UTZ LAB - Key Persons
Endocrinologist Aaron Hsueh discovers obestatin, a hormone that supresses appetite and may lead to treatments for obesity.
Alex grew up in Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan, and earned his Bachelor's Degree in Botany and Zoology from National Taiwan University. He later moved to California and earned his Ph.D. Degree in Biology from Stanford University, studying epigenetics and chromatin biology in Dr. Or Gozani's lab. Alex is now a senior research scientist in the Utz lab and the father of two dachshunds, a golden retriever and two young children.
Allan grew up in Alabama but is currently studying biology as an undergraduate at Stanford. He joined the lab to gain more research experience and to explore budding interests in immunology as well as computational biology.
Alysa grew up in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and earned her Bachelor's of Science at UCLA for Human Biology and Society. She joined the lab as a Life Science Research Professional to gain a better understanding of the complexities of autoimmunity and develop her technical research skills. In the future, she hopes to continue her education and pursue an MD.
Ana completed her postdoctoral fellowship and MS degree and ir working full time as a Pulmonary ICU physician ion Denver, CO.
Ananya grew up in Southeast Asia before moving to the Bay Area where she is pursuing a bachelor's in Molecular Cell Biology with an emphasis in Immunology and Molecular Medicine and Business Administration at the University of California, Berkeley. She joined the lab as a SIMR student to learn about immunology and refine her applied wet laboratory skills, before continuing as a Jessica Saal fellow and NIH trainee. In her free time, Ananya trains for half-marathons, explores local beaches, and bakes chocolate lava cakes. She hopes to continue her education in pursuit of a medical degree.
completed his medical studies and residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine and is a cardiologist at the Stanford University Medical Center. He joined the Utz lab in July of 2005 as a Postdoctoral Fellow. His research interests involve the application of proteomics technology to cardiovascular disease. He is a physician scientist at the University of Toronto. Andrzej's interests encompass sailing, going fishing, running and skiing.
Angela was born in Cambridge, MA. She graduated from Harvard College in 2004. She Joined the Utz lab as a graduate student in 2005, where she discovered a novel way to activate T lymphocytes and ultimately hopes to apply her findings to promote effective immune responses against lymphoma. In her spare time (wait, what? spare time?), she enjoys music (guitar, piano), photography, hiking, cake decorating and dreaming up information technology resources to enhance the flow of science world-wide.
Angela was born in Beijing, China. She came to Los Angeles when she was in high school. After two years of studying at Pasadena City College, she transferred to UC Berkeley as a molecular and cell biology major. During her two summer internships at biotech companies, she developed a strong interest in immunology and decided to go to graduate school for immunology. This interest attracted her to Stanford, particularly, PJ's lab. Angela entered Stanford's Immunology Ph.D. program in 2003.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Pediatrics ( Endocrinology ) and of Genetics / Research
Anna's current research projects are focused on the translation of genetic association signals for type 2 diabetes and glycaemic traits into cellular and molecular mechanisms for beta-cell dysfunction and diabetes. Her group uses a variety of complementary approaches, including human genetics, functional genomics, physiology and islet-biology to dissect out the molecular mechanisms driving disease pathogenesis.
Annie was a Research Assistant in the Utz Lab. She graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Molecular & Cell Biology and Music in May 2001. She entered medical school in August 2002, at Pritzker College of Medicine in Chicago.
Pharmacologist Avram Goldstein discovers a chemical in the human brain that could lead to the development of powerful painkillers with fewer undesirable side effects.
BJ joined the lab in the summer of 2002 and stayed until he started medical school at Stanford in the fall of 2003.
Job Titles:
- CARL and ELIZABETH NAUMANN DEAN of the SCHOOL of MEDICINE / VICE PRESIDENT for MEDICAL AFFAIRS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Carlo grew up in Menlo Park, California, and left for DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, to pursue a B.S. in biology. He joined the lab as an intern to develop his lab experience and apply his biology coursework. In his free time, Carlo plays piano, produces music, and rides his bike. He plans to pursue further research experience and a masters in biology.
Chen-Tsen graduated from Stanford with a degree in Biology in 2001. She is pursuing a career in medicine and education. She is particularly happy that she no longer must do minipreps to earn a living.
Chih Long was born and raised in Saratoga, California. He attended Stanford University, where he majored in the biological sciences. He was also an undergraduate member of the Brown Lab, where he worked with three MSTP students on gene expression profiling of activating T lymphocytes. Afterwards, he spent six years in Massachusetts, developing TLAD and mononucleosomal resolution ChIP-chip, profiling histone modifications and receiving a Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology at Harvard University. He then spent a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship i n the laboratory of Oliver Rando, now at UMass Medical School. After having enough of the New England winters, he returned to sunny California and joined both the Utz and Gozani laboratories, where he is studying neutrophils and their link to lupus. He also supervised numerous collaborations which involve the lab's protein microarray platforms. He is now a research associate in Ash Alizadeh's lab. When not in the lab, Chih Long enjoys traveling and has visited Canada, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Taiwan, most of the countries of Europe, and half of the 50 states in the US. Visit his web site for more information.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine ( Gastroenterology and Hepatology ), Emerita
Dr Cartwright is a Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology with tenure at Stanford University. She trained at the University of California San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies before joining the Stanford Faculty in 1989. Her research in cancer biology focuses on understanding how normal intestinal cells regulate their growth and how loss of that regulation results in malignant transformation. She is an author on numerous scientific publications. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (for 30 years), the American Cancer Society, the Broad Medical Research Foundation and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. She has served on NIH and American Cancer Society Study Sections and on the Editorial Board of the Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology section of the American Journal of Physiology. In 1995 she was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation. In 2008 she received an Outstanding Woman in Science Award from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) for her contributions to GI research. She has been an invited speaker, organizer and chairperson for numerous national AGA symposia on the molecular biology of gastrointestinal cancers.
