Current Trainees

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Considering applying to one of the IBSC’s programs? Interested in the research conducted by current trainees? Learn more about each of our current trainees, their research, and their training program below.

2025 IBSC Trainees

Alison Mills

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: William Sullivan

Project Title: Response and Adaptations of Stem Cell Divisions to Catastrophic Genomic Damage

Alison is investigating how ultrafine DNA threads that connect sister and non-sister chromatids during anaphase help preserve genomic integrity by promoting the retention of broken chromosome fragments.

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IRACDA 2022

Richard Dickson

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Euiseok Kim

Project: The developmental origins of the neuronal circuits for higher brain functions

Richard investigates the wiring differences between feedback and feedforward neurons in the higher visual areas of the cortex. Determining the developemntal origin of these neurons.

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IRACDA 2022

Kevin Singewald

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Glenn Millhauser

Project: Understanding of native prion protein structure autoregulation of inherent toxicity.

Researching prions, which are involved in neurodegenerative diseases; Kevin’s goal is to use EPR to understand dynamical and structural features of the prion protein.

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IRACDA 2023

Ale Rodriguez y Baena

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Camilla Forsberg

Project: Determining the molecular regulators of age-specific megakaryopoiesis

Ale aims to determine the role of Nupr1 as a potential regulator of age-specific megakaryopoiesis; and to identify functional drivers of the age-specific megakaryopoiesis pathway by high-throughput CRISPRi screen.

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IRACDA 2024

Estefania Vasquez

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Ali Shariati

Project: Determining molecular mechanisms linking endoreplication and differentiation in trophoblast stem cells

Estefania aims to determine the dynamics of activity and substrate network of CDK2 during TSCs endoreplication; and perform functional analysis of CDK2 substrates during TGCs development.

IRACDA 2024

Anjali Misra

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Upasna Sharma

Project: Investigating the molecular and biochemical function of putative methyltransferase Mettl7a1 in mouse embryonic stem cells

Anjali aims to examine the function of Mettl7a1 in embryonic stem cells and embryos; and examine methyltransferase activity and target RNAs of Mettl7a1.

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IRACDA 2024

Maryam Moarefian

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Mircea Teodorescu

Project: Understanding the link between neurotransmitter regulation and neurodevelopmental disorders

Maryam aims to adapt an electro-taxis-on-a-chip (ETOC) 2D platform for the development of a 2D microfluidics platform to study polarization, migration directionality, and velocity of single axons; to develop a 3D platform for establishing neural circuitry from MGE to Cortex; and to develop the BEC platform to investigate the effect of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter inputs and iontophoretic calcium disruption.

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IRACDA 2024

Conrad Fihn

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Laura Sanchez

Project: Development of high-throughput mass spectrometry screening methods for assaying directed enzyme evolution mutants.

Conrad’s research focuses on developing a high-throughput mass spectrometry screening method for assaying mutants generated by directed enzyme evolution.

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IRACDA 2024

Ethan Older

IRACDA Postdoc

Mentor: Laura Sanchez

Project: Development of an in vitro microbe-mammalian co-culture system to study host-microbe interactions.

Ethan’s research focuses on developing an in vitro microbe-mammalian co-culture system to study host-microbe interactions, leveraging mass spectrometry imaging and multimodal imaging to visualize microbial metabolite distribution and co-localization with host targets.

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IRACDA 2025

Taylorlyn Stephan

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Ed Green

Project: To study the genetic differences between modern humans and archaic hominins in vitro.

To better understand the evolution of human-specific neural phenotypes, Taylorlyn uses CRISPR in human iPSCs to revert neural genes that are fixed in all modern humans to the ancestral alleles, i.e. shared by Neanderthals, Denisovans and non-human primates.

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CIRM 2023

Gabby Servito

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Bin Chen

Project: Determining the Function of Vangl2 in Stem Cells and Differentiating Neurons in the Cerebral Cortex.

Gabby is focused on how Vangl2, a planar cell polarity protein, is involved in neural stem cell proliferation and cell fate specification in the cerebral cortex.

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CIRM 2023

Jenna Myers

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Camilla Forsberg

Project: Rebalancing megakaryocyte/erythroid fate decisions from aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)

Jenna’s lab’s research recently discovered a direct differentiation pathway from HSCs to MkPs only in aged mice. To generate MkPs in young/middle aged mice, cells go through multiple intermediate progenitors first. Jenna’s research is focused on identifying what genetic differences lie between these two pathways, and if they can be manipulated to direct (or redirect) cell fate.

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CIRM 2023

Marcel Rommel

CIRM Postdoc

Mentor: Camilla Forsberg

Project: Controlling HSC Self Renewal by the Epigenetic Landscape

Marcel aims to identify factors affecting the self renewal potential of drHSCs after transplantation; and to identify functional drivers of drHSC self renewal by epigenetic landscape manipulation.

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CIRM 2024

Yanzhen Nie

CIRM Postdoc

Mentor: Bin Chen

Project: SATB2-associated syndrome

Yanzhen aims to generate mice with LOF and GOF SAS mutations to reveal consequences of SAS mutations on brain development; and to subsequently determine the impacts of increasing wild-type Satb2 expression in cortical projection neurons in Satb2+/- mice on brain development.

