Student Research Interests
Marcus Alvarez

Gonda 6335
310-794-9802
 My work involves following up lipid GWAS signals using high-throughput data sets, primarily RNA sequencing. My goal is to identify specific variants, genes, and mechanisms involved in metabolic disease, primarily cardiovascular disease and dyslipidemia.
Qin An

Gonda 6554
310-267-0438
 Research Interests: integrating experimental and computational methodology together, to systematically investigate transcriptomic and epigenomic dynamics. Personal interest: writing code that never works.
Toni Boltz

 I'm interested in studying the genetics of complex diseases like psychiatric illness through the use of computational genetics methods.
Leroy Bondhus

 I am interested in understanding the logic that organizes the genome and orchestrates its function across diverse contexts.
James Boocock

Gonda 5309
 I am interested in understanding the genetics of complex traits. Current research interests include new methods for performing functional annotation of association studies, uncovering regions under natural selection in human populations, and the role that structural variation plays in complex traits.
Alex Chubick

 I’m interested in neurogenetics and studying genetic mutations that are related to neurodegenerative diseases.
Yonatan Cooper

 Functional characterization of genomic elements using massively parallel library assays.
Arun Durvasula

 My research interests center around using novel techniques and data to study the forces that produce and maintain genetic variation.
Chantle Edillor

MRL 3525
310-794-7257
 My research interests include the epigenetics of complex disease, systems genetics, and personal genomics. My out-of-lab interests are art+science, social media, and being a low-key foodie.
Colin Farrell

 Interest in integrating genomic information for disease discovery and personalized medicine.
Kristina Garske

Gonda 6335
310-794-9802
 I have always had a special interest in genetics and the way the human genome interacts with itself, as well as with one's environment. I am excited to apply the knowledge and skills I acquired in my previous research position to continue my education in the Genetics and Genomics program at UCLA.
Liangke Gou

Gonda 5309
310-206-3716
 Interest in understanding the molecular and genetic mechanism in human disorders, exploring the function of epigenetic changes in the progress of human diseases genesis.
Eric Heinrichs

CHS 66-200
 I am interested in disorders and diseases, and how to treat and prevent them.
Samantha Jensen

 Interested in using bioinformatic techniques to investigate the biological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disease, including depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer's disease.
Minsoo Kim

 Interested in investigating the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders through functional genomics type of analysis.
Malika Kumar

408-386-7919
 Interested in investigating the genetic basis of rare and Mendelian disease using clinical sequencing and developing diagnostic sequencing technology. Outside of the lab, I am interested in science education and communication.
Katie Leap

Gonda 4554
 I’m interested in developing causal models of disease by using differential expression in diseased vs. non-diseased tissues, specifically in endometriosis. When not in lab, I’m in lab.
Jiajin Li

Gonda 3558
 Mining genetic information from sequencing data and developing new methods for analysis.
Jazlyn Mooney

 Interested in implementing techniques from evolutionary anthropology and population genetics to examine patterns of human genetic variation. When I am not in lab, I enjoy going to crossfit and digging for vinyl.
Shirley Nieves-Rodriguez

Gonda 5554
 I am interested in the development of diagnostic tools and therapies for genetic diseases, and in their translation to the clinical setting.
Maria Palafox

 Interested in developing a pipeline that serves as a direct path between characterizing missense variants in a given exome and targeted therapeutic drug development.
Ashot Papikian

Terasaki 4045
310-206-3336
 Interested in analyzing high-throughput sequencing data in order to determine the epigenomic changes that occur as a result of certain treatments or mutants.
Christopher Robles

BSRB 346-01A
 Interested in bioinformatics, next-generation sequencing applications, and technology development. Outside of lab I enjoy rock climbing, cycling, and brewing beer.
Gregory Rosenberg

Boyer Hall 201A
 I am interested in the genetic and molecular basis of complex traits and diseases as well normal human biological function and applying this understanding to causal models and therapeutic approaches.
Katherine Sheu

 Computational modeling of epigenome dynamics in cancer and immune cell signaling
Lisa Truong

CHS 76-065
310-825-7569
 I am interested in studying the genetics that contribute to proper chromosome segregation during meiosis. In particular, I am interested in how improper segregation and aneuploidies can affect embryonic development and lead to genetic disease like Down syndrome.
Allie Weber

 Allie's primary interest is the role of epigenetics in neuropathology. In her previous work, Allie studied the role of genetic mutations and alternative chromatin conformation regulation in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Joshua Zhang

 I am interested in studying the molecular and genetic mechanisms of human aging, and I am also interested in translational aging research.