scientists

Seng Hui Low, PhD

Present Position: 
Lecturer, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, UCSB
Years in Lab: 
1999-2012 (Support: American Heart Association, Scientist Development Grant, 2002-2006)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Soo-Hoo L, Banna CD, Radeke CM, Sharma N, Albertolle ME, Low SH, Weimbs T, Vandenberg CA. The SNARE Protein Syntaxin 3 Confers Specificity for Polarized Axonal Trafficking in Neurons. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(9):e0163671.

Reales E, Sharma N, Low SH, Fölsch H, Weimbs T. Basolateral sorting of syntaxin 4 is dependent on its N-terminal domain and the AP1B clathrin adaptor, and required for the epithelial cell polarity. PLOS One. 2011 ;6:e21181.

Reales E, Sharma N, Low SH, Fölsch H, Weimbs T. Basolateral sorting of syntaxin 4 is dependent on its N-terminal domain and the AP1B clathrin adaptor, and required for the epithelial cell polarity. PLOS One. 2011 ;6:e21181.

Sharma N, Low SH, Misra S, Pallavi B, Weimbs T. Apical targeting of syntaxin 3 is essential for epithelial cell polarity. The Journal of Cell Biology. 2006 ;173:937–948.

Low SH, Vasanth S, Larson CH, Mukherjee S, Sharma N, Kinter MT, Kane ME, Obara T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1, STAT6, and P100 function in a pathway that transduces ciliary mechanosensation and is activated in polycystic kidney disease. Developmental Cell. 2006 ;10:57–69.

Shillingford JM, Murcia NS, Larson CH, Low SH, Hedgepeth R, Brown N, Flask CA, Novick AC, Goldfarb DA, Kramer-Zucker A, Walz G, Piontek KB, Germino GG, Weimbs T. The mTOR pathway is regulated by polycystin-1, and its inhibition reverses renal cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2006 ;103:5466–5471.

Kidd GJ, Yadav VK, Huang P, Brand SL, Low SH, Weimbs T, Trapp BD. A dual tyrosine-leucine motif mediates myelin protein P0 targeting in MDCK cells. Glia. 2006 ;54:135–145.

Sherief MH, Low SH, Miura M, Kudo N, Novick AC, Weimbs T. Matrix metalloproteinase activity in urine of patients with renal cell carcinoma leads to degradation of extracellular matrix proteins: possible use as a screening assay. The Journal of Urology. 2003 ;169:1530–1534.

Weimbs T, Low SH, Li X, Kreitzer G. SNAREs and epithelial cells. Methods. 2003 ;30:191–197.

Low SH, Li X, Miura M, Kudo N, Quiñones B, Weimbs T. Syntaxin 2 and endobrevin are required for the terminal step of cytokinesis in mammalian cells. Developmental Cell. 2003 ;4:753–759.

Kreitzer G, Schmoranzer J, Low SH, Li X, Gan Y, Weimbs T, Simon SM, Rodriguez-Boulan E. Three-dimensional analysis of post-Golgi carrier exocytosis in epithelial cells. Nature Cell Biology. 2003 ;5:126–136.

Li X, Low SH, Miura M, Weimbs T. SNARE expression and localization in renal epithelial cells suggest mechanism for variability of trafficking phenotypes. American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. 2002 ;283:F1111–F1122.

Low SH, Marmorstein LY, Miura M, Li X, Kudo N, Marmorstein AD, Weimbs T. Retinal pigment epithelial cells exhibit unique expression and localization of plasma membrane syntaxins which may contribute to their trafficking phenotype. Journal of Cell Science. 2002 ;115:4545–4553.

Lim S-N, Bonzelius F, Low SH, Wille H, Weimbs T, Herman GA. Identification of discrete classes of endosome-derived small vesicles as a major cellular pool for recycling membrane proteins. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2001 ;12:981–995.

Low SH, Miura M, Roche PA, Valdez AC, Mostov KE, Weimbs T. Intracellular redirection of plasma membrane trafficking after loss of epithelial cell polarity. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2000 ;11:3045–3060.

Jayasri Nanduri, PhD

Present Position: 
Associate Professor, University of Chicago, Department of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2002-2004
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Low SH, Vasanji A, Nanduri J, He M, Sharma N, Koo M, Drazba J, Weimbs T. Syntaxins 3 and 4 are concentrated in separate clusters on the plasma membrane before the establishment of cell polarity. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2006 ;17:977–989.

Jonathan Shillingford, PhD

Present Position: 
Research Assistant Professor, Division of Nephrology, University of Michigan
Years in Lab: 
2003-2012 (Support: American Heart Association, Scientist Development Grant, 2006-2010)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Kipp KR, Kruger SL, Schimmel MF, Parker N, Shillingford JM, Leamon CP, Weimbs T. Comparison of folate-conjugated rapamycin versus unconjugated rapamycin in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F395–F405.

Stayner C, Shields J, Slobbe L, Shillingford JM, Weimbs T, Eccles MR. Rapamycin-mediated suppression of renal cyst expansion in del34 Pkd1-/- mutant mouse embryos: An investigation of the feasibility of renal cyst prevention in the foetus. Nephrology. 2012 ;17:739–747.

Shillingford JM, Leamon CP, Vlahov IR, Weimbs T. Folate-conjugated rapamycin slows progression of polycystic kidney disease. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2012 ;23:1674.

Olsan EE, Mukherjee S, Wulkersdorfer B, Shillingford JM, Giovannone AJ, Todorov G, Song X, Pei Y, Weimbs T. Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) inhibition suppresses renal cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:18067–18072.

Talbot JJ, Shillingford JM, Vasanth S, Doerr N, Mukherjee S, Kinter MT, Watnick T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1 regulates STAT activity by a dual mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:7985–7990.

Shillingford JM, Piontek KB, Germino GG, Weimbs T. Rapamycin ameliorates PKD resulting from conditional inactivation of Pkd1. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2010 ;21:489–497.

Shillingford JM, Murcia NS, Larson CH, Low SH, Hedgepeth R, Brown N, Flask CA, Novick AC, Goldfarb DA, Kramer-Zucker A, Walz G, Piontek KB, Germino GG, Weimbs T. The mTOR pathway is regulated by polycystin-1, and its inhibition reverses renal cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2006 ;103:5466–5471.

Fei B, Flask C, Wang H, Pi A, Wilson DL, Shillingford J, Murcia N, Weimbs T, Duerk JL. Image segmentation, registration and visualization of serial MR images for therapeutic assessment of polycystic kidney disease in transgenic mice. Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2005. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2005 :467–469.

Rashid Syed, PhD

Present Position: 
Faculty, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University Northridge
Years in Lab: 
2007-2009

Postdoctoral Researchers

Pallavi Bhattaram, PhD

Present Position: 
Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2004-2006
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Winterstein C, Bhattaram P, Reales E, Low SH, Baggs JE, Xu M, Lalli MA, Hogenesch JB, Weimbs T. Soluble syntaxin 3 functions as a transcriptional regulator. J Biol Chem. 2018 ;293:5478-5491.

