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.
James Boocock

 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.
Xinyuan Chen

 Interested in understanding epigenetic mechanisms and genetics of signaling pathways to address human diseases.
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

 I am interested in disorders and diseases, and how to treat and prevent them.
Catharine E. Krebs

Gonda 4335
310-206-5321
 Interested in elucidating genetic and epigenetic causes of psychiatric phenotypes primarily through bioinformatic analyses.
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

 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

 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

 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.
Austin Quach

Gonda 5545
 Primary research interests lie in elucidating the latent causal processes in aging and neurodegeneration through epigenomic and metabolomic analyses.
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.
Alejandra Rodriguez

Gonda 6335
310-794-9802
 Primary research focusing on fine mapping and characterization of genome-wide association signals (GWAS) for cardiovascular loci. Currently developing and implementing strategies for the functional characterization of these variants. Interested in the epigenetic changes that occur in complex diseases such as cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Gregory Rosenberg

 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.
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.