Research and Publications

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
 (Los Angeles, CA)
2016-current

Placenta cell biology, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and maternal-fetal communication.

Job titles

Data generated and analyzed

First versus third trimester placenta

Sex differences in the placental transcriptome

Infertility's effect on placental transcriptomics, epigenetics, and metabolomics

Biomarker discovery and prenatal health assessments

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Primary cell culture

Shown here: mostly fibroblasts, some epithelial cells

Nuclei isolation (20x)

Single nuclei from term placenta

RNA-seq preparation

Preparing RNA samples in their final scrambled plate positions over dry ice

 


University of California, Berkeley
(Berkeley, CA)
2010-2015

RNA biochemistry, alternative splicing regulation, protein expression control, quantification of gene products, de novo gene and plasmid design, and plant biotechnology development.

The splicing model of hybrid plant 5S rRNA mimic (HyP5SM)

Splice products that retain HyP5SM are targeted for degradation through nonsense mediated decay. Splice products without HyP5SM produce a protein with no trace of the splicing cassette (no sequence changes at all).  HyP5SM inclusion is promoted by endogenous splice factors and exclusion is promoted by OsL5 binding. The cassette is a hybrid sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana (dicot) P5SM and rice (monocot) P5SM sequences.

PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology (graduated 12/2015)

Research topics and skills:

Publications:

Annotation of eGFP-HyP5SM

The hybrid P5SM splicing cassette (with introns from A. thaliana and an exon from rice) is inserted into a green fluorescent protein gene.

Western blots and Ponceau S stain

I designed a dual control system for protein AvrBs2-HA. By regulating it with both a Dex-inducible promoter and the HyP5SM splicing cassette (spliced out when OsL5 binds), I reduced leaky protein expression. Notice lanes 1 and 2 have no AvrBs2 signal.

The Ponceau S stains all protein on the membrane and highlights RuBisCo, the most abundant protein in plant leaves which I use as a loading control.

Alignment and sequence analysis of different plant ribosomal L5 proteins

Here, I was looking for more and less conserved regions in ribosomal protein L5. I was planning mutagenesis experiments. (Software: BioEdit)

 


University of California, Davis
(Davis, CA)
2005-2010

Coursework in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, genetics, microbiology, bioinformatics and mathematical modeling, and plant biology.

B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (6/2010)

Undergraduate research projects:

Gel electrophoresis

SDS-PAGE gel of proteins from a transgenic plant and the wild type control. The next step is a Western blot to verify protein expression from the transgene.

Mass spectrometry

IAA1 is an auxin responsive protein. As an undergraduate, I helped search for its binding partners with mass spectrometry. I isolated protein and performed the trypsin digests.