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Fraile-Ramos A, Weimbs T. Tracking Endocytosis and Intracellular Trafficking of Epitope-tagged Syntaxin 3 by Antibody Feeding in Live, Polarized MDCK Cells. Bio-Protocol. 2018 ;8(3):e2453.

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Fraile-Ramos A, Weimbs T. Mono-ubiquitination of syntaxin 3 leads to retrieval from the basolateral plasma membrane and facilitates cargo recruitment to exosomes. Mol Biol Cell. 2017 ;28:2843-2853.

Nicholas Doerr, PhD

Present Position: 
Associate Director Clinical Pharmacology, Abbvie
Years in Lab: 
2006-2015
Awards & Funding: 
Philip & Aida Siff Educational Foundation Graduate Fellowship (2009/10)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, West JD, Torres JA, Doerr N, Weimbs T. Identification of Targets of Interleukin-13 and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-6 (STAT6) Signaling in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F86–F96.

Doerr N, Wang Y, Kipp KR, Liu G, Benza JJ, Pletnev V, Pavlov TS, Staruschenko A, Mohieldin AM, Takahashi M, Nauli SM, Weimbs T. Regulation of Polycystin-1 Function by Calmodulin Binding. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(8):e0161525.

Rothé B, Leal-Esteban L, Bernet F, Urfer S, Doerr N, Weimbs T, Iwaszkiewicz J, Constam DB. Bicc1 polymerization regulates the localization and silencing of bound mRNA. Mol Cell Biol. 2015 ;35:3339-3353.

Talbot JJ, Song X, Wang X, Rinschen MM, Doerr N, LaRiviere WB, Schermer B, Pei YP, Torres VE, Weimbs T. The cleaved cytoplasmic tail of polycystin-1 regulates Src-dependent STAT3 activation. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 ;25(8):1737-48.

Talbot JJ, Shillingford JM, Vasanth S, Doerr N, Mukherjee S, Kinter MT, Watnick T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1 regulates STAT activity by a dual mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:7985–7990.

Adrian Giovannone, PhD

Present Position: 
Scientist Bioniz, Irvine, California
Years in Lab: 
2008-2017
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Winterstein C, Bhattaram P, Reales E, Low SH, Baggs JE, Xu M, Lalli MA, Hogenesch JB, Weimbs T. Soluble syntaxin 3 functions as a transcriptional regulator. J Biol Chem. 2018 ;293:5478-5491.

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Fraile-Ramos A, Weimbs T. Tracking Endocytosis and Intracellular Trafficking of Epitope-tagged Syntaxin 3 by Antibody Feeding in Live, Polarized MDCK Cells. Bio-Protocol. 2018 ;8(3):e2453.

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Fraile-Ramos A, Weimbs T. Mono-ubiquitination of syntaxin 3 leads to retrieval from the basolateral plasma membrane and facilitates cargo recruitment to exosomes. Mol Biol Cell. 2017 ;28:2843-2853.

Olsan, E.E., Mukherjee, S., Wulkersdorfer, B., Shillingford, J.M., Giovannone, A.J., Todorov, G., Song, X., Pei, Y., and Weimbs, T. (2011). Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) inhibition suppresses renal cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108, 18067-18072.

Xin Li, MD, PhD

Present Position: 
Clinical Pathologist, University Hospitals, Richmond Heights, OH
Years in Lab: 
2000-2003 (Support: Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program, Research Grant)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Weimbs T, Low SH, Li X, Kreitzer G. SNAREs and epithelial cells. Methods. 2003 ;30:191–197.

Low SH, Li X, Miura M, Kudo N, Quiñones B, Weimbs T. Syntaxin 2 and endobrevin are required for the terminal step of cytokinesis in mammalian cells. Developmental Cell. 2003 ;4:753–759.

Kreitzer G, Schmoranzer J, Low SH, Li X, Gan Y, Weimbs T, Simon SM, Rodriguez-Boulan E. Three-dimensional analysis of post-Golgi carrier exocytosis in epithelial cells. Nature Cell Biology. 2003 ;5:126–136.

Li X, Low SH, Miura M, Weimbs T. SNARE expression and localization in renal epithelial cells suggest mechanism for variability of trafficking phenotypes. American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. 2002 ;283:F1111–F1122.

Low SH, Marmorstein LY, Miura M, Li X, Kudo N, Marmorstein AD, Weimbs T. Retinal pigment epithelial cells exhibit unique expression and localization of plasma membrane syntaxins which may contribute to their trafficking phenotype. Journal of Cell Science. 2002 ;115:4545–4553.

Guangyi Liu, PhD

Present Position: 
Chief Physician, Department of Nephrology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China
Years in Lab: 
2015-2016
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Doerr N, Wang Y, Kipp KR, Liu G, Benza JJ, Pletnev V, Pavlov TS, Staruschenko A, Mohieldin AM, Takahashi M, Nauli SM, Weimbs T. Regulation of Polycystin-1 Function by Calmodulin Binding. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(8):e0161525.

Sambuddho Mukherjee, PhD

Present Position: 
Associate Director, Biocon Bristol-Myers Squibb Research and Development Center, Bangalore, India
Years in Lab: 
2004-2007
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, Mukherjee S, Wulkersdorfer B, Shillingford JM, Giovannone AJ, Todorov G, Song X, Pei Y, Weimbs T. Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) inhibition suppresses renal cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:18067–18072.

Talbot JJ, Shillingford JM, Vasanth S, Doerr N, Mukherjee S, Kinter MT, Watnick T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1 regulates STAT activity by a dual mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:7985–7990.

Low SH, Vasanth S, Larson CH, Mukherjee S, Sharma N, Kinter MT, Kane ME, Obara T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1, STAT6, and P100 function in a pathway that transduces ciliary mechanosensation and is activated in polycystic kidney disease. Developmental Cell. 2006 ;10:57–69.

Elena Reales, PhD

Present Position: 
Principal Investigator, INIBICA (Instituto de investigación e innovación biomédica de Cádiz), Cádiz, Spain
Years in Lab: 
2006-2010 (Support: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Winterstein C, Bhattaram P, Reales E, Low SH, Baggs JE, Xu M, Lalli MA, Hogenesch JB, Weimbs T. Soluble syntaxin 3 functions as a transcriptional regulator. J Biol Chem. 2018 ;293:5478-5491.

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Fraile-Ramos A, Weimbs T. Tracking Endocytosis and Intracellular Trafficking of Epitope-tagged Syntaxin 3 by Antibody Feeding in Live, Polarized MDCK Cells. Bio-Protocol. 2018 ;8(3):e2453.

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Fraile-Ramos A, Weimbs T. Mono-ubiquitination of syntaxin 3 leads to retrieval from the basolateral plasma membrane and facilitates cargo recruitment to exosomes. Mol Biol Cell. 2017 ;28:2843-2853.

