Kathrin Plath

Kathrin is originally from Germany and earned her masters and doctorate degree in cell biology from Humboldt University in Berlin. Even though she got her Ph.D. degree from the Humboldt University, she did her graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Tom Rapoport at Harvard Medical School and defined molecular mechanisms of protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. She then joined the lab of Barbara Panning at UCSF for her postdoctoral studies, which got her excited about the X-inactivation problem. She uncovered that polycomb proteins and H3K27me3 accumulate on the inactive X chromosome in an Xist RNA-dependent manner. As result, H3K27me3 has become synonymous with X-inactivation and is the most widely used marker of the inactive X in and outside the field. This finding has supported the model that long-noncoding RNAs can, directly or indirectly, recruit chromatin-modifying complexes to their target sites. She then moved back to Boston to finish her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Rudolf Jaenisch at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. There, she was exposed to various new topics from mouse development, neurodevelopmental diseases, cancer biology, DNA methylation problems etc. In the Jaenisch lab, Kathrin identified Polycomb proteins as general regulators of developmental genes in mammalian cells and provided insight into the role of this repressive chromatin complex in the maintenance of pluripotency, by defining the genome-wide targets of the PRC2 Polycomb complex and its downstream mark H3K27me3 in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) though the then new ChIP-chip method. Kathrin joined the faculty at the University of California Los Angeles in 2006. She serves on the editorial board of Cell, Science, Cell Stem Cell and other journals, and has held various leadership positions in the International Society for Stem Cell Research. She has also been selected as a HHMI Faculty Scholar. Outside of the lab, Kathrin enjoys spending time with friends and family and being active, playing tennis and baseball, hiking, biking, and skiing. Despite living in the US for a long time she still is rooting for the German national soccer team at the world cup.

Kathrin’s publications:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=kathrin+plath&btnG=

Robin Mckee

Robin is originally from Virginia.  She completed her B.S. in Biology at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.  Afterwards she worked at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for 5 years at the Asthma and Allergy Center studying the common cold and VEGF as it relates to acute lung injury.  She has been a member of the Plath lab since its beginning in 2006 working as the Lab Manager and assisting various projects.  In her spare time, Robin likes to go to the beach and go hiking with her children.

Robin’s publications:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=robin+mckee&btnG=

Maira Quijano

Maira works as support staff for the lab and has been with us since 2006.

Amanda Collier (Mandy)

Mandy is originally from The New Forest in the United Kingdom. She received her B.Sc. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of York. During her B.Sc. she spent a year working at Pfizer as an industrial trainee studying the role of SOX2 during the reprogramming of fibroblasts to neural stem cells. Mandy obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in the lab of Dr. Peter Rugg-Gunn. Her Ph.D work focused on the epigenetic mechanisms and gene regulatory networks that govern the transition between primed and naïve states of human pluripotency. Mandy joined the Plath lab in 2019 to study the gene regulatory, epigenetic, and metabolic factors important for early human development. Her work utilizes blastoids, a stem cell-based model of human embryo development. Outside of the lab, Mandy enjoys hiking and camping trips to US National Parks, photography, watching sports (F1/baseball/rugby), cooking, and playing with her dog Alfie.

Mandy’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_mk97DIAAAAJ&hl=en

Iris Dror

Iris received her Ph.D. from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology - working in the lab of Prof. Yael Mandel-Gutfreund. During this time, she spent two years as a visiting student in the lab of Prof. Remo Rohs at the University of Southern California. As Ph.D. student, she developed and employed computational approaches to study the molecular mechanisms dictating DNA-protein recognition, exploring protein interfaces, DNA binding sites, and their covariation. She joined the Plath lab in 2015 to study the regulation of gene expression and chromatin state and organization during early embryonic development and iPSC reprogramming and is exploring the role of the long non-coding RNA XIST in these processes. To this end she applies computational and machine learning approaches, analyzing diverse high-throughput data sets.

Iris’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=MzFD9oEAAAAJ

Elsie Jacobson 

Elsie earned a B.Sc. in Genetics from the University of Otago in Aotearoa/NZ. She subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from the University of Auckland, NZ, where she studied mechanotransduction and the 3D genome. Elsie joined the Plath lab in 2019, where she investigates X inactivation and the early stages of iPSC reprogramming. In her free time, Elsie enjoys playing with her cats and exploring the beaches, deserts, forests, and mountains of California (and beyond!).

Elsie’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CjdR02EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Justin Langerman  

Justin received a B.S. and a Ph.D. from UCLA researching the properties of the genome that control DNA methylation. Justin joined the Plath lab to study the mechanism of reprogramming cell states, with an emphasis on understanding those states using and developing single cell technologies. Justin likes to write, hike, engage in varied multimedia pursuits, and makes people run up and down stairs at Drake stadium every Monday.