Cindy Limb lived most of her life on the east coast and came out to sunny California in 2000 with her husband and three active daughters. She grew up in Philadelphia and then went to Boston for college where she received her bachelors at M.I.T. and a masters at Harvard. She loved Boston so much that she spent 13 years there, doing research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and then teaching freshmen biology at M.I.T. for several years. Now on the west coast, she joined P.J.'s lab where she hopes to get back into research and to gain experience in the newest technologies in bio research.She is currently working with the ITI Institute.
David worked in the lab as a Stanford undergraduate. An accomplished golfer, David played on Stanford's golf team 2012-2016, winning 3 team Pac-12 championship. He won the Welsh Amateur and played for the UK against the United States. He is currently playing professional golf in Europe.
Job Titles:
- PRESIDENT & CEO / STANFORD HEALTH CARE
Job Titles:
- Pathology and Professor of Developmental Biology
Job Titles:
- Dean
- Physician
- Scientist
- Surgeon
- Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the School of Medicine
- CARL and ELIZABETH NAUMANN DEAN of the SCHOOL of MEDICINE / VICE PRESIDENT for MEDICAL AFFAIRS, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- DEAN, STANFORD SCHOOL of MEDICINE
- Vice Dean Linda M. Boxer
Dean Minor is a leading physician, basic scientist and educator.
Lloyd B. Minor, MD, is a scientist, surgeon, and academic leader. He is the Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Stanford University. Dr. Minor also is a professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and a professor of Bioengineering and of Neurobiology, by courtesy, at Stanford University.
As dean, Dr. Minor has had an integral role in setting strategy for the clinical enterprise of Stanford Medicine, an academic medical center that includes the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health. With his leadership, Stanford Medicine leads the biomedical revolution in Precision Health. His book, "Discovering Precision Health," describes this shift to more preventive, personalized health care and highlights how biomedical advances are dramatically improving our ability to treat and cure complex diseases. In 2021, Dr. Minor articulated and began realizing a bold vision to transform the future of life sciences at Stanford University and beyond - a multi-decade journey enabled by Precision Health.
In August 2023, Dr. Minor was appointed Vice President for Medical Affairs to lead all matters related to health and medicine at Stanford University.
Before Stanford, Dr. Minor was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of Johns Hopkins University. Prior to this appointment in 2009, Dr. Minor served as the Andelot Professor and director (chair) of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and otolaryngologist-in-chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
With more than 160 published articles and chapters, Dr. Minor is an expert in balance and inner ear disorders perhaps best known for discovering superior canal dehiscence syndrome, a debilitating disorder characterized by sound- or pressure-induced dizziness. He subsequently developed a surgical procedure that corrects the problem and alleviates symptoms.
In 2012, Dr. Minor was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the School of Medicine,
Vice President for Medical Affairs, Stanford University,
Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, and Professor of Neurobiology and of Bioengineering, by courtesy
Lloyd B. Minor, MD, is a scientist, surgeon, and academic leader. He is the Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Stanford University. Dr. Minor is also a professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and a professor of Bioengineering and of Neurobiology, by courtesy, at Stanford University.
As dean, Dr. Minor has had an integral role in setting strategy for the clinical enterprise of Stanford Medicine, an academic medical center that includes the Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health. He oversees the quality of Stanford Medicine's physicians on the faculty and in the organization's growing clinical networks and physician practices. In August 2023, Dr. Minor was appointed as Vice President for Medical Affairs to lead all matters related to health and medicine at Stanford University.
Dr. Minor has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. For example, between 2012 and 2022, the number of underrepresented students increased from 9.9 percent of incoming PhDs to 24.6 percent and from 14 percent of incoming MDs to 28.9 percent. Other key accomplishments include quadrupling the number of women department chairs and maintaining the highest NIH funding per faculty ratio in the country.
With Dr. Minor's leadership, Stanford Medicine is leading the biomedical revolution through Precision Health. Empowering people to lead healthy lives, Precision Health is a fundamental shift to more proactive and personalized health care that predicts and prevents disease before it strikes - and cures it decisively if it does. His book, "Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent, and Cure to Advance Health and Well-Being," highlights how biomedical advances are dramatically improving our ability to treat and cure complex diseases.
Dr. Minor also spearheaded the creation of an Integrated Strategic Plan (ISP) that reaffirms Stanford Medicine's Precision Health vision. A groundbreaking roadmap launched in 2018, the ISP aligns Stanford Medicine's three entities, informs how each will develop strategies, and has activated dozens of high-impact initiatives across Stanford Medicine. In 2023, Dr. Minor and the CEOs of Stanford Health Care and Stanford Medicine Children's Health launched the ISP Refresh, an initiative focused on Stanford Medicine's evolution as it leads a biomedical landscape that has rapidly evolved due to COVID-19 and other developments.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Minor quickly implemented protocols to ensure the safety of patients and of the Stanford Medicine community. He emphasized open communication, transparency, and accountability as he and the leadership team responded to the unprecedented challenges that affected every facet of the enterprise's activities. Under his leadership, Stanford Medicine became one of the first academic medical centers to develop a COVID-19 test, launched hundreds of clinical research projects, and distributed 480,000 vaccine doses.
In 2021, Dr. Minor articulated and began realizing a bold vision for transforming the future of life sciences at Stanford University, in the Bay Area, and beyond. This multi-decade journey will leverage the region's unique strengths in information sciences, technology, and biology and biomedicine to establish a biomedical innovation hub that, through collaboration, enhances fundamental understanding of biology and translates promising discoveries into transformative leaps that promote human and planetary well-being.