Reales E, Sharma N, Low SH, Fölsch H, Weimbs T. Basolateral sorting of syntaxin 4 is dependent on its N-terminal domain and the AP1B clathrin adaptor, and required for the epithelial cell polarity. PLOS One. 2011 ;6:e21181.

Mina Rezaei, PhD

Present Position: 
Scientific Researcher, University of Bern, Switzerland
Years in Lab: 
2014-17
Awards & Funding: 
Early Mobility Postdoctoral Fellowship, and Advanced Mobility Postdoctoral Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Rezaei M, Broderick C, Lin L, Wang X, Hoppe B, Cowley BD, Savica V, Torres VE, Khan S, Holmes RP, Mrug M, Weimbs T. Crystal deposition triggers tubule dilation that accelerates cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. J Clin Invest. 2019 ;130:4506-4522.

Kipp KR, Rezaei M, Lin L, Dewey EC, Weimbs T. A mild reduction of food intake slows disease progression in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2016 ;310: F726 –F731.

Olsan EE, Matsushita T, Rezaei M, Weimbs T. Exploitation of the Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor for Antibody Targeting to Renal Cyst Lumens in Polycystic Kidney Disease. J Biol Chem. 2015 ;290:15679–15686.

Mahmoud Sherief, MD

Present Position: 
Professor, Department of Urology, Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt
Years in Lab: 
2001-2002 (Support: Fellowship in Urological Research, Egyptian Government)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Sherief MH, Low SH, Miura M, Kudo N, Novick AC, Weimbs T. Matrix metalloproteinase activity in urine of patients with renal cell carcinoma leads to degradation of extracellular matrix proteins: possible use as a screening assay. The Journal of Urology. 2003 ;169:1530–1534.

Sebastian Strubl, MD

Present Position: 
Assistenzarzt für Nephrologie, Universitätsklinikum Köln, Germany
Years in Lab: 
2019-22
Awards & Funding: 
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021 .

Strubl S, Torres JA, Spindt AK, Pellegrini H, Liebau MC, Weimbs T. STAT signaling in polycystic kidney disease. Cellular Signalling. 2020 ;72:109639.

Other Publications:

“Polysialic acid is released by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro“. Sebastian Strubl, Uwe Schubert, Andrea Kühnle, Alexander Rebl, Negah Ahmadvand, Silvia Fischer, Klaus T. Preissner, Sebastian P. Galuska. Cell Bioscience, 2018 Dez.11, Vol.8:64.

“Engineering of complex protein sialylation in plants“. Somanath Kallolimath, Alexandra Castilho, Richard Strasser, Clemes Grünwald-Gruber, Friedrich Altmann, Sebastian Strubl, Christina Elisabeth Galuska, Kristina Zlatina, Sebastian Peter Galuska, Stefan Werner, Hauke Thiesler, Sebastian Werneburg, Herbert Hildebrandt, Rita Gerardy-Schahn, Herta Steinkellner. PNAS, 2016 Aug.23, Vol. 113 (34): 9498-9530.

Christine Winterstein, PhD

Present Position: 
Head of Medical Affairs, Merck Group, Oslo, Norway
Years in Lab: 
2007-2012 (Support: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cancer Center of Santa Barbara)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Winterstein C, Bhattaram P, Reales E, Low SH, Baggs JE, Xu M, Lalli MA, Hogenesch JB, Weimbs T. Soluble syntaxin 3 functions as a transcriptional regulator. J Biol Chem. 2018 ;293:5478-5491.

Beatrix Wulkersdorfer, MD

Present Position: 
Internal Medicine Residency Program at Department for Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University Vienna
Years in Lab: 
2009-2012
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, Mukherjee S, Wulkersdorfer B, Shillingford JM, Giovannone AJ, Todorov G, Song X, Pei Y, Weimbs T. Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) inhibition suppresses renal cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:18067–18072.

Zhizhou Zhang, PhD

Present Position: 
Professor, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Years in Lab: 
2000-2001

Other Doctoral Level

Charles Cho, MD

Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Ryan Hedgepeth, MD (Cleveland Clinic Urological Institute)

Present Position: 
Chief of Urological Services, OhioHealth Physician Group, Columbus, Ohio
Years in Lab: 
2004-2005
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Shillingford JM, Murcia NS, Larson CH, Low SH, Hedgepeth R, Brown N, Flask CA, Novick AC, Goldfarb DA, Kramer-Zucker A, Walz G, Piontek KB, Germino GG, Weimbs T. The mTOR pathway is regulated by polycystin-1, and its inhibition reverses renal cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2006 ;103:5466–5471.

Constance Marks, MD (Cleveland Clinic Urological Institute)

Present Position: 
Urologist, Advanced Urology Associates, Joliet, IL
Years in Lab: 
2004-2005

Graduate Students

Brina Aceves (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Research Associate at Agilent Technologies
Years in Lab: 
2021-24 (since 2022 as graduate student)

Shagun Agrawal

Present Position: 
Medical Student, Touro University California
Years in Lab: 
2018-2020
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Kruger SL, Broderick C, Amarlkhagva T, Agrawal S, Dodam JR, Mrug M, Lyons LA, Weimbs T. Ketosis Ameliorates Renal Cyst Growth in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Cell Metabolism. 2019 ;30:1007–1023.

Masaw Akbari

Present Position: 
Study Manager at Affinity Biosensors
Years in Lab: 
2015-20

Bryan Bourgeois, M.A., J.D.

Present Position: 
Production Associate, Sangamo Therapeutics, Brisbane, California
Years in Lab: 
2015-20
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Weimbs T, Schillingford JM, Torres J, Kruger SL, Bourgeois BC. Emerging targeted strategies for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Clinical Kidney Journal. 2018 ;11(suppl_1):i27–i38.

Matthias Haeffner (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Field Application Scientist / Field Specialist Engineer Nanolive SA
Years in Lab: 
2022-24
Awards & Funding: 
Fellowship, Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation

Kevin Kipp, PhD

Present Position: 
Senior Director - Pre-Clinical Development, Therna Bio
Years in Lab: 
2009-2016
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Kipp KR, Kruger SL, Schimmel MF, Parker N, Shillingford JM, Leamon CP, Weimbs T. Comparison of folate-conjugated rapamycin versus unconjugated rapamycin in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F395–F405.

Doerr N, Wang Y, Kipp KR, Liu G, Benza JJ, Pletnev V, Pavlov TS, Staruschenko A, Mohieldin AM, Takahashi M, Nauli SM, Weimbs T. Regulation of Polycystin-1 Function by Calmodulin Binding. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(8):e0161525.

Kipp KR, Rezaei M, Lin L, Dewey EC, Weimbs T. A mild reduction of food intake slows disease progression in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2016 ;310: F726 –F731.