Justin’s publications:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=justin+langerman&btnG=

Alex Stanton  

Alex is originally from Paradise, California. He received his BS in Cell Biology from University of California Davis. After undergrad, he got his MS in Biology at California State University of Chico studying epigenetic modifications to a microRNA regulating insulin secretion. He then completed his PhD in Mammalian Genetics at The Jackson Laboratory in partnership with Tufts University of Graduate Biomedical Sciences identifying how Chromosome X dosage modulates totipotent cell proportions and susceptibility to autosomal aneuploidies in mouse embryonic stem cells. Alex joined the Plath lab in 2022 and will be working on mechanisms and maintenance of Chromosome X dosage compensation. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys quality time with his cats, playing board/video games, drawing and painting, exercising, and spending time in nature.

Alex's’s publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=75T-MmoAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1

Yu Sun (Sammy)  

Sammy is originally from Weihai, a coastal city in Shandong Province, China. He obtained B.S. in Microbiology in Shandong University and did his Ph.D. training at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Shanghai. During grad school, Sammy studied a salt water unicellular green alga, Dunaliella salina, and dreamed about understanding the unique aspects of this organism may lead to a better source for Bio-hydrogen. Continuing his love of unicellular organisms, he came to UCLA and worked with Dan S. Ray (with whom nobel prize laureate Randy Schekman started his undergraduate works in the 70s) for 3 years to learn about mitochondrial DNA replication mechanisms in trypanosomatic parasites. In 2007, he started working with Lars Dreier and learned about cellular degradation/recycling mechanisms (Ubiquitination, Autophagy...) and investigating how these may be related to synaptic transmission (using C. elegans as model), aging and neurodegenerative diseases. In 2021, he joined the Plath lab and is now interested in exploring how mitochondrial autophagy controls and supports iPSC reprogramming, and studies how Xist expression is regulated. Outside of lab, Sammy enjoys spending time with his family (wife, kid, Sofia the cat), reading, playing soccer/tennis/frisbee, biking, skiing, and hiking.

Clara Cano 

Clara is from Los Angeles and a member of the Gene Regulation, Epigenomics and Transcriptomics Home Area of the Molecular Biology Institute graduate program. She earned both a B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry from California State University, Los Angeles, and participated in the MBRS-RISE program. During her M.S., she studied the protein t-Darpp, which confers chemoresistance to HER2+ breast cancer. In the Plath lab Clara studies the formation of nuclear compartments by RNAs. In her free time, she enjoys watching reality TV, going to concerts, and spending time with friends and family.

Nivedita Damodaren

Nivedita (Nivi) Damodaren is a graduate student in the Plath lab. She received her Bachelors in Biotechnology from the Anna University, Chennai, India. She is working on understanding the role of RNA-binding proteins in sequestering RNA onto chromatin and investigating their role in nuclear organization. Outside the lab, Nivi likes cooking, gardening, playing tennis and binge-watching Korean dramas.

Andrea Garcia Angulo

Andrea is an undergraduate student at UCLA who is majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. In the Plath lab Andrea is studying the role of protein complexes associated with XIST during X-inactivation in embryonic stem cells. She aspires to become a physician scientist. Outside of the lab, Andrea likes to try new foods, read, and watch reality TV.

Benjamin Feng (Ben)

Ben is an undergraduate student at UCLA who is majoring in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology with minors in Biomedical Research and Bioinformatics. In the lab, Ben is studying human X chromosome re-activation and silencing in the context of naïve pluripotency, trophoblast development, and human blastoid models. Ben plans on continuing his education in graduate school to pursue a PhD while combining both wet lab and computational sciences. In his spare time, he enjoys board games, reading, and finding delicious food around the city.

 Tiao Tan

Tiao is an undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology with a minor in Bioinformatics. Working with Tracy and Elsie, she employs computational tools for the analysis of RNA-seq data and explores gene expression at the single cell level with RNA Fluorescent in situ Hybridization. She aspires to build a career as a scientific researcher. Outside of lab, you will find her cooking, watching movies, admiring turtles at the UCLA Botanical Garden, and bonding with cute feline friends.

Lior Berrin

Lior Berrin is a high school volunteer from Milken Community School. Lior is learning the tools to study X-inactivation and iPSC reprogramming by assisting Sammy’s projects in the lab. At school, he is the leader of Moot Beit Din, a Jewish debate club, and is a member of Student Government. In his spare time, he enjoys playing piano and board games.

Opie and Glen

Alfie

Sofia