Dr. Minor has long provided significant support for basic science research and for clinical and translational research at Stanford. Through bold initiatives in medical education and increased support for MD and PhD students, Dr. Minor is committed to inspiring and training future leaders. He also has increased student financial aid and expanded faculty leadership opportunities.
Among other accomplishments, Dr. Minor has led the development and implementation of an innovative model for cancer research and patient care delivery at Stanford Medicine and has launched an initiative in biomedical data science to harness the power of big data and create a learning health care system.
Before Stanford, Dr. Minor was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of The Johns Hopkins University. As provost, Dr. Minor launched many university-wide initiatives such as the Gateway Sciences Initiative to support pedagogical innovation, and the Doctor of Philosophy Board to promote excellence in PhD education. He worked with others around the university and health system to coordinate the Individualized Health Initiative, which aimed to use genetic information to transform health care.
Prior to his appointment as provost in 2009, Dr. Minor was the Andelot Professor and director (chair) of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and otolaryngologist-in-chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. During his six-year tenure, he expanded annual research funding by more than half and increased clinical activity by more than 30 percent, while strengthening teaching efforts and student training.
With more than 160 published articles and chapters, Dr. Minor is an expert in balance and inner ear disorders. Through neurophysiological investigations of eye movements and neuronal pathways, his work has identified adaptive mechanisms responsible for compensation to vestibular injury in a model system for studies of motor learning (the vestibulo-ocular reflex). The synergies between this basic research and clinical studies have led to improved methods for the diagnosis and treatment of balance disorders. In recognition of his work in refining a treatment for Ménière's disease, Dr. Minor received the Prosper Ménière Society's gold medal in 2010.
In the medical community, Dr. Minor is perhaps best known for his discovery of superior canal dehiscence syndrome, a debilitating disorder characterized by sound- or pressure-induced dizziness. In 1998, Dr. Minor and colleagues published a description of the clinical manifestations of the syndrome and related its cause to an opening (dehiscence) in the bone covering the superior canal. He subsequently developed a surgical procedure that corrects the problem and alleviates symptoms.
Dr. Minor received his bachelor's and medical degrees from Brown University. He trained at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Chicago Medical Center and completed a research fellowship at the University of Chicago and a clinical fellowship at The Otology Group and The EAR Foundation in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2012, Dr. Minor was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
As part of the Stanford Executive Briefing series, Minor shares his thoughts on authentic leadership and offers five leadership principles.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine ( Oncology ) and of Pathology / Research
Dodge was an undergraduate student in the Utz Lab. He studied antibodies to growth factors, cytokines and other proteins using microarray analysis. He currently is a professional golfer on the Asian Tour.
Donna rew up in Ilion, NY. She attended Rochester Institute of Technology where she ate a lot of garbage plates and earned a B.S. in Biotechnology. After digging herself out of the snow, she headed west to Stanford and joined the Utz lab in the summer of 2002 as a gradute student. Her thesis work included examining the roles of type I interferon and toll like receptor signaling components in lupus. After assuming the very prestigious role of YOURSAC (Your Official Utz Regime Social Activities Coordinator) upon Kareem's graduation, Donna decided to pursue dual degrees in Immunology and Party Planning. When not bleeding mice or ordering pizzas for lab meetings, she enjoys skiing, kickboxing, pilates, getting injured playing basketball (go team 'Work in Progress!'), hiking, and watching too much reality TV. She left the Utz Lab to join Genentech as a postdoctoral scholar. Donna is now a scientist at Amgen and has 2 small children.
Sleep researcher Emmanuel Mignot identifies the defective gene that causes narcolepsy, a disabling sleep disorder affecting humans and animals.
Erika Bongen was a PhD student in the Immunology program. She earned her bachelors at the University of Illinois, where she studied molecular biology, chemistry, and Japanese tea ceremony. She used both traditional and computational immunology techniques to explore the role of epigenetics in autoimmunity.
Pathologist Eugene Butcher discovers a receptor that guides white blood cells into the peripheral lymph nodes.
Faraaz worked in the Utz lab during the summers in 2001-2003 as well as during winter break. He first started to work in Dr. Utz's lab as an intern in the CCIS summer program, the predicessor to the SIMR program), which gives high school students the opportunity to work in medical research labs at Stanford. Faraaz worked on the mitochondrial localization signal of SRP68. Faraaz left the Utz Lab to study Bioengineering in the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley. Faraaz entered the M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2005. He hopes work on such things as the development of surgical tools and prosthetics/implants. When not studying or working in the lab, Faraaz likes to hike, ski, drive and watch movies. Among his favorite foods are Persian, Mexican, and Chinese food. He also enjoys all types of music, including country.
Gayathri Swaminathan completed her doctoral degree in Microbiology and Immunology from Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia and post-doctoral training in UPenn and Stanford University. She has a long-standing interest in receptor traffic, proteostasis and immune mechanisms in inflammatory diseases including cancer, and neurodegeneration. In Sarin lab, she leads and manages translational ‘wet-lab' projects on novel disease mechanisms in basal cell cancer and immune biomarkers in skin inflammation. Outside work, she enjoys gardening, hiking, cooking and exploring new places.