Samantha Kruger, MA

Present Position: 
Obstetrics and Gynecology Resident, Stanford University
Years in Lab: 
2015-18
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Kruger SL, Broderick C, Amarlkhagva T, Agrawal S, Dodam JR, Mrug M, Lyons LA, Weimbs T. Ketosis Ameliorates Renal Cyst Growth in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Cell Metabolism. 2019 ;30:1007–1023.

Kipp KR, Kruger SL, Schimmel MF, Parker N, Shillingford JM, Leamon CP, Weimbs T. Comparison of folate-conjugated rapamycin versus unconjugated rapamycin in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F395–F405.

Weimbs T, Schillingford JM, Torres J, Kruger SL, Bourgeois BC. Emerging targeted strategies for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Clinical Kidney Journal. 2018 ;11(suppl_1):i27–i38.

Allison (Szu Yu) Liu

Present Position: 
Dental Student at University of California, San Francisco
Years in Lab: 
2017-19

Neda Marhamati, M.S.

Present Position: 
Senior Research Scientist, Celavie Biosciences, Oxnard, California
Years in Lab: 
2015-16

Eiko Nishiuchi, M.A.

Present Position: 
Research Administration Manager II, Fred Hutch
Years in Lab: 
2008-2010

Erin Olsan, PhD

Present Position: 
Associate Professor at California State University-Sacramento
Years in Lab: 
2007-2014
Awards & Funding: 
Carbon-Clarke Fellowship (2006); C.A. Storke Fellowship (2007); Shing and Sheng-Yung Chang Fellowship for Research in Biochemistry Molecular Biology (2009)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, West JD, Torres JA, Doerr N, Weimbs T. Identification of Targets of Interleukin-13 and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-6 (STAT6) Signaling in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F86–F96.

Olsan EE, Matsushita T, Rezaei M, Weimbs T. Exploitation of the Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor for Antibody Targeting to Renal Cyst Lumens in Polycystic Kidney Disease. J Biol Chem. 2015 ;290:15679–15686.

Weimbs T, Olsan EE, Talbot JJ. Regulation of STATs by polycystin-1 and their role in polycystic kidney disease. JAK-STAT. 2013 ;2:0–1.

Olsan EE, Mukherjee S, Wulkersdorfer B, Shillingford JM, Giovannone AJ, Todorov G, Song X, Pei Y, Weimbs T. Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) inhibition suppresses renal cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:18067–18072.

Hannah Pellegrini (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Applications Scientist - Functional Genomics at Integrated DNA Technologies
Years in Lab: 
2017-24
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Torres JA, Spindt AK, Pellegrini H, Liebau MC, Weimbs T. STAT signaling in polycystic kidney disease. Cellular Signalling. 2020 ;72:109639.

 

Pellegrini H, Sharpe EH, Liu G, Nishiuchi E, Doerr N, Kipp KR, Chin T, Schimmel MF, Weimbs T. Cleavage fragments of the C-terminal tail of polycystin-1 are regulated by oxidative stress and induce mitochondrial dysfunction. J Biol Chem. 2023 ;299:105158.

Thomas Samitsch (Management Center Innsbruck, MCI)

Present Position: 
Lead Scientist at Labcorp
Years in Lab: 
2018
Awards & Funding: 
Marshall Plan Scholarship, Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation

Meg Schimmel (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Scientist I - Translational Biology & Pharmacology, Borealis Biosciences, Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Years in Lab: 
2017-25
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Schimmel MF, Bourgeois BC, Spindt AK, Patel SA, Chin T, Cornick GE, Liu Y, Weimbs T. Development of a cyst-targeted therapy for polycystic kidney disease using an antagonistic dimeric IgA monoclonal antibody against cMET. Cell Reports Medicine. 2025 ;6:102335.

Torres JA, Holznecht N, Asplund DA, Kroes BC, Amarlkhagva T, Haeffner MM, Sharpe EH, Koestner S, Strubl S, Schimmel MF, Kruger S, Agrawal S, Aceves BA, Thangaraju M, Weimbs T. β-hydroxybutyrate recapitulates the beneficial effects of ketogenic metabolic therapy in polycystic kidney disease.iScience. 2024 ;27(9):110773.

Pellegrini H, Sharpe EH, Liu G, Nishiuchi E, Doerr N, Kipp KR, Chin T, Schimmel MF, Weimbs T. Cleavage fragments of the C-terminal tail of polycystin-1 are regulated by oxidative stress and induce mitochondrial dysfunction. J Biol Chem. 2023 ;299:105158.

Kipp KR, Kruger SL, Schimmel MF, Parker N, Shillingford JM, Leamon CP, Weimbs T. Comparison of folate-conjugated rapamycin versus unconjugated rapamycin in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F395–F405.

Hunter Scott (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at Touro University California
Years in Lab: 
2022-24

Nikunj Sharma, PhD

Present Position: 
Primary Reviewer and Regulatory Project Manager, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Years in Lab: 
2002-2007 (Support: Predoctoral Fellowship, American Heart Association)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Soo-Hoo L, Banna CD, Radeke CM, Sharma N, Albertolle ME, Low SH, Weimbs T, Vandenberg CA. The SNARE Protein Syntaxin 3 Confers Specificity for Polarized Axonal Trafficking in Neurons. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(9):e0163671.

Reales E, Sharma N, Low SH, Fölsch H, Weimbs T. Basolateral sorting of syntaxin 4 is dependent on its N-terminal domain and the AP1B clathrin adaptor, and required for the epithelial cell polarity. PLOS One. 2011 ;6:e21181.

Low SH, Vasanji A, Nanduri J, He M, Sharma N, Koo M, Drazba J, Weimbs T. Syntaxins 3 and 4 are concentrated in separate clusters on the plasma membrane before the establishment of cell polarity. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2006 ;17:977–989.

Sharma N, Low SH, Misra S, Pallavi B, Weimbs T. Apical targeting of syntaxin 3 is essential for epithelial cell polarity. The Journal of Cell Biology. 2006 ;173:937–948.

Low SH, Vasanth S, Larson CH, Mukherjee S, Sharma N, Kinter MT, Kane ME, Obara T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1, STAT6, and P100 function in a pathway that transduces ciliary mechanosensation and is activated in polycystic kidney disease. Developmental Cell. 2006 ;10:57–69.

Elizabeth Sharpe (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Lecturer, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Years in Lab: 
2018-26
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Holznecht N, Asplund DA, Kroes BC, Amarlkhagva T, Haeffner MM, Sharpe EH, Koestner S, Strubl S, Schimmel MF, Kruger S, Agrawal S, Aceves BA, Thangaraju M, Weimbs T. β-hydroxybutyrate recapitulates the beneficial effects of ketogenic metabolic therapy in polycystic kidney disease.iScience. 2024 ;27(9):110773.

Pellegrini H, Sharpe EH, Liu G, Nishiuchi E, Doerr N, Kipp KR, Chin T, Schimmel MF, Weimbs T. Cleavage fragments of the C-terminal tail of polycystin-1 are regulated by oxidative stress and induce mitochondrial dysfunction. J Biol Chem. 2023 ;299:105158.

