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People

CURRENT MEMBERS

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Li-En Jao
Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
[email protected] | twitter: @lienjao

Li-En received his B.S. in Life Science from National Tsing Hua University (Taiwan) before moving to the US for his graduate study. He joined the lab of Kuang Yu Chen at Rutgers University to study eIF5A, translation, and posttranscriptional gene regulation. He stayed in the Chen Lab for a short postdoc before moving to NIH to work with Shawn Burgess on developing genome-wide retroviral mutagenesis strategies in zebrafish. He then went back to the root of gene regulation and did another postdoc with Susan Wente at Vanderbilt University on RNA metabolism and human disease modeling using the zebrafish and cultured cell systems. At the end of his postdoc training in the Wente Lab, he stumbled upon a connection between RNA metabolism and centrosome function, a topic he has been pursing since. In his spare time, Li-En enjoys the California sun, family time, and photography.

Li-En is a mentor for the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program at UC Davis. Please visit https://eeop.ucdavis.edu/marc for details.
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​Jia-Lin Shiu

Postdoctoral Fellow
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​​​[email protected]
Jia-Lin received his B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Life Sciences from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. His research interests focus on translational control during mitosis. Apart from his work in the lab, Jia-Lin enjoys playing badminton, handicraft activities, and sketching.

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Wenzhu (Owen) Zhang
Graduate Student, IGG Graduate Group
​[email protected]
Owen graduated from UC Davis in 2021 with a B.S. in Biotechnology emphasizing in Bioinformatics. Upon graduation, he worked as a lab assistant and developed his interest in genetics, cell biology and bioinformatics. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the IGG graduate group at UC Davis. His work in the lab focuses on determining the molecular mechanism underlying the dynein-mediated transport of centrosomal proteins during mitosis. In his free time, he loves music, reading, and trying new things. ​
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Justin Dinh
Undergraduate Research Assistant
[email protected]
Justin is currently an undergraduate at UC Davis majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and plans to pursue a pharmD in the near future. His research interested in studying the developmental defects linked to centrosomal dysfunction in developing zebrafish. During his free time, he loves fishkeeping, aquatic plant raising, building gundams, traveling and getting boba. ​

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Monica ​
Undergraduate Research Assistant
[email protected]
Monica is a 3rd year (upcoming 4th year), Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior major with a minor in Computer Sciences interested in epidemiology, cancer, microbiology, and neuroscience. In her free time, she loves hanging out with friends, exploring restaurants, travel, and photography. ​

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​Wenrui Jiang
Undergraduate Research Assistant
[email protected]
Wenrui is currently an undergraduate at UC Davis majoring in cell biology. She is interested in inventing medicine against cancer. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, playing guitar, and spending time with her cats and dogs.

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John Abram Flores
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Undergraduate Research Assistant
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​[email protected]
John is a 4th-year Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major at UC Davis. In addition to being an undergraduate research assistant, he also helps feed and maintain fish colonies in the zebrafish facility. His scientific interests include cell biochemistry, pharmacology, and molecular biology, and hopes to apply to pharmacy or graduate school in the near future. Outside the lab, John cooks for fun, bakes, and rides his bike.​

ALUMNI

  • Mark Antkowiak (Junior Specialist, 2014–2016): General surgery resident at UC San Diego
  • Evan Brahms (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2015–2016): Senior Technical Specialist at Prellis Biologics
  • Hashim Shaikh (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2015–2018): Medical student at University of Rochester
  • Janice Tam (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2015–2016): Senior Research Associate II at Kite Pharma
  • Daniel Yoon (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2015–2016): Graduate student at UC Davis
  • Noemi Castro (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2016–2018): Graduate student at UC Davis
  • Lana Christensen (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2016–2018): Graduate student with Jeff Coller at Johns Hopkins University
  • Karan Mahe (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2016–2019): Graduate student at Caltech
  • Marvin Orellana (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2016): Associate at Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Guadalupe Sepulveda (Junior Specialist, 2016–2017): Graduate student with Rebecca Heald at UC Berkeley
  • Alan Zhong (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2016): Student at Cornell University
  • Lee Cheung (Volunteer, 2017–2018)
  • Tingyoung Ou (Junior Specialist, 2017–2018)
  • Tam Ho (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2018–2020): Research Associate at Stanford University
  • Deger Carda (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2019–2020)
  • Jennielee Mia (Undergrad Research Assistant, 2016–2021, Junior Specialist, 2019–2021): Nursing school
  • Xueer Jiang (Graduate student, 2018–2022)​
Jao Lab | UC Davis School of Medicine | Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy
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