Pathologist Gerald Crabtree develops techniques that allow scientists to toggle genes on and off in animal models.
moved to Palo Alto at a young age and grew up running around campus. Before returning back to the Farm a year ago, Gil took a long detour overseas and completed his bachleor's in chemistry at Tel Aviv University in Israel. Previous to joining the Utz Lab, he worked next door in the Steinman Lab on granulocytes in multiple sclerosis mouse models. As a life science research assistant, Gil will be collaborated with a variety of groups on auto-antigen arrays. Additionally, he is interested in T-helper cell subsets and BAFF expression in B cells. In his free time, Gil enjoys photography (www.gilmpix.com), some train travel, lots of books and a good stout beer here and there. He left the Utz lab to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Harvard.
was an MD/PhD student in the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program and is currently completing her residency at Yale before moving to UCLA for her short track rheumatology. She grew up in Saratoga, California and earned her bachelors at Pomona College (CHIRP!) where she studied molecular biology and contemporary Chinese literature. She is currently interested in the roles of type I and type II interferons in systemic lupus erythematosus pathogenesis and antigen specific T cell populations in autoimmunity. Outside of lab, Gloria promotes medical and graduate student wellness and serves on a variety of Stanford Medical School committees dedicated to developing programming for student happiness and advocacy. Additionally, she is an avid practitioner of Bikram Yoga and enjoys jamming (vocals, piano, guitar), creating culinary feasts, antiquing and figure art using a variety of media. As the lab social coordinator, she facilitated merriment through consumption of food and spirits.
Hannah is originally from Pennsylvania and got her bachelors in molecular biology at the University of Pittsburgh. She was a member of the lab from 2013-2015 and went on to get her masters in genetics counseling at Johns Hopkins where she regretfully returned to winter weather. While in the lab, Hannah looked at anti-cytokine autoantibodies in murine models of SLE. She also worked on several collaborations to profile autoantibodies in various autoimmune diseases. When she's not working, she spends her time trying out new hiking spots or ice cream shops. She also likes dancing and live shows. She tries to travel as much as possible and most recently went on a trip to Morocco. She returned to Stanford and is now working as a genetic counsellor.
Harvir joined the Utz Lab in September of 2005, where his focus is the use of new technology to understand the signalling pathways in human diseases. He completed his masters in biology at Stanford after leaving the Utz Lab. He enjoys traditional Indian dance called Bhangra and was a member of the Stanford Bhangra team, 'Chardi Jawani.'
Heidi was a stellar high school student from Pleasanton, California, who spent the summer of 2002 in the Utz lab as part of the third annual CCIS Summer Program. She worked directly with Annie Kuo and Kareem Graham on protein microarray development. She hoped to pursue a future in Biology or Medicine. Heidi has been involved in dance, primarily ballet, since a young age. Her other interests include hip hop, swimming and acting. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and spending time with her friends and family. She started her college studies at Cal in 2003.
Xihui completed her tenure as a research assistant and is now a PhD student at MIT in Cambridge, MA.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Genetics ( Stem Cell )
Immunologist Hugh McDevitt discovers regulatory genes believed to control the body's reponses to foreign proteins, which suggests that people may have predictable susceptibility to certain diseases.
Pathologist Irving Weissman isolates a rare mouse cell, known as the hematopoetic stem cell, which gives rise to all the cells of the blood and immune systems.
Pathologist Irving Weissman identifies the stem cell that gives rise to bladder cancer, and also shows how the cell uses the "don't-eat-me" signal, a molecule known as CD47, to evade the body's defenses.
Pathologist Irving Weissman shows that a single antibody, which counters the effect of the CD47 molecule, shrinks a variety of human tumors transplanted into mice.
Jake was an MD/PhD student. He is currently completing his residency and ID short track fellowship at MGH. He is interested in studying the relationship between infection and autoimmunity.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and of Biochemistry / Research
grew up in the Great White North and received his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Victoria. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in medical genetics in Dr. Kelly McNagny's lab at the University of British Columbia. Jamie joined the lab as a post doctoral fellow in the Utz Lab in December 2010. He is interested in developing and using new technologies to learn about the mechanisms underlying autoimmune disease. He is investigated the role of autoreactive T helper cells in the pathogenesis of sytemic lupus erythematosus. Away from work, Jamie likes to spend time with his family, travel, mountain bike, play soccer and read. Currently, he is a Scientist at Genentech.
Jennifer Tom joined the laboratory in August 2001, replacing the ever-popular Carla DiGennaro as a Research Assistant. Ironically, Jennifer recently graduated from the same inferior university that Carla is now attending, U.C. Berkeley. She worked with Bill Robinson on his antigen array studies.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Radiology ( Neuroimaging and Neurointervention ) and, by Courtesy, of Neurosurgery
Originally from the suburbs of New York City, Jessie received a bachelor's degree in biology from Harvard in 1996. After college, she headed west to work as a program manager at a computer software company in Redmond, WA, for 6 years, before going back to school in the fall of 2002 to pursue a PhD in biomedical informatics. She is now an assistant professor at Duke. Her research focused on computational methods applied to functional proteomics, pathway discovery, disease outcome prediction and treatment efficacy. When not in lab or doing homework, Jessie enjoys biking, all things outdoors, creating stained glass windows and commuting from and to San Francisco. Jessie Tenenbaum serves as the Chief Data Officer (CDO) for DHHS, assisting the Department in developing a strategy to use information to inform and evaluate policy and improve the health and well-being of residents of North Carolina.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Surgery ( Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery ) Research
Job Titles:
- Peter Wood Lead the First Large Clinical Investigation That Shows Lowering Cholesterol Levels Prevents Heart Disease
John Farquhar and Peter Wood lead the first large clinical investigation that shows lowering cholesterol levels prevents heart disease.