Ali Spindt

Present Position: 
Associate Consultant at MotionHall, Menlo Park, CA
Years in Lab: 
2018-2020
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Torres JA, Spindt AK, Pellegrini H, Liebau MC, Weimbs T. STAT signaling in polycystic kidney disease. Cellular Signalling. 2020 ;72:109639.

Jeff Talbot, PhD

Present Position: 
Senior Scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Rensselaer, New York
Years in Lab: 
2006-2013
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Talbot JJ, Song X, Wang X, Rinschen MM, Doerr N, LaRiviere WB, Schermer B, Pei YP, Torres VE, Weimbs T. The cleaved cytoplasmic tail of polycystin-1 regulates Src-dependent STAT3 activation. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 ;25(8):1737-48.

Weimbs T, Olsan EE, Talbot JJ. Regulation of STATs by polycystin-1 and their role in polycystic kidney disease. JAK-STAT. 2013 ;2:0–1.

Weimbs T, Talbot JJ. STAT3 signaling in polycystic kidney disease. Drug Discovery Today: Disease Mechanisms. 2013 ;10(3-4):e113-e118.

Talbot JJ, Shillingford JM, Vasanth S, Doerr N, Mukherjee S, Kinter MT, Watnick T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1 regulates STAT activity by a dual mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:7985–7990.

Shivakumar Vasanth, PhD

Present Position: 
Sr. Staff Scientist / Study Director, Covance Inc.
Years in Lab: 
2003-2007
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Talbot JJ, Shillingford JM, Vasanth S, Doerr N, Mukherjee S, Kinter MT, Watnick T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1 regulates STAT activity by a dual mechanism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:7985–7990.

Low SH, Vasanth S, Larson CH, Mukherjee S, Sharma N, Kinter MT, Kane ME, Obara T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1, STAT6, and P100 function in a pathway that transduces ciliary mechanosensation and is activated in polycystic kidney disease. Developmental Cell. 2006 ;10:57–69.

Johan Waern, MD PhD

Present Position: 
Internal Medicine Specialist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Post-Doctorate; CEO HepGene Medical AB
Years in Lab: 
2004-2006 (Undergraduate research and MS thesis research)

Madison Waterlander, MS (California State University Channel Islands)

Present Position: 
Process Development Senior Associate at Amgen
Years in Lab: 
2021-22
Awards & Funding: 
CIRM Bridges Trainee award

Jonathan West, M.A.

Present Position: 
Medical Student at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Years in Lab: 
2015-2017
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, West JD, Torres JA, Doerr N, Weimbs T. Identification of Targets of Interleukin-13 and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-6 (STAT6) Signaling in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2018 ;315:F86–F96.

Technical Staff / Work-Study Students

David Asplund, BS

Years in Lab: 
2019-2022 (since 2020 as SRA I)

Melody Chan

Years in Lab: 
2020

Tiffany Chin, BS

Present Position: 
Graduate student in Biological Sciences at UC San Diego
Years in Lab: 
2019-2021

Gavin Cornick, BS

Years in Lab: 
2024-25

Tammera Davis

Years in Lab: 
2004-2005

Shahira Ellaboudy, BS

Years in Lab: 
2017-2021 (since 2021 as Laboratory Manager)

Bonnie Gorzelle

Years in Lab: 
2003-2004

Johan Halvorsen Norris

Present Position: 
Medical Assistant at Orthopedic Specialty Institute Orange, CA
Years in Lab: 
2024-25

Min He

Years in Lab: 
2003-2004

Junko Iwasaki

Years in Lab: 
2002-2004

Tia Jones

Years in Lab: 
2017-19

Sherlyn Khouvilay

Present Position: 
Teacher at Ventura Unified School District
Years in Lab: 
2019-22

Michelle Koo

Years in Lab: 
2004-2005
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Low SH, Vasanji A, Nanduri J, He M, Sharma N, Koo M, Drazba J, Weimbs T. Syntaxins 3 and 4 are concentrated in separate clusters on the plasma membrane before the establishment of cell polarity. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2006 ;17:977–989.

Brad Kroes, BS

Present Position: 
Ph.D. Candidate - Chemistry, Materials and Nanoscience at University of California, Los Angeles
Years in Lab: 
2020-22

Noriko Kudo

Years in Lab: 
2000-2002
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Sherief MH, Low SH, Miura M, Kudo N, Novick AC, Weimbs T. Matrix metalloproteinase activity in urine of patients with renal cell carcinoma leads to degradation of extracellular matrix proteins: possible use as a screening assay. The Journal of Urology. 2003 ;169:1530–1534.

Low SH, Li X, Miura M, Kudo N, Quiñones B, Weimbs T. Syntaxin 2 and endobrevin are required for the terminal step of cytokinesis in mammalian cells. Developmental Cell. 2003 ;4:753–759.

Low SH, Marmorstein LY, Miura M, Li X, Kudo N, Marmorstein AD, Weimbs T. Retinal pigment epithelial cells exhibit unique expression and localization of plasma membrane syntaxins which may contribute to their trafficking phenotype. Journal of Cell Science. 2002 ;115:4545–4553.

Claire Larson

Years in Lab: 
2002-2005
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Low SH, Vasanth S, Larson CH, Mukherjee S, Sharma N, Kinter MT, Kane ME, Obara T, Weimbs T. Polycystin-1, STAT6, and P100 function in a pathway that transduces ciliary mechanosensation and is activated in polycystic kidney disease. Developmental Cell. 2006 ;10:57–69.

Shillingford JM, Murcia NS, Larson CH, Low SH, Hedgepeth R, Brown N, Flask CA, Novick AC, Goldfarb DA, Kramer-Zucker A, Walz G, Piontek KB, Germino GG, Weimbs T. The mTOR pathway is regulated by polycystin-1, and its inhibition reverses renal cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2006 ;103:5466–5471.

Masumi Miura

Years in Lab: 
1999-2001
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Sherief MH, Low SH, Miura M, Kudo N, Novick AC, Weimbs T. Matrix metalloproteinase activity in urine of patients with renal cell carcinoma leads to degradation of extracellular matrix proteins: possible use as a screening assay. The Journal of Urology. 2003 ;169:1530–1534.

Low SH, Li X, Miura M, Kudo N, Quiñones B, Weimbs T. Syntaxin 2 and endobrevin are required for the terminal step of cytokinesis in mammalian cells. Developmental Cell. 2003 ;4:753–759.

Li X, Low SH, Miura M, Weimbs T. SNARE expression and localization in renal epithelial cells suggest mechanism for variability of trafficking phenotypes. American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. 2002 ;283:F1111–F1122.

