People

Fabio is a MSc student in biomedical research at Wageningen University & Research. He joined the lab in 2022 as a visiting student researcher from the Netherlands. He is interested in how CRISPR and Gene Therapy cure diseases and how computational and machine learning methods can improve the efficacy and safety of these technologies. His current research focuses on the design and validation of CRISPR-Cas variants which target multiple genes involved in Glaucoma and Age-related Macular Degeneration.

Cassie joined the lab in 2018. She completed her undergraduate degree at Duke University and then her medical school training, a Masters in Epidemiology and ophthalmology residency at Stanford University Medical School. She is interested in understanding the mechanisms of myopia and improving treatment and prevention of the resulting pathology. She worked with Dr Mahajan as a resident and will complete her surgical fellowship at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute. She continues to work with Dr. Mahajan on the molecular genetics of myopia and biomarkers of vitreoretinal disease. 

Marc is an M.S.T.P. student who joined the lab in 2015. Marc received his bachelor's degree in Zoology and Neuroscience from Miami University in 2013. Marc’s research uses biochemistry, genomics, and proteomics to investigate blinding eye diseases. His work is specifically focused on elucidating gene transcriptional networks involved in Autosomal Dominant Neovascular Inflammatory Vitreoretinopathy (ADNIV) with the aim of identifying pathways that could be targeted for the development of new treatments and therapeutics. Marc is also involved in microsurgery projects and the characterization of genetic mutations that lead to eye disease. He is pursuing a residency in ophthalmology at the University of Washington.

Angela Li was a medical student at Stanford University. She joined the lab in 2018 and applied bioinformatic tools to characterize genetic eye diseases. She is interested in functional genomics and proteomics, translational bioinformatics, precision medicine, and diseases of the eye. She is currently an ophthalmology resident at Duke Univeristy and continues to work on proteotype-phenotype relationships in genetic eye disease.

Benjamin received his B.A. from the University of Cambridge in 2016. He is in medical school at Christ Church, University of Oxford and plans to graduate in 2019. He received a competitive grant from the Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School to help fund a medical elective in Dr. Mahajan's lab where he researches the proteomics of wet age-related macular degeneration.

Caitlin is a first-year undergraduate student planning on studying bioengineering or biomedical computation. She is currently interested in drug design, personalized medicine, and molecular diagnostics. On campus, she is involved in Stanford Students in Biodesign (SSB) and is a member of Stanford’s Biological Interdisciplinary Open Maker Environment (BIOME).

Richard is a first-generation sophomore undergraduate student interested in the biological sciences and clinical medicine. He aspires to become a physician and hopes to ameliorate disparities in health care, especially in underdeveloped countries. Outside of academics, he is a co-chair of Stanford’s Vietnamese Student Association (SVSA).

Aarushi joined the lab in 2020 as a Clinical Research Coordinator. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Houston in 2019. She worked as a nursing assistant and medical scribe and has research experience in NMR, gene screening, and cardiovascular diseases. Her research interests include gene therapy, proteomics, and the genetics of eye disease.

Diana has been a scientist and editor in the lab since 2014 with expertise in molecular biology and gene transcription. She earned a Ph.D. in Biology from Columbia University and completed post-doctoral work at Rockefeller University. 

Alex has been a key collaborator with the Mahajan Lab since 2012. He is  a pediatric neurologist at the University of Iowa whose laboratory focuses on the molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and genetic mechanisms in human diseases and in animal models.  Along with a diverse cross-disciplinary team of researchers, he is pursuing a collaborative and innovative approach to use proteomics, fruit flies, zebrafish, and mice to rapidly translate basic science findings into clinical treatments. His investigational group is well poised to leverage novel in vivo techniques into new treatments for epilepsy and other human diseases. 

Dr. Mruthyunjaya has been a collaborator since 2017. He is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University, member of the Vitreoretinal Surgery Service and Directs the Ocular Oncology Service at the Byers Eye Institute. He completed a fellowship in Vitreoretinal Surgery at Duke University and a second fellowship in Ocular Oncology at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England. Dr. Mruthyunjaya cares for patients with conditions related to cancer of the eye. With Dr. Mahajan, they built and direct the department’s surgical tissue biorepository. They are the recipients of a Cancer League grant to identify biomarkers of eye cancer, and they are working to identify much needed therapies for metastatic eye cancer.