Jonathan worked in the Utz Lab in the Summer of 2003, as a prize for winning his 8th grade slam-dunk contest. After honing his skills with Kareem (Abdul Jabar) L. Graham, he left the lab to pursue his prospects in the NBA draft. The youngest student ever in the Utz Lab, he was also one of the most gifted. He knows more about science, religion, sports, history and philosophy than anyone else in the lab. Jonathan is completing MSTP studies at NYU/Rockefeller University.
was a graduate student in the lab from 2008 to 2013. Hailing from Madison, Wisconsin, Jordan majored in biology and cello performance at Oberlin and spent time teaching in Ecuador before joining Stanford's immunology graduate program. His thesis work was to develop array-based methods to identify new biomarkers in systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune diseases, and measuring antibody response to influenza vaccination. Jordan enjoys teaching and mentoring and has served as a TA in several classes, including a class he co-developed, "Brain and the Immune System", which examines the field of neuroimmunology from many angles. He has also served as a TA and mentor for the SIMR program. He completed his PhD studies in the Utz lab and a postdoctoral fellow at rival school, UC Berkeley. He joined the Faculty at Oberlin College in 2017. When he is not processing arrays or shaping the minds of future scientists, Jordan enjoys listening to NPR and watching classic 90's television. One day Ensign Price hopes to earn the rank of Lieutenant, but so far his work in the astrometrics lab, while brilliant, has proven insufficient to impress the Captain. Jordan and his husband Kyle welcomed Tobermory Vail Gabler to the family in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Pathology and of Genetics
Job Titles:
- Basic Life Research Scientist, Stem Cell Bio Regenerative Med Institute
As a child growing up in Oklahoma, Reem dreamed of being a professional basketball star. However, his dream was dealt a tremendous blow when he discovered that nary a college program had any need for a short, slow guy with absolutely no talent. After recovering from the shock of being passed over in the NBA draft as a high school entrant, Kareem decided it was time to turn his energies elsewhere. Upon graduating from Rice University with a Bachelor's in Biochemistry in 1999, he took his act to the West Coast. His research interests include murine models of autoimmune disease and autoantigen arrays. When, not in lab, Reem enjoys skiing, reading, and honing his table tennis skills (with considerable aid from Mike Kattah and Steve Chan). Kareem left his position as Assistant Professor at Emory to join the biotechnology workforce here in the SF Bay Area.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and, by Courtesy, of Biochemistry
Genomic instability contributes to many diseases, but it also underlies many natural processes. The Cimprich lab is focused on understanding how mammalian cells maintain genomic stability in the context of DNA replication stress and DNA damage. We are interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular response to replication stress and DNA damage as well as the links between DNA damage and replication stress to human disease.
Katerina was a Postdoctoral Fellow from Australia. Katerina's studies, funded by Bio-X, employed methods developed by collaborators in the School of Engineering to study proteomics and immunology. Katerina served admirably as a dedicated and highly-effective Assistant Utz Lab Social Coordinator (ULSC). Currently, she is caring for her growing daughter.
Katherine grew up in rural New York State and earned her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences at Cornell University. She then moved to Nashville, Tennessee and completed her MD and PhD training at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She is now a resident physician in the Stanford Pediatric Residency Research Track Program. Her current research in the Utz lab focuses on characterizing the serum antibody responses in pediatric patients exposed to viral infections including COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). When not in lab or caring for patients, Katherine enjoys spending time outside in the beautiful Bay Area with her husband and young son.
Job Titles:
- Doctoral Dissertation Reader ( AC )
Job Titles:
- Basic Science Research Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation ( JDRF ) ( 2013 )
Kelly McGill was a PhD student in the Immunology program. She grew up in Pennsylvania and earned her bachelor's degree at the Schreyer Honors College at the Pennsylvania State University where she studied biochemistry and molecular biology and nutrition. She is interested in learning and applying both computational and traditional immunology methods to explore the interaction between sex and autoimmune diseases, specifically Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Job Titles:
- Clinical Research Coordinator
Kirthi was born and raised in San Jose, California and attended college at the University of Chicago where she studied Economics, Math, and Biology. She is currently working as a Clinical Research Coordinator in support of Team Science's biobanking efforts. In her spare time, she enjoys running, baking, and reading.
Job Titles:
- KM Mulberry Professor, Professor of Developmental Biology, of Medicine ( Endocrinology ) and, by Courtesy, of Pediatrics ( Endocrinology )
Job Titles:
- Professor in the School of Medicine, Professor of Genetics and of Medicine
Lance Okeke worked in the laboratory as part of Stanford's Undergraduate Research Program during the summer of 2001, before beginning his senior year at Xavier University of Louisiana. He entered Stanford Medical School in the Fall of 2002.
Lindsay spent the summer of 2002 in the CCIS program before returning to Tufts University in Boston to complete her college studies. Go Red Sox!
is a UC Santa Cruz Biology grad by way of UC Davis ("Slaggie"). After working at Becton-Dickinson for a few years, she decided that she had enough of flow cytometers and headed over to academia. While in the Utz Lab, Lowen was a research assistant who worked most closely with Peggy and Reem on models of autoimmune diseases. During her free time she enjoys iyengar yoga, hiking, opera, scuba diving, chillin' with friends, and finding cool new restaurants to dine at. She left the Utz Lab to pursue training and a career in physical therapy.
Mai Dvorak grew up in the Bay Area and earned her bachelors degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she studied biology. She joined PJ's lab as a Life Science Research Professional with hopes to gain more research experience. She is currently enrolled as a PhD student in the Biology program at Stanford.
Allan grew up in Alabama but is currently studying biology as an undergraduate at Stanford. He joined the lab to gain more research experience and to explore budding interests in immunology as well as computational biology.
Makoto was PJ's first Postdoctoral Fellow. After spending 3 years educating PJ about molecular biology, he has returned to the University of Nagasaki where he has accepted a faculty position.