Low SH, Marmorstein LY, Miura M, Li X, Kudo N, Marmorstein AD, Weimbs T. Retinal pigment epithelial cells exhibit unique expression and localization of plasma membrane syntaxins which may contribute to their trafficking phenotype. Journal of Cell Science. 2002 ;115:4545–4553.

Low SH, Miura M, Roche PA, Valdez AC, Mostov KE, Weimbs T. Intracellular redirection of plasma membrane trafficking after loss of epithelial cell polarity. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2000 ;11:3045–3060.

Stella, MS

Present Position: 
Data Scientist / Project Manager, IT & Software at Trylon
Years in Lab: 
2022-24

Masha Shapiro

Present Position: 
Research Associate at the University of Chicago
Years in Lab: 
2021-24

George Todorov

Present Position: 
Senior Research Associate, Adverum Biotechnologies, Menlo Park, CA
Years in Lab: 
2007-2010
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, Mukherjee S, Wulkersdorfer B, Shillingford JM, Giovannone AJ, Todorov G, Song X, Pei Y, Weimbs T. Signal transducer and activator of transcription-6 (STAT6) inhibition suppresses renal cyst growth in polycystic kidney disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2011 ;108:18067–18072.

Crystal Wen

Years in Lab: 
2021-23

Interns

Louis Lin, B.S.

Present Position: 
Senior Scientist at AbbVie
Years in Lab: 
2015-2016
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Rezaei M, Broderick C, Lin L, Wang X, Hoppe B, Cowley BD, Savica V, Torres VE, Khan S, Holmes RP, Mrug M, Weimbs T. Crystal deposition triggers tubule dilation that accelerates cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. J Clin Invest. 2019 ;130:4506-4522.

Kipp KR, Rezaei M, Lin L, Dewey EC, Weimbs T. A mild reduction of food intake slows disease progression in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2016 ;310: F726 –F731.

Tamami Matsushita, MS

Present Position: 
PhD Graduate Student at Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2012-2014
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Olsan EE, Matsushita T, Rezaei M, Weimbs T. Exploitation of the Polymeric Immunoglobulin Receptor for Antibody Targeting to Renal Cyst Lumens in Polycystic Kidney Disease. J Biol Chem. 2015 ;290:15679–15686.

Linh Pham, Pharmacist (Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany)

Present Position: 
PhD Student at Ludwig-Maximilians-University
Years in Lab: 
2021
Awards & Funding: 
DAAD Fellowship (Germany)

Yiyi Zhang

Present Position: 
Anatomic Pathology Support Quest Diagnostics
Years in Lab: 
2020-2021

Undergraduate Students

Tselmeg Amarlkhagva (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Research Associate at Encoded Therapeutics
Years in Lab: 
2017-2020
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Kruger SL, Broderick C, Amarlkhagva T, Agrawal S, Dodam JR, Mrug M, Lyons LA, Weimbs T. Ketosis Ameliorates Renal Cyst Growth in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Cell Metabolism. 2019 ;30:1007–1023.

Jacob Andrew (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Anesthesiology Resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Years in Lab: 
2016-2017

Laura Andrews

Present Position: 
Co-founder at Azurite Technologies, Inc, San Francisco Bay Area
Years in Lab: 
2011

Miguel Arribas (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Emergency Medicine Physician, Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, CA
Years in Lab: 
2009-2012

Mustafa Bahramand (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at California Northstate University College of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013

Isabella Barragan (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2024-26

Jesse Benza (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Financial Manager of Clinical Operations at Stanford University School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2014-2016
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Research Grant (2014 and 2015)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Doerr N, Wang Y, Kipp KR, Liu G, Benza JJ, Pletnev V, Pavlov TS, Staruschenko A, Mohieldin AM, Takahashi M, Nauli SM, Weimbs T. Regulation of Polycystin-1 Function by Calmodulin Binding. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(8):e0161525.

Savanna Biedermann (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Clinical Research Coordinator Associate at Stanford University, School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
Years in Lab: 
2017-2020

Matthew Bliss (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
M.S. from University of California, Irvine; currently Scientific Associate, Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), San Diego, CA
Years in Lab: 
2009-2011

Charline Brenneiser (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2022-2024

Caroline Broderick (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Graduate Student, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY
Years in Lab: 
2016-2017
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Torres JA, Rezaei M, Broderick C, Lin L, Wang X, Hoppe B, Cowley BD, Savica V, Torres VE, Khan S, Holmes RP, Mrug M, Weimbs T. Crystal deposition triggers tubule dilation that accelerates cystogenesis in polycystic kidney disease. J Clin Invest. 2019 ;130:4506-4522.

Torres JA, Kruger SL, Broderick C, Amarlkhagva T, Agrawal S, Dodam JR, Mrug M, Lyons LA, Weimbs T. Ketosis Ameliorates Renal Cyst Growth in Polycystic Kidney Disease. Cell Metabolism. 2019 ;30:1007–1023.

Joshua Burgos-Ponce (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Production Biochemist at ET Healthcare
Years in Lab: 
2017-18

Abby Camenisch (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson
Years in Lab: 
2017

Alyssa Capuano (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; currently Veterinarian at National Marine Life Center, Buzzards Bay, MA
Years in Lab: 
2006-2009 (Support: Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities grant award (UCSB, Summer 2007) and Stipanich Undergraduate Research Award (Summer 2008))

Alberto Carreno

Present Position: 
PhD graduate student, Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013

Amy Chang (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2022-24

Timothy Chang (UCSB, Engineering)

Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Jonathan Charlu (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical student, Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2011

Sofia Classon (Lund University, Sweden)

Present Position: 
Investment Professional at Adelis Equity Partners
Years in Lab: 
2019

Blaire Consales (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Associate Veterinarian at Colony Veterinary Hospital
Years in Lab: 
2016-2017

Katherine Dang (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
MD-PhD Candidate at Weill Cornell Medical College
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Morgan Decker (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021

Elyse Dewey (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Research Scientist at University of Washington
Years in Lab: 
2012-2015
Awards & Funding: 
2012, 2013 and 2014, Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grants
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Kipp KR, Rezaei M, Lin L, Dewey EC, Weimbs T. A mild reduction of food intake slows disease progression in an orthologous mouse model of polycystic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2016 ;310: F726 –F731.