Dr. Wakatsuki and Dr. Mahajan have been collaborating since 2017. Dr. Wakatsuki is a Professor of Photon Science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Professor of Structural Biology at Stanford’s School of Medicine. He received his B.S and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from University of Tokyo, and his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1991. After postdoctoral studies on time-resolved x-ray crystallography of enzyme reactions in Oxford (1990 to 1994), he moved to Grenoble, France in 1994 to work at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) where he led the Joint Structural Biology Group. After positions in Japan, Soichi returned to Stanford in 2013. Wakatsuki and Mahajan co-mentor students and postdoctoral fellows working on the integrative and functional structural biology of eye disease proteins.

Mayank is a vitreoretinal surgeon. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and then spent a year at the University of Iowa in 2014 with Dr. Mahajan. Upon certification by the International Council of Ophthalmology, he was awarded a scholarship for fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery by the ICO at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, complex vitreoretinal surgeries, and innovations in ophthalmology. 

Huy joined the lab in 2019 and is a surgical fellow at Stanford. He completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard, Medical School at Columbia University, and his ophthalmology residency at Harvard’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute. His interests lie in exploring novel technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of retinal conditions. Huy is helping to identify biomarkers for eye cancer.

Paul was a member of the  Mahajan Lab as a postdoctoral research fellow and member of the ChEM-H Medicinal Chemistry Knowledge Center in 2018. He completed his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Temple University in 2015 and in 2016 continued his studies at the California Institute of Technology. Paul was awarded an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2017 to pursue small molecule inhibitors of DNA-protein binding. Paul was developing small molecule protease inhibitors for the treatment of Autosomal Dominant Neovascular Inflammatory Vitreoretinal (ADNIV).  His research interests include the development of chemical tools and therapeutics for the study of aberrant cellular signaling in muscular and neurological disease.

Dylan joined the lab in 2019. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from SUNY Geneseo in 2014 and completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Rochester. Dylan’s research interests included complex molecular synthesis and structure guided design of biologically relevant targets. His focuse wan on the development and optimization of inhibitors for targets associated with eye disease. He joined Revolution Medicines as a medcininal chemist.

Jing joined the lab in 2017 as a Life Science Research Professional. She earned her MS in Bioinformatics at Northeastern University and her BS in Biochemistry at the University of Iowa. Jing’s research focuses on structural biology and bioinformatics. 

Nate was a  lab member from 2014 to 2016 and he continues to collaborate to this day. Nate is a Vitreoretinal Surgeon and Scientific Director of the Vision Research Center at Eye Associates of New Mexico and is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of New Mexico. Nate received his undergraduate degree in Animal Science from New Mexico State University, followed by an M.D., Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico. His doctoral studies focused on gene regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor. He completed a residency in ophthalmology and postdoctoral fellowship at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. His postdoctoral studies focused on gene therapies and visual cycle biochemistry.  Nate  completed a Vitreoretinal Fellowship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He remains interested in translational proteomics. 

Anu was a member of the Mahajan Lab from 2014-2017. She completed an undergraduate honor's thesis in the lab researching targets of CAPN5. She earned her B.S. in Human Physiology and Biology from the University of Iowa in May 2018 and has been accepted to the University of Iowa Medical School for the Fall of 2020.

David was a lab member from 2014 to 2016 and continues to be a collaborator. He is a vitreoretinal surgeon.  He completed his B.S. at the University of Toronto, his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Drug Research at the University of Szeged , his M.B.A. in healthcare management at George Washington University, his M.D. at Queen’s University, and his vitreoretinal diseases and surgery fellowship at the University of Iowa. His research interests include proliferative vitreoretinopathy, infectious endophthalmitis and complex surgical techniques. He is cofounder of Citrus Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical design firm specializing in multi-pharmacophore research and development. 

Nicole was a member of the Mahajan Lab in 2017. In 2018 while working with Dr. Alexander Bassuk, she received a grant from the Iowa Neuroscience Institute to explore inflammation in the retina post traumatic brain injury.  She graduated in May 2019 from the University of Iowa with honors and highest distinction in ancient civilizations. She received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Italy during the 2019-2020 school year and plans to attend medical school in the  fall of 2020.

Peter joined Dr. Mahajan’s lab as a clinical fellow in 2017. He earned a B.A. in Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA and completed both his M.D. and Ph.D. as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. His graduate thesis explored the role of vitamin A metabolism in various inherited retinal dystrophies. Peter completed a transitional year internship at the Hennepin County Medical Center followed by ophthalmology residency training at the University of Minnesota, MN. He was at Stanford University 2017-2019 as a clinical fellow in Vitreoretinal Surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology. His research interests include inherited retinal dystrophies and molecular biology of vitreoretinal disease. He now practices in Minnesota.