CURRENT MEMBERS
Principal Investigator
Dirk Hockemeyer
Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley
Postdoctoral Fellow in Genetics (2007-2012)
Advisor: Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch, Whitehead Institute
Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology (2002-2007)
Advisor: Dr. Titia de Lange, Rockefeller University
B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry (1998-2002)
Advisor: Dr. Alfred Nordheim, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen
Staff Research Associates
Atul Preetham
M.S. in Biotechnology
University of San Francisco (2021-2023)
BTech in Biotechnology
Vellore Institute of Technology, India (2017-2021)
Research interests in the lab: I use human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) and Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells (HSPCs) as a model to understand more of the different subunits of the shelterin complex and its association with Telomere Biology Disorders (TBDs).
E-mail address: atulpreetham[at]berkeley.edu
Lab Managers
Stella Tran
B.S. in Biochemistry, Minor in Microbiology
California State University, Long Beach
Research interests in the lab: Studying the role of POT1 protein in telomere length regulation and also studying human diseases using functional genomics in primary stem cell models.
E-mail address: stellatran[at]berkeley.edu
Postdoctoral Fellows
Khaja Mohieddin Syed
Postdoctoral Fellow in Functional Genomics (Parkinson Disease) (2021-Present). Jointly supervised by Dr. Dirk Hockemeyer and Dr. Helen Bateup
Postdoctoral Fellow in Functional Genomics (Parkinson Disease) (2019-2021). Advisor: Dr. Chung Chau Hon
RIKEN-IMS, Japan
Ph.D. in Stem Cell Research/Cellular Reprogramming (2014-2018). Advisor: Dr Debasree Dutta, RGCB, India.
Research interests in the lab: Understanding the effects of Parkinson disease familial mutations and GWAS risk genes using stem cell derived dopamine neuron and Brain Organoid models through CRISPR perturbations.
E-mail address: khajams[at]berkeley.edu
Graduate Students
Vincent Pham
Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
M.S. in Biology
Tufts University
B.S. in Neuroscience
Brown University
Research interests in the lab: I am studying the contribution of neural crest cells in the development of the heart and the gene regulatory networks that govern species-specific regenerative response to heart injury. I'm using hiPSC/hESC-derived cardiac organoids (cardioids) to study this in humans.
E-mail address: vincent.pham[at]berkeley.edu
Anna Horacek
Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
B.S. in Biology and Anthropology and Minor in Chemistry
University of Oregon
Research interests in the lab: Employing next-generation sequencing to study the role of disordered protein domains in DNA-protein interactions during stem cell development.
E-mail address: annahoracek[at]berkeley.edu
Jan Schabort
Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
M.S. in Veterinary Biochemistry (2019-2021)
Advisor: Dr. Je-Yoel Cho, Seoul National University
B.S. in Biochemistry (2014-2018)
Advisor: Dr. Michael Carastro
Research interests in the lab: Exploring telomere elongation in a disease specific context (Cancer, or telomere biology disorders) utilizing genetically edited stem cells and humanized mouse models.
E-mail address: j.schabort[at]berkeley.edu
Annika Martin
Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
B.S. in Biophysics
Bringham Young University
Research interests in the lab: I am developing new methods to pair telomere length analysis with single-cell lineage tracing to investigate high-resolution telomere dynamics during cellular differentiation.
E-mail address: annika_martin[at]berkeley.edu
Carter Simington
Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
B.S. in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of Arizona
Research interests in the lab:Uncovering the molecular mechanism of telomere length homeostasis
E-mail address: carter_simington[at]berkeley.edu
Shayan Hosseinzadeh
Ph.D. Candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
B.S. in Biochemistry (2010-2014)
Advisor: Dr. Herbert Waite, UCSB
Research interests in the lab: Sequence-function analysis of the shelterin protein, TRF2, and its protein interaction partners to study their essential functions for telomere protection and telomere length homeostasis in human pluripotent stem cells.
E-mail address: shayanrhoss[at]berkeley.edu
Undergraduate Researchers
Jianpu Gao
B.A. in Data Science and Statistics, College of Computing, Data Science, and Society
University of California, Berkeley
Research interests in the lab:Employing machine learning and ai-based algorithms for multi-linear regression training in genetic study and automation for image recognition and classification.
E-mail address:jianpugao[at]berkeley.edu
Richard Ho
B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology, Molecular Therapeutics
University of California, Berkeley
Research interests in the lab:Functionally characterizing mutants in telomeric DNA-protein complexes using high-throughput immunofluorescent assays.
E-mail address:richardho[berkeley.edu
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Maya Singh
Undergraduate Research Assistant in Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley
Research interests in the lab:Characterizing BRCA2 Loss of Function Mutants with Imaging-Based Methods
E-mail address:mayasingh[at]berkeley.edu
Frances Kueper
B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology (2023-2027)
University of California, Berkeley
Research interests in the lab:Identifying tissue-specific genetic drivers of BRCA2-related cancers
E-mail address:frances_k[at]berkeley.edu
