Current
UCSF Fellows and their backgrounds:
Maria Barna, Ph.D. Maria was a
graduate student with Lee Niswander at Cornell
University, HHMI where she studied tissue morphogenesis
and patterning. In particular, how mesenchymal
progenitors give rise to skeletal elements each with a
unique location, shape, and size within the vertebrate
embryo. As a UCSF fellow, Maria will continue to
investigate the mechanisms regulating the growth and
shape of tissues during animal development, utilizing
both the chick and mouse embryos as model systems. The
central hypothesis of Maria’s research is that tissue
patterning relies on previously uncharacterized
mechanisms of cell-cell communication that occur rapidly
and dynamically. Maria employs new approaches to
investigate these mechanisms including high throughput
genomics, analysis of chromatin dynamics, as well as the
first live imaging system to study the early steps of
skeletal morphogenesis.
Richard Daneman, Ph.D. Richard was a graduate student in Ben Barres’ laboratory at Stanford University where he studied the cellular and molecular regulation of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The BBB is a specialized structure formed by the vasculature of the central nervous system that tightly regulates the movement of molecules and ions between the blood and the brain. This is critical for neural function as well as protecting the CNS from injury and disease, as breakdown of the BBB contributes to the severe pathology of many neurological diseases including stroke, multiple sclerosis and brain trauma. In his graduate work Richard developed methods to generate a transcriptional profile of the BBB and elucidated cellular and molecular mechanisms that control BBB development. As a UCSF fellow, Richard will continue this work utilizing cellular, molecular and genetic tools to dissect the mechanisms of BBB formation during development, and how the BBB is dynamically regulated in adulthood during health and disease. The ultimate goal of this work is to develop methods to modulate the BBB to treat neurological diseases.
Ross Metzger, Ph.D. Ross was a graduate
student in Mark Krasnow's lab at Stanford, where he began
work on mouse lung development. Ross is interested in the
genetic and molecular mechanisms that control the
three-dimensional architecture of the lung during
development and evolution, and how this patterning
information is translated into the cell behaviors of
morphogenesis. As a UCSF Fellow, Ross is using
comprehensive mutant analysis to identify and assign
functions to genes in the airway branching program and to
understand how pulmonary vascular and other tissue patterns
are coordinated with the airways. He is also using genetic
approaches to understand how key genes in the branching
program are regulated, and how differences in gene
regulation contribute to species-specific differences in
pattern.
JJ Miranda, Ph.D. JJ was trained
in Steve Harrison's laboratory at Harvard where he
studied the structural biology of chromosome segregation
as a graduate student. As a UCSF Fellow, JJ is
developing a research program centered on the structural
biology of genome organization. A particular focus is
the molecular/structural mechanisms of gene insulation,
the phenomenon by which promoters in a given chromosomal
locus are shielded from the effects of regulatory
sequences beyond those located within the locus itself,
thus resulting in an autonomously functioning genetic
element. As an initial case study, JJ has chosen to
study complexes formed by the protein CTCF at two
insulator sites flanking the human hemoglobin beta
locus.
Sandler-Newmann
Foundation UCSF Fellow in Asthma Research:
Chris Allen, Ph.D. Chris was a graduate
student with Jason Cyster in the HHMI and Department of
Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF. His thesis research
focused on the organization and cellular dynamics of
germinal centers in lymphoid organs that orchestrate the
maturation of antibody responses. As a UCSF Fellow, Chris
intends to develop innovative new mouse models of asthma
and apply cutting-edge imaging technologies to investigate
mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. An ancillary goal is to
establish a framework for the development of new
therapeutic strategies for treating asthma.
Keck
Fellows:
The Keck Fellows Program for Imaging has recruited two
Fellows with a specific focus on cryo-electron microscopy
(cryo-EM). These independent research positions are similar
to UCSF Fellows but no future Fellows will be recruited in
this program.
Gang "Gary" Ren, Ph.D. Gary
arrived from the Baylor College of Medicine where he was
a staff scientist at the National Center for
Macromolecular Imaging. High blood cholesterol is one of
the major risk factors for atherosclerosis and coronary
disease. To better understand the mechanisms of
cholesterol transport, Gary uses cryo-EM to study the
structure and cholesterol transfer between LDL, VLDL and
HDL lipoproteins. Simultaneously, Gary is
also developing improved methods for single
particle cryo-EM.
