Grant Schroeder

Despite a deep understanding of many of the molecular components involved in organ development, recreating complex tissues from undifferentiated cells has proven difficult in the field of regenerative biology. For instance, current skin culturing techniques in clinical settings fail in yielding operational hair follicles and sweat glands, creating problems for patients needing large skin grafts. A major reason for this is that cell differentiation in vivo is influenced not only by classically studied molecular signals, but also by tissue-level force interactions. This research aims to investigate the critical interface between […]

Claudia Chan

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for nearly 80% of the cases. Adenocarcinomas are the most prevalent type of NSCLC among which Kras is the most commonly found mutation that correlates with poor patient prognosis. In our mouse model carrying this oncogenic Kras mutation allele and the inducible loss-of-p53 allele, tumor progression, histopathology, and molecular characteristics are similar to those of the human disease, allowing us to understand basic lung tumor biology and identify markers for early diagnosis. In this […]

Joseph Oh

The purpose of my research is to investigate the neurobiological basis of sleep disturbances in humans using neurodegenerative conditions associated with signature patterns of sleep changes as a model. Alzheimers Disease (AD), Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) are the most frequent tauopathies, neurodegenerative conditions associated with accumulation of misfolded tau protein in selective brain areas. Despite coursing with neuronal loss and accumulation of misfolded tau inclusions, these conditions involve different brain areas and cause distinctive clinicopathological features. In all these diseases, patient experience disturbances in sleep/wake pattern […]

Maryia Barnett

Misregulation of cell differentiation often leads to pathological cell fate and frequently employs mechanisms that alter gene expression. There are multiple levels of transcriptional regulation. The focus of my research is one of the subunits of the Mediator complex, MED12 and its paralogue MED12L. The Mediator is known as a general transcription factor, and so it is not expected to specialize. Meanwhile, Dr. Darzacqs lab observed that upon specific knockdown of the MED12L gene (and not MED12), Human primary fibroblasts transdifferentiate into neuron-like cells, suggesting a unique function for this […]

Sulynn Miao

My research project is a continuation of research already being done by the Berkeley Early Learning Lab that has sought to understand children with autism spectrum disorder’s (ASD) abilities to make statistical inferences. This ability is important because it allows typically developing children to make generalizations about the world and learn, and if hindered in children with ASD, could have cascading consequences in learning and development. ASD is a disorder that the world still does not know much about, therefore research is of the utmost importance to help develop better […]

Sarah Alsamman

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that most commonly causes infection in immunocompromised individuals or compromised epithelial surfaces such as the cornea. This infectious agent is the leading cause of contact lens-associated microbial keratitis, which sometimes results in vision loss or blindness. I am interested in the mechanisms through which P. aeruginosa causes infection. P. aeruginosa is considered an extracellular pathogen known to utilize a type-III secretion system, a needle-like macromolecular structure implemented by the bacteria to inject toxins into the cytoplasm of a target cell without ever entering the […]

Iman Abdella

The further one reaches towards the outer fields of Oromo, the closer one gets towards the chaotic infrastructures currently in place. Since late November 2015, dozens of violent confrontations have emerged in towns across Ethiopia, merging into the central Oromia region, which is home to the largest ethnic group, the Oromo. Protesters are opposed to party members and their current master plan, being the fight against an urban plan. Most refer to such plan as the master plan, a new urban infrastructure development project in Addis Ababa (the capital of […]

Colleen Murphy

The ability to understand and predict how landscapes will evolve enables us to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and to act as stewards of the land by taking appropriate conservation and restoration measures when necessary. Currently, the geomorphic transport laws that we use to express this evolution do not quantitatively consider variations in rock types and the vegetative communities that they host. This project aims to further our understanding of the role that lithologic heterogeneity plays in landscape evolution by mapping and characterizing lithologic variability at two sites in […]

Joey Barreto

Today’s technology has allowed for significant advances in the fields of condensed matter physics and materials science. In recent years scientists have been able to consistently isolate high quality, atomically-thin layers of various crystals and compounds, beginning with graphene (a single sheetof carbon in a hexagonal pattern) in the mid-2000s. While there has been much research into the properties of single layers of certain materials, a rich variety of novel phenomena can explored in stacks of these layers, known as van der Waals heterostructures. The customization of these stacks and […]

Mei Lan Li

Obesity, as a result of excess triacylglycerol accumulated in white adipose tissues, is an established risk factor for many metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Studying the lipolytic effects of proteins contributes to the development of anti-obesity and anti-diabetic agents that can potentially control adiposity and improve insulin sensitivity. Angiopoietin-like proteins (ANGPTLs) are a family of members that are highly involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis. The exact physiological and metabolic functions of ANGPTL5 in humans remain unknown since no ANGPTL5 orthologous gene has been […]