Cynthia Dharmawan (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
PhD Student at USC Mann School of Pharmacy
Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Lindsey Dickerson (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Registered Nurse Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Years in Lab: 
2020

Jeff Doelling

Present Position: 
Medical Student at California Northstate University College of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013 (Support: Faculty Research Assistance Program (FRAP) Award, Fall 2012 and Winter 2013)

Linden Doss (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
MD from Loma Linda University; currently Resident Physician at Loma Linda University Health
Years in Lab: 
2008-2009

Daniel Durando (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from University of Alabama at Birmingham; currently Physical Therapist at Focus Physiotherapy, Huntsville, Alabama
Years in Lab: 
2010-2011

Tina Elias (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Assistant at Pacific Pain Physicians
Years in Lab: 
2022-24

Darcey Elliott

Present Position: 
Assistant Professor - Chamberlain University, Physician Assistant Program
Years in Lab: 
2012

Thomas Evans (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Program Officer at Funders Coalition Ending Food-Related Disease
Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Joe Fan (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Certified Medical Assistant at Pacific Neuroscience Institute
Years in Lab: 
2021-23

Patrick Fann

Present Position: 
Medical student, Case Western Reserve University
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant; 2013 Crowe Family Summer Research Fellowship (UCSB))

Brandon Farrow (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Andrea Feldman

Years in Lab: 
2012-2013 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant)

Reece Foehr (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at St. Louis University School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Kathryn Fulton (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
M.D. Candidate at Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Years in Lab: 
2018-19

Francesca Galiani (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2023-26

Tatiana Getman (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Chief Resident and Hospitalist at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara
Years in Lab: 
2014-2016

Alexis Gibson

Years in Lab: 
2011- 2013 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant)

Julia Goldstein (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Microbiome Services Operations Manager at Zymo Research Corp
Years in Lab: 
2019

Shaun Goldstone (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Director, Strategic Partnerships at American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), New York
Years in Lab: 
2008-2010

Arnav Gupta (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2023-26

Saloni Gupte (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2024-26

Aziz Hamza (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Release of Information Specialist at Sharecare
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Jazmine Haratani, BS (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Clinical Research Associate at FemPulse Corporation
Years in Lab: 
2020-22
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021

Rhianna Haynie-Cion (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Chemistry Ph.D. Student at University of Southern California
Years in Lab: 
2019-20
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021 .

Nina Heppner

Present Position: 
Medical Student at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany
Years in Lab: 
2011-2013 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant)

Solomiya Hershfield (Kryshtafovych) (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Emergency Medicine MD at Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego
Years in Lab: 
2013-2015
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2014)

Rachel Hildebrand (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Doctor of Medicine - MD from UC San Diego School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2018-2020

Deborah Im (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Ophthalmology Resident Physician at The University of Washington
Years in Lab: 
2015-2017

Amanda Immer (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Microbiology Assistant Scientist at Apeel Sciences
Years in Lab: 
2023

Daniel Inouye (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2016-2017

Claudia Jette (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Scientist at Merck
Years in Lab: 
2012-2015
Awards & Funding: 
Perlegos Summer Research Fellowship (UCSB, 2013); Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2013 and 2014)

Kareena Johnson (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at University of California, Davis School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Eliana Jolkovsky (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Services Staff at Philmont Scout Ranch
Years in Lab: 
2015

Maddison Kane (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Chief Resident, General Surgery at University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC)
Years in Lab: 
2013-2015
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2014)

Amrit Kaur Bhandal (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
MD Candidate, UC Davis School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2019-2021
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021

Wendy Kerwin (Wenderski) (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Research Assistant, The Rockefeller University
Years in Lab: 
2006-2008

Ashley Khowong (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2022-24

Ryan Kim (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2025-26

Tracey Kiuri (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Project Associate at John Snow, Inc., Boston, MA
Years in Lab: 
2014

Susanne Kneringer (Management Center Innsbruck, University of Applied Sciences, Austria)

Years in Lab: 
2011 (Support: The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation)

Shreya Krishnan (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Ophthalmic Technician at Eyenamics NY
Years in Lab: 
2022-25

Elizabeth Kuge (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Emergency Medicine Resident at UT Health San Antonio
Years in Lab: 
2013-2014

Amy Lai (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Kevin Landefeld (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities grant award (UCSB, Summer 2011)
Years in Lab: 
2010-2011 (Support: Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities grant award (UCSB, Summer 2011))

Robin Laskey (University of Dayton)

Present Position: 
MD from Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University; currently Gynecologic Oncology Specialist, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, OH
Years in Lab: 
2001-2002 (Support: American Heart Association, Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship)

Joanna Le Galloudec (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Emergency Department Scribe at Cottage Health
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Tam Le, BS (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at UC San Diego School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2022

Katie Lee (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Chief Medical Officer at Brooklyn Free Clinic
Years in Lab: 
2013-2015
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2013 and 2014)

Linda Li (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Graduate Student, Washington University, St. Louis
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013

Raphael Li (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Jason Litvinchuk (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Student, Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, Medicine at Bethel University
Years in Lab: 
2019

Yuqi Liu, BS (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Research Assistant at Stanford University School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2021-22

Alexandra Lovelock (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Research Associate, Molecular and Cellular Biology at Retro Biosciences
Years in Lab: 
2024-25

Tucker Lowell (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Administrative Assistant, MCDB, UC Santa Barbara, CA
Years in Lab: 
2020

Yolanna Lu (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Student, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2022-24

Madelyn Mar (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Full Line Associate Territory Manager at Bard Davol
Years in Lab: 
2014-2016
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2014)

Jayden Maramis (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Assistant Research Coordinator at Weill Cornell
Years in Lab: 
2024-25

Michael Maser (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Principal Machine Learning Scientist at Genentech
Years in Lab: 
2015-2016

Madeline Matthys (Duke University)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at the University of California, San Francisco
Years in Lab: 
2017
Awards & Funding: 
American Physiological Society, Summer Research Fellowship

Evan McCormack (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
PhD Student at UC San Diego
Years in Lab: 
2019-20

Elite Mekel (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) from University of Pennsylvania; currently pediatric dentistry practitioner in Encino, CA
Years in Lab: 
2010

Nils Methot (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Biologist at Eli Lilly
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021 .

Juliana Metichecchia (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Associate Researcher at The University of Kansas
Years in Lab: 
2008-2009

Ali Michelotti (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at UIWSOM, San Antonio, Texas
Years in Lab: 
2015-2016
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Research Grant (2015)

Adam Monahan (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Software Engineer at Fujitsu General America, Inc. Martinez, CA
Years in Lab: 
2013-14
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Nackeeran S, Monahan AB, Syed R, Weimbs T. The Habc domain of syntaxin 3 is a ubiquitin binding domain. Sci Rep. 2020 ;10(1):21350.