CIRM 2024

Mojtaba Zeraatkar

CIRM Postdoc

Mentor: Mircea Teodorescu

Project: Scalable and Programmable Microfluidic System for Enhanced Precision in Brain Organoid Culture

Mojtaba’s research focuses on developing a scalable, automated, and programmable microfluidic system for tissue culture incubators to enhance organoid culture.

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CIRM 2024

Shally Saini

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: David Boyd

Project: Lung fibroblast subpopulation impact on the quality of tissue repair following influenza virus infection

Shally aims to determine whether distinct lung fibroblast lineages differentially regulate alveolar epithelial stem cell proliferation and differentiation at homeostasis; and determine how activation of distinct fibroblast lineages following influenza A virus (IAV) infection affects epithelial stem cell proliferation and differentiation.

CIRM 2024

Diksha Sharma

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Carrie Partch

Project: Targeting a circadian transcription factor to limit proliferation of glioblastoma cancer stem cells

Diksha will aim to identify small-molecule ligands for allosteric regulation of CLOCK:BMAL1 in GSCs.

CIRM 2024

Isobel Fetter

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Shaheen Sikandar

Project: Identification of novel markers o9f metastasis-initiating cells (MICs)

Isobel aims to investigate the role of LMO2-mediated DNA repair in acquiring stem-like plasticity in breast cancer; and to determine the effect of DNA repair pathways on breast cancer stem cells.

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CIRM 2024

Carlismari Grundmann

CIRM Postdoc

Mentor: Laura Sanchez

Project: Investigating lipid-mediated interactions between falopian tubes organoids and omental tissues

Carlismari’s project investigates how lipid-mediated interactions, driven by β-adrenergic signaling and metabolic exchanges between iPSC-derived fallopian tube organoids and omental tissues, contribute to the metastasis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer using advanced 3D co-culture models and mass spectrometry-based lipidomics.

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CIRM 2025

Carly Guiltinan

CIRM Postdoc

Mentor: Ali Shariati

Project: Stem cell fate choices during embryogenesis

Carly’s project focuses on studying cell fate decisions during human embryogenesis using stem cell-based embryo models and epigenome editing tools..

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CIRM 2025

Saran Chattopadhyaya

CIRM Postdoc

Mentor: Camilla Forsberg

Project: Causes and consequences of age-specific megakaryocyte progenitors

Saran’s project investigates what causes platelet dysregulation with age as well as the consequences of platelet dysregulation on health.

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CIRM 2025

Eva Edelson

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Michael Stone

Project: Investigating telomere biology disorders

Eva’s project aims to understand how human telomerase RNA folds, trafficks, and interacts with proteins to understand how variants of this RNA precipitate disease in patients with telomere biology disorders

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CIRM 2025

Raana Mogharrab

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Camilla Forsberg

Project: Investigating mechanisms of platelet production

Raana’s project aims to understand the mechanisms that regulate platelet production and hyper-reactivity upon aging, with the goal of better controlling platelet-related disorders.

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CIRM 2025

Nicholas Chu

CIRM Predoc (Ph.D. Student)

Mentor: Zhu Wang

Project: Role of miR-205 in prostate epithelial homeostasis and cancer intitiation.

Nicholas’ project aims to understand the role of miR-205 in prostate epithelial homeostasis and cancer initiation.

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CIRM 2025

Brian Mullen

T32 Postdoc

Mentor: David Feldheim

Project: Determination of brainstem and cortical input contribution to the functional properties of auditory neurons in the mouse SC.

Brian is investigating circuit dynamics involved in auditory processing, utilizing the mouse superior colliculus as a model of how sensory information is processed and integrated.

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T32 2022

Lyna Kabbani

T32 Postdoc

Mentor: Jeremy Sanford

Project: I3 acts as a post-transcriptional amplifier of MLL-Af4-driven leukemogenic gene expression

Lyna aims to uncover the molecular basis of I3 regulated target selection by RISC; and how I3 modulates RISC-mRNA binding and function in-vivo.

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T32 2024

Tommy Finn

T32 Postdoc

Mentor: Bin Chen

Project: Satb2 recruits several chromatin remodeling complexes, with distinct functions, to effect epigenetic changes in relation to neuronal fate specification

Tommy aims to identify direct targets of Satb2 and the function of Satb2 regulation of promoter-enhancer interaction; and to identify the chromatin remodeling complexes which Satb2 recruits to regulate chromatin landscape and accessibility.

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T32 2024

Greta Vargova

T32 Postdoc

Mentor: David Feldheim

Project: Investigating which auditory brainstem regions contribute to sound

Greta aims to determine how different auditory brainstem regions contribute to sound localization in the mouse superior colliculus..

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T32 2025

Bryce Manso

T32 Postdoc

Mentor: Camilla Forsberg

Project: Investigating the role of aging and inflammation in dysregulated blood cell production

Bryce aims to determine how inflammation controls age-specific platelet production by hematopoietic stem cells.

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T32 2025