Marie-Josee was a CCIS Summer Intern (the predecessor to the SIMR program) in 2000. Marie-Josee learned the definition of the word "nonpotable" during the summer of 2000. She continued her studies in the Negrin Lab. Marie-Josee passed away unexpectedly in 2017.
Pathologist Marius Wernig turns mouse skin cells into cells that insulate neurons with the application of just three genes.
Immunologist Mark Davis characterizes the T-cell receptor, believed to regulate the body's response to infectious agents and cancerous diseases.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Medicine ( Cardiovascular ) and, by Courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology
Marlayna was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and attended college in Ohio where she graduated from the College of Wooster and received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. There, she completed a thesis focusing on creating a Boolean model of crosstalk between senescence and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. She was given the opportunity to present this research over the summer at the NetBioMed 2021 Conference. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games with friends, watching movies, and doing puzzles.
Mary Gohlke receives the world's first combined heart and lung transplant in a landmark operation led by surgeon Bruce Reitz.
Mel grew up in Manchester Connecticut. In 1990 she received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Colby College (Waterville, ME) and entered the University of Connecticut MST Program. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Science in 1999 and completed her Residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Orange County (Orange, CA) in June 2002. She joined the Utz lab in 2003, during her pediatric rheumatology fellowship, to study autoantibody profiles of pediatric lupus patients. She is now an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford. When not in the lab or taking care of patients, Mel can be found enjoying happy hour with friends, rescuing stray wildlife from the jaws of death, cycling around the bay area, or training for her next marathon (of sleep that is).
Job Titles:
- Undergraduate Student, Emory University
Michael grew up in Saratoga, California before leaving to pursue a bachelor's in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He joined the lab as an undergraduate student to learn about immunology and refine his applied wet laboratory skills. In his free time, Michael competes for the Emory Men's Golf team and enjoys drumming. He hopes to continue his education in pursuit of an M.D.
Mike grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. He attended Walt Whitman High School and received his black belt in Tang Soo Do under Dale Tompkins. After graduating from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science (2001), he participated in the NIH IRTA program for one year. He did not always plan for a future in science, but alas, dreams of becoming a back-up dancer for Britney Spears were shattered when he discovered he was tragically born without rhythm. Following completion of his MSTP studies at Stanford University, he went on to complete medicine training at the Brigham, GI training at UCSF, and worked in the lab of Averil Ma. Mike was recently promoted to Assistant Professor at UCSF.
Mike graduated from Cal with a degree in Molecular Biology. He was a gradute student in the Utz Lab. His interests entailed elucidating the role of TH-17 in various autoimmune diseases. In his spare time, Mike enjoyed playing football. Mike competed a postdoctoral fellowship at Genetech before moving to Merck in Singapore after getting married. He is currently celebrating the last Warriors championship, and recapturing the Axe in fall 2019.
Muge was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, where she earned her MD degree. Since 2023, she has been working as a postdoctoral scholar in the lab, focusing on investigating antibody responses in infectious and autoimmune diseases. Muge aspires to pursue her medical training in the U.S. and aims to become a clinical investigator and educator. A fun fact about her is that she had five cats while living in Turkey. She also used to compete in ping pong and handball and enjoysplaying any team sport.
Mónica spent 2 years in the Utz lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow, and is still working closely with the Utz lab as a "Frequently Visiting Scientist." She is now a Titular Professor of Rheumatology at University of Guadalajara.
Nicole completed her B.A. while majoring in Biochemistry at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She joined the Utz lab as an Immunology Ph.D. student in April of 2007. Her research interests include developing peptide MHC arrays to look at autoreactive T cell responses in diabetes and in Lupus. She completed her law degree in Washington, D.C., and works as a patent attorney at McNeil Baur. In her spare time she enjoys doing yoga.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Biochemistry, Emeritus / Research
Dr. Brown's research focuses on replacing humanity's most destructive invention - the use of animals as a food technology - by developing a new and better way to produce the world's most delicious, nutritious and affordable meats, fish and dairy foods directly from plants. He is also working on developing and scaling optimal methods for restoring healthy ecosystems and sequestering carbon on the 45% of Earth's surface that have been devastated by animal agriculture.
P.J. has expertise in the study of autoantibodies and autoantigens, apoptosis signaling pathways, animal models of autoimmunity, proteomics and microfluidics. Members of his laboratory are developing several cutting-edge proteomics technologies for immunological applications, including multiplex autoantigen microarrays and EpiTOF. The Utz lab also studies vaccines for autoimmunity, influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and tuberculosis. Professor Utz is a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of several biotechnology companies, and actively consults with many companies.
Dr. Utz serves as Associate Dean for Medical Student Research where he oversees the Berg Scholars Program, MD-only physician scientist programs, and other medical student research programs. He is director emeritus of the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program and Founder and Faculty Director of the SIMR Summer High School Research Program which celebrated its 20th anniversary in summer 2019. SIMR students work in biomedical research labs on Stanford campus for 8 weeks. To date, SIMR has trained almost 1,000 high school students. He is also Co-Founder of the Physician Scientist Support Foundation whose goal is to save the "Endangered Physician Scientist," described in a New England Journal of Medicine article in July 2019.
When not in the lab, P.J. spends most of his free time as an empty-nester with his wife. He enjoys travel, golf, hiking, biking, laying on the beach, watching Warriors and Stanford women's basketball, and performing ANY non-grant writing activities whatsoever.
Paul worked in the Utz lab as an undergraduate. He went on to complete his studies at Stanford while also competing on Stanford's highly-ranked Men's Gymnastics Team.