Sabrina Morales (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
medical student at Medical College of Wisconsin
Years in Lab: 
2018-19

Kevin Morse (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2012

Sirpi Nackeeran (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical student, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2013-2016
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Research Grant (2013 and 2014)
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Reales E, Bhattaram P, Nackeeran S, Monahan AB, Syed R, Weimbs T. The Habc domain of syntaxin 3 is a ubiquitin binding domain. Sci Rep. 2020 ;10(1):21350

Ronnie Page-Harley (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2019-22

Sage Patel (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Assistant at San Francisco Otolaryngology
Years in Lab: 
2021-24

Jeffrey Patten (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DS) from University of the Pacific; currently at Patten Family Dentistry, Moscow, Idaho
Years in Lab: 
2010-2011

Kyle Perkovich (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Writer at Metagenics
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Diana Phan (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Lead Hereditary Cancer Liaison at Abbott
Years in Lab: 
2013-2015 (Support: Regents Scholarship, UCSB)

Jessica Pritt (Zimmerer) (John Carroll University)

Present Position: 
PharmD from Ohio State University; currently Pharmacist at Mount Carmel Health System, Columbus, Ohio
Years in Lab: 
2004

Pasha Rahbari (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Attending Anesthesiologist at Sutter Health - CPMC Van Ness Campus
Years in Lab: 
2013-2015
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2014)

Kian Rahbari (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Years in Lab: 
2015-2017
Awards & Funding: 
2015 & 2016 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant

Tanisha Ram (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Data Science Graduate Student at the University of Queensland
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Roxanna Razavi (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Clinical Research Coordinator at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Years in Lab: 
2023-24

Juliette Rebello (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Research Associate at Agilent Technologies
Years in Lab: 
2020-21

Brandon Rose (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Internal Medicine Resident at JMH-PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST
Years in Lab: 
2015-2016
Awards & Funding: 
UC LEADS scholar (2014-16); Jeremy D. Friedman Memorial Award (2016)

Vicky Roseman (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Clinical Psychology PsyD Student at Alliant International University
Years in Lab: 
2018

Deeyana Roshanzaer (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at UC Irvine
Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Diane Rusu (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Technician/ Research and Development at Celerus Diagnostics, Santa Barbara, California
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant)

Alyssa Sahu (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Physician Assistant at Reproductive Medicine Associates
Years in Lab: 
2016-18

Shiv Salwan (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Veterinarian, Fremont, California
Years in Lab: 
2018-2020

Joseph Sandoval (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Associate Scientist, Cancer Immunotherapy, Fate Therapeutics Inc, San Diego, CA
Years in Lab: 
2011-2012

Matthew Schefft (Kenyon College)

Present Position: 
MD from Ohio University; currently Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU
Years in Lab: 
2002

Anna Seligson (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Research Associate at Tract Bio
Years in Lab: 
2023-25

Shaina Sharma (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Manufacturing Associate at Amgen
Years in Lab: 
2024-25

Dawa Sherpa (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
MD degree from UCSF; currently Resident, Highland Hospital, Oakland CA
Years in Lab: 
2010-2011

Jason Sidrak (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Resident Physician / Clinical Researcher at University of Colorado School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2018

Tatevik Simavorian (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Resident Physician - Internal Medicine at Community Memorial Health System
Years in Lab: 
2013-2014

Audrey Smith (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
PhD Graduate Student at University of Pittsburgh
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Morgan Smith (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student at Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2019-2021

Frances Stedham (University of Cambridge, UK)

Years in Lab: 
2004

Alex Sterritt (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Physician Assistant at Dignity Health
Years in Lab: 
2017-2018

Lisanne Stouthart (HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Present Position: 
PhD student at UCSD
Years in Lab: 
2018-19

Kiera Sullivan (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Research Associate at Singular Genomics, Singular Genomics, San Diego, California
Years in Lab: 
2018-19

Sammantha Tai (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Science Teacher at Downtown College Prep, San Jose, CA
Years in Lab: 
2008-2009

Lydia Truong (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical student, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Years in Lab: 
2012-2013 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant)

Elizabeth Usedom (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Graduate Student, Drexel University
Years in Lab: 
2008-2009

Chinmay Vaidya (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Graduate Student at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Years in Lab: 
2016-19

Valentina Valdes (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Ophthalmic Technician at EAST BAY RETINA CONSULTANTS, INC
Years in Lab: 
2023-24

Brooke Van Buskirk (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
MSN candidate at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing; Pediatric ER CNA
Years in Lab: 
2024

Meghana Vijayraghavan (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Associate Scientist at Attovia Therapeutics
Years in Lab: 
2016-2017

Kristina Vucci (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Research Associate III at ArsenalBio
Years in Lab: 
2016-2017

Elizabeth Vukin (Loh) (John Carroll University)

Present Position: 
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2000-2001 (Support: American Heart Association, Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship)

Sabrina Vuong (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences
Years in Lab: 
2018-2020
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Strubl S, Oehm S, Torres JA, Grundmann F, Haratani J, Decker M, Vuong S, Bhandal AK, Methot N, Haynie-Cion R, Meyer F, Siedek F, Korst U, Müller RU, Weimbs T. Ketogenic Dietary Interventions in Autosomal-Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD)– A Retrospective Case Series Study: First insights into Feasibility, Safety and Effects. Clinical Kidney Journal (in press). 2021

David Wallace (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
MD from Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California; currently Resident Physician at Keck Medicine of USC
Years in Lab: 
2011-2013 (Support: EUREKA undergraduate research internship, Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships (CSEP) at the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI), UCSB)

Yidi Wang (College of Creative Studies, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Medical Student, Harvard Medical School
Years in Lab: 
2009-2013 (Support:NIH-NIDDK, "Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators” (Summer 2009); American Heart Association, Undergraduate Student Research Fellowship, (Summer 2011))
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Doerr N, Wang Y, Kipp KR, Liu G, Benza JJ, Pletnev V, Pavlov TS, Staruschenko A, Mohieldin AM, Takahashi M, Nauli SM, Weimbs T. Regulation of Polycystin-1 Function by Calmodulin Binding. PLoS One. 2016 ;11(8):e0161525.

Aleena Wang (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2023-25

Rachel Wong (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Senior Patient Coordinator at Weill Cornell Medicine
Years in Lab: 
2024-25

Emma Wrenn (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Postdoctoral Researcher at Seattle Children's
Years in Lab: 
2013-2014
Awards & Funding: 
Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant (2013)

Laura Wu (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Graduate Student, Brown University
Years in Lab: 
2019-2020

Nicole Wypychowski (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2012 (Support: 2012 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant)

Yuan Xie (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
D.O. Candidate at Kansas City University
Years in Lab: 
2017-2018

Mimi Xu (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Resident Physician at University of Southern California
Years in Lab: 
2013-2016
Bio / Publications from Lab: 

Giovannone AJ, Winterstein C, Bhattaram P, Reales E, Low SH, Baggs JE, Xu M, Lalli MA, Hogenesch JB, Weimbs T. Soluble syntaxin 3 functions as a transcriptional regulator. J Biol Chem. 2018 ;293:5478-5491.

Jared Yang (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2025-26

Amy Ye, BS (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine student at Western University of Health Sciences
Years in Lab: 
2021-22

Melika Zadehmorshedbeik (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2025-26

Louis (Zirui) Zeng (MCDB, UCSB)

Years in Lab: 
2023-26

Eric Zheng (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
Graduate Student at University of Michigan Master of Science - MS, Applied Data Science
Years in Lab: 
2019-22

Han Zheng (MCDB, UCSB)

Present Position: 
PhD Graduate Student, Neuroscience at University of Virginia
Years in Lab: 
2022-23

Facebook Twitter BlueSky LinkedIn