People

Chih-Ying Su

Principal Investigator

Email: c8su@ucsd.edu

Chih-Ying Su is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego. She received her B.A. in Zoology from National Taiwan University and Ph.D in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She conducted her postdoctoral research with Dr. John Carlson at Yale University.

Renny Ng

PhD Graduate Student

Email: r8ng@ucsd.edu

Renny Ng received a B.A. in Sociology and a B.S. in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego in 2016, and has since been a member of the Su lab as a research assistant. He joined the Biology Graduate Program in 2023. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and marksmanship.

Margarita Bellah

Lab Manager

Email: mvbellah@ucsd.edu

Margarita Bellah is the lab manager at the Su Lab. She is responsible for running the lab safely and efficiently. She has past experience working in marine and environmental microbiology. She is very excited to join the team and eager to learn more about the fly world!

Andrew Shepherd

Research Associate

Email: akshepherd@mail.ucsd.edu

Andrew Shepherd is a research associate in the Su lab, focusing on fruit fly behavior and gene expression experiments. In his free time, he enjoys jogging and reading fiction.

Kalyani Cauwenberghs

Lab Assistant

Email: kcauwenb@ucsd.edu

Kalyani Cauwenberghs is a lab assistant in the Su lab. She graduated with her M.S. in Electrical Engineering (Machine Learning and Data Science) from UC San Diego in 2023. She enjoys drawing, painting, baking, and riding her bike.

Pawel Vijayakumar

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Email: pbvijaya@ucsd.edu

Pawel joined the Su Lab in 2022. He is pursuing his B.S./M.S. in Neurobiology at UCSD. He enjoys lifting weights, playing the guitar and spending time outdoors .

Erica Hu

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Email: erhu@ucsd.edu

Erica joined the Su Lab in 2024. She is pursuing a B.S. in Human Biology from UC San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, writing, and reading.

Muskaan Garg

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Email: mugarg@ucsd.edu

Muskaan joined the Su Lab in 2025. She is pursuing a B.S. in Human Biology from UC San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, baking, and playing volleyball.

Jessica Xiong

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Email: j4xiong@ucsd.edu

Jessica joined the Su Lab in 2025. She is pursuing a B.S. in Neurobiology at UCSD. She enjoys writing, singing, and drawing in her free time.

Awards to lab members

Renny Ng: 2024-26 UC San Diego PiBS Training Program; 2024-26 ARCS Foundation Fellowship Award
Jonathan Choy: 2023 Eureka! Research Scholarship, UCSD Summer Research Program
Shiuan-Tze Wu: 2022 Neural Circuits T32 Training Program; 2020 Kavli-Helinski Endowed Fellowship, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD; 2019 AChemS Student Travel and Housing Award
Allie Williams: 2022 Summer CAMP program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and part of the California Alliance for Minority Participation (CAMP)

Ye Zhang: 2018 Goeddel Endowed Award, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD
Cesar Nava Gonzales: 2019 TRELS Scholarship, UCSD; 2018 Eureka! Research Scholarship, UCSD Summer Research Program

Tin Ki Tsang: 2017 Frontiers of Innovation Scholars Program; 2016 Goeddel Endowed Award, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD; 2015 Croucher Foundation Scholarship, Hong Kong

Wilmer A Del-cid: 2014 UC San Diego Genetics Training Program
Lisa Mai: 2014 Eureka! Research Scholarship, UCSD Summer Research Program

Alumni

Yiyi Xiao, Lab Assistant (2024-25)/Undergraduate Student (2021-24)
Jonathan Choy, Lab Assistant (2024-25)/Undergraduate Student (2021-24)
Shadi Charara, Lab Assistant (2024-25)/Undergraduate Student (2022-24)
Jasmine Cheng, Undergraduate Student (2023-24)
Runqi Zhang, Lab Assistant (2023-24)/Undergraduate Student (2021-23)
Jamie Ho, Undergraduate Student and BSMS Student (2022-24)
Shiuan-Tze Wu, Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-23)/Graduate Student (2017-22)
Allie Williams, Undergraduate Student (2022-23)
Vanessa Martin, Lab Assistant (2020-2022)/BSMS Student (2018-20)
Quintyn McKaughan, Lab Assistant (2020-22)
Ye Zhang, Graduate Student (2016-20)
Xiongxiong Zhang, Lab Mascot (2016-20)
Neghin Jafarzadeh, Lab Manager (2013-20)
Cesar Nava Gonzales, Lab Assistant (2019-20)/Undergraduate Student (2017-19)
Zixian Huang, Undergraduate Student (2020)
Angela Tsang, Graduate Student (2014-18)
Jen-Yung Chen, Postdoctoral Fellow (2016-18)
Secilia Salem, Undergraduate Student (2015-18)
Vivian Nguyen, Undergraduate Student (2017-18)
Edie Zhang, Undergraduate Student (2017-18)
Martin Orden, Undergraduate Student (2017-18)
Titus Tsai, High School Summer Intern (2018)
Tiffany Tsai, High School Summer Intern (2017, 2018)
Szu Ying Chen, Undergraduate Student (2017)
Wilmer Del-cid, Graduate Student (2014-17)
Boqian Wang, Undergraduate Summer Intern (2014)
Lisa Mai, Undergraduate Student (2013-14)
Tricia Ngo, Lab Assistant (2013-14)

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