Pearline was born in Singapore and went to Johns Hopkins to get a B.A. in Biology. She then came out west and did her thesis work in the Utz lab. Her research combined antibody-based cancer therapy and regulatory T cells. When not in lab, she enjoys doing Wushu (Chinese kung fu), biking, hiking and reading. She is currently an entrepreneur in Singapore.
Peggie was born and raised in Hong Kong. After moving to the Golden State in the late '90s, she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from UC Davis. Prior to joining the Utz lab as a senior research scientist, she earned her Ph.D. Degree in Biology from Stanford University and completed her post-doctoral training in chromatin biology and immunology at Stanford. While not in lab, Peggie enjoys spending time with her three dogs and two young children.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Microbiology and Immunology ( Baxter Labs ) and of Pathology / Research
Job Titles:
- Peter Wood Lead the First Large Clinical Investigation That Shows Lowering Cholesterol Levels Prevents Heart Disease
Quinton completed his tenure as a research assistant and assistant clinical coordinator with Department of Medicine Team Science and is enrolled at Samuel Merritt College of Podiatric Medicine in Oakland, CA.
Regina is a New Jersey-bred California girl: after getting her BS (in engineering) at Caltech, she spent 5 years in Boston (getting an MS in mechanical engineering at MIT in the process) before returning to CA to work on a Ph.D. in Immunology at Stanford, where she integrated her engineering degrees with technology and lupus research. Her thesis elucidated dendritic cell signaling in SLE. As such, she was a member of both the Utz and Nolan labs. While she's taking care of her son Julian (born Sept 2008), she is considering options for her future career. She and enjoys playing video games with her husband Robin, hiking, cooking, and photography (which is usually mixed up with all her other hobbies).
Ritu was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She migrated to India, completed premedical studies there and earned degree of Bachelor in Medicine, Bachelor in Surgery (MB.BS.) at M.R. Medical College of Karnataka (India) and completed internship at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi (India). She then joined the Utz lab, from 2005 until 2013. She enjoys trekking, alternative rock, and spending time with her German Shepherd, Shoolu.
Rizwan Ahmed was born in "Rauni" (a small village located near Kannauj city) and grew up in Unnao city in India. He earned his Master's degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Tezpur Central University, India. He then went on to do doctoral degree in Biotechnology at the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, India, where his research mainly focused in investigating the role of immune cells in disease pathologies. He then moved to Johns Hopkins University, U.S.A for his postdoctoral studies, where he made a paradigm shifting discovery of a previously unknown new lymphocyte (DE cells) that has been shown as key mediators in activating the self-reactive immune cells in autoimmune diseases, specifically, in Type 1 diabetes. Moving forward, he joined Dr. Utz research team as a "Senior Scientist" and interested in understanding the underlying mechanisms responsible for autoimmune pathologies and focusing on designing and developing novel "off-the-self" recombinant immunotherapeutic that can be used in clinical studies to cure the diseases. In spare time, he likes reading, listening to music and channeling his imagination through graphic illustration and architectural design. He loves spending time with family and friends.
Robert Moder was a student at PJ's alma mater, King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and spent two summers learning about basic research and enjoying the California sunshine before he returned to the cold, Pennsylvania climate. He started graduate school in 2004.
was the Director of the Human Immune Monitoring Center Biobank (HIMC Biobank). Rohit got his start in Dr. Lawrence Steinman's lab in 2003 studying Multiple Sclerosis, and is the former lab manager for Dr. Utz's lab. While in Dr. Utz's lab, his focus was on establishing and sustaining the Immunology Registry and Repository. This led to the development of a center for biobanking, under the HIMC (Director: Dr. Holden Maecker). Rohit is the inaugural Chief Biobank Officer at UCSF.
Rong Mao received her B.A. magna cum laude in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed her postdoctoral training in neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Prior to joining the Utz lab, she worked as a grants manager/strategist at UCSF and more recently a scientific writer and program manager at Stanford. She is currently working at a local biotechnology startup company.
Surgeon Roy Cohn leads the first human kidney transplant operation on the West Coast.
Radiologist Sanjiv Gambhir develops a new type of imaging system that can illuminate tumors in living subjects with a precision of nearly one-trillionth of a meter
Sarah was born and raised around the Bay Area her whole life. She was a biology undergraduate biology student at Stanford, a PhD student in Bill Robinson's Lab, and is now a Bioinformatics Scientist at Abbvie. She first gained an interest in immunology back in 6th grade and has wondered about the immune system ever since. Some of her other interests include dance, art and kenpo karate.
Job Titles:
- KM Mulberry Professor, Professor of Developmental Biology, of Medicine ( Endocrinology ) and, by Courtesy, of Pediatrics ( Endocrinology )
Sharon is a seasoned Administrative Associate in the Division of Rheumatology. She helps PJ extricate himself from all of the many administrative fiascos he creates. She can be reached at (650) 723-7038, by Fax at (650) 723-7509, and by email at sdickow@stanford.edu.
Shaurya was a Life Science Research Professional in the Utz Lab. He grew up in India and earned his Bioengineering bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley. He developed an interest in immunology early during his career and has since been exploring various parts of the immune system. Shaurya is now a medical student at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Shenru received her medical degree from China and her Master of Philosophy degree in molecular biology from the UK. She worked on the Human Genome Project at the Sanger Center and cancer research at the University of Oxford. She recently returned to Stanford and is at the PAVAHCS.
She is performed proteomic analysis of the blood components in autoimmune disease in collaboration with Juan Santiago of Stanford's Microfluidics Laboratory in collaboration with ACLARA Biosciences. She conducted eTag assays for antibody-antigen detection and capillary electrophoresis by operating a MegaBACE System. She also worked with engineers to develop high-sensitivity microfabricated bioanalytical systems for multiplex detection of cytokines and autoantibodies from single cells. She utilized protein microarrays and computer analysis to detect antibody-antigen reactions for autoimmune diseases. In addition, she is studied primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Outside the lab, she loves drawing, music, meditation, tennis, aerobics and biking.
Sophia graduated from Stanford in June 2002, completing a stellar Senior Thesis. She won several prestigious awards, including a Stanford Undergraduate Research Award and a coveted Fullbright Scholarship funded her work in China.
Stephanie was a life science research assistant for the Utz Lab from July 2009-July 2011. She is a Bay Area, California girl, born and raised. Stephanie completed her undergraduate studies at University of California, San Diego, where she majored in biochemistry and cell biology. In the Utz Lab, she participated in many academic and industry collaborations in addition to working directly with postdoctoral fellow, Chih Long Liu, on the study of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Outside of research, Stephanie enjoys adventure, whether from a long mountain hike or a good book. She completed medical school at UC Irvine.
Susan McConnell has studied the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the development of the mammalian cerebral cortex. Her work focused on the earliest events that pattern the developing forebrain, enable neural progenitors to divide asymmetrically to generate young neurons, propel the migration of postmitotic neurons outward into their final positions, and sculpt the fates and phenotypes of the neurons as they differentiate.
Pediatrician Thomas Robinson finds that children who curtailed their television time gained significantly less body fat than those who didn't .
is the first emeritus member of the lab. Truc won numerous fellowships, including an HHMI award. Truc forgot more medicine than PJ had ever learned, but had difficulty reading topographical maps and identifying indigenous California plants. After completing a PICU Fellowship and period as Assistant Professor at Stanford, Truc is now practicing in Nashville, Tennessee.
e joined the lab in 2013 as a visiting researcher. Tue's research focuses on IL-21 and Follicular T helper cells and how they control (auto-)antibody production. Although currently back again in Denmark completing his MD/PhD training. In collaboration with Gloria Yiu he is studying the role of type I interferons in SLE and their impact on autoantibody production.
Tyler grew up in rural Northen California and earned his bacghelor's degree in Bioengineering at UC San Diego. After returning from a study abroad program in Brazil, he started working in a viral immunology lab studying dengue virus. He then complete his MD and PhD training at Stanford University School of Medicine studying cancer immunology. He is currently a research track resident at Stanford in the Psychiatry program. His interests involve investigating the serum antibody milieu in patients affected by various illnesses with post-infectious/infection-related compoents including PANS, schizophrenia and post-acute dequelae of COVID.
Veronika joined the Utz Lab in July 2005 as a Rheumatology fellow. She was born Veszprem, Hungary. She received her MD from the University Medical School of Pecs, Hungary. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Fathman Lab at Stanford and completed an internal medicine residency at Stanford University. She currently is practicing theumatologist at SCVMC. She is interested in techniques for discovery of new disease markers for human autoimmune diseases, primarily systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Her hobbies include hiking, camping, sea kayaking, skiing, swimming and raising her children.
is originally from Arlington, Virgina, but spent most of her childhood in the San Joaquin Valley of California. She completed her undergraduate studies at University of California, San Diego, where she majored in human biology and psychology. Vivian joined the Utz Lab in April 2012 and was a research assistant. She was involved with multiple projects including the study of antigen reactivity profiles in pediatric lupus patients with severe proliferative nephritis. She is currently a Physician's Assistant student Samual Merritt in Oakland. Outside of work, Vivian participates in many health fairs, volunteering her phlebotomy skills to non-profit organizations that provide free blood tests throughout the Bay Area community. In addition, Vivian enjoys hiking, cycling, reading, and coming up with the best combinations for the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
Researcher William Haskell shows that intensive lifestyle changes and prevention/treatment programs can reduce cardiac events and slow the progression of atherosclerosis in coronary arteries.
Bill completed his Rheumatology training at Stanford in June 2002 and was a Research Associate until the fall of 2003, when he joined the Stanford University faculty to continue to develop "Reverse Genetics" technology to diagnose and treat autoimmune diseases. Bill does more exciting things with his free time in a weekend than do the rest of the collective lab in a year. Bill is the principle inventor of our autoantigen microarray technology. He is now a professor of medicine at Stanford. As Chief of Immunology and Rheumatology, Bill is now PJ's boss!
Researcher William S. Robinson isolates the genetic blueprint of a virus that causes hepatitis B and a common form of liver cancer.
Winn Hayes was a PhD student in biomedical informatics. Before studying at Stanford, Winn got his bachelor's degree at Hendrix College and worked as a bioinformatician at Seattle Children's Research Institute. Winn's research focused on integrating publicly available datasets to broaden our understanding of the mechanisms and relationships of human diseases. Winn currently works at a biotechnology company in Santa Barbara. Winn enjoys spending his free time with his wife and daughter.
Wolfgang attended University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria before serving as an Intern and Resident at Tygerberg Hospital, University of Stellenbosch Medical School, South Africa. Wolfie also performed residencies in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Vienna, Austria. He worked in the Utz Lab from June 2000 until August 2003 where he mastered using antigen microarray technology to perform large-scale antibody profiling in autoimmune diseases. He worked with Bill Robinson at Stanford starting in 2004 before moving back to Europe where he is a Scientist at Novartis.
Woo Joo Kwon was born in Seoul, Korea, and grew up in Vancouver, Canada. She received her BS in Biology and her MSc in Bioengineering at Stanford University. She joined the lab as a Life Science Research Professional to investigate autoimmunity and its role in neuropsychiatric illnesse