Team

Yvonne Chen

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Stanford University

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Yvonne earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Caltech. She received postdoctoral training at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and at the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. Yvonne was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows prior to joining UCLA in 2013. Dr. Chen has been a recipient of the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, the ACGT Young Investigator Award in Cell and Gene Therapy for Cancer, the NSF CAREER Award, the Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award, and the Cancer Research Institute’s Lloyd J. Old STAR Award. Yvonne is also the co-director of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, and a Member Researcher in the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Mobina Khericha

B.Sc., Biotechnology, Bangalore University, India

M.Sc., Molecular Genetics, University of Leicester, UK

Ph.D., Molecular Genetics, University of Leicester, UK

Mobina K. is an Assistant Project Scientist and the Chen Lab Manager. She comes from labs at University College London and Texas A&M; where her work focused on aging using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. In her free time, Mobina K. enjoys traveling, cooking, trying new restaurants and spending time with her daughter.

Griselda Metta Yvone

B.S., Biological Sciences, Cornell University

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular Integrative Physiology, UCLA

Griselda Metta Yvone is an assistant project scientist in the Chen lab. She completed her PhD at UCLA in 2018 where she studied spinal cord development and did her postdoctoral work at Cedars-Sinai studying brain cancer and neural stem cells. Her project aims to develop immunotherapy approaches for neurodegenerative diseases. In her free time, she enjoys painting, exploring the city, and trying new food. 

Ryan Shih

B.S., Bioengineering, UC Berkeley

B.S., Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS), UC Berkeley

Ph.D., Molecular Biology, UCLA

M.D. Candidate

Ryan is a UCLA-Caltech MSTP student and earned his PhD in Molecular Biology. At UC Berkeley, he worked on design of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) in Dr. Kristofer Pister’s lab in the hopes of building small medical microrobots. He also worked on various microfluidic cell-sorting applications in Dr. Luke Lee’s lab as well as PET image-processing under Dr. Mekhail Anwar (at UCSF). He has since shifted focus with interest in leveraging current technologies in cell engineering and synthetic biology to develop next-generation cancer immunotherapies. 

Kenny Vo

B.S., Biological Sciences, UC Irvine

M.D., Eastern Virginia Medical School

Pediatrics Residency, UC Davis

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellow, UCLA

Kenny earned his M.D. at the Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed his residency training in Pediatrics at UC Davis in Sacramento. He is currently a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellow at UCLA interested in developing cellular therapies to target pediatric sarcomas. In his free time, you can find Kenny tring to find the next new place to grab some food.

Rashmi Kadam

B.E., Biotechnology, University of Mumbai

M.S., Biotechnology, New York University

Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois Chicago

Rashmi is a postdoctoral researcher in the Chen Lab, where she is developing a fusion protein as an immunotherapy to treat solid tumors. She completed her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology, where her research uncovered a signaling pathway that regulates MHC class II expression and antigen presentation in dendritic cells. Before pursuing her doctoral studies, she spent two years working in the pharmaceutical industry in Pennsylvania, gaining valuable experience in immunology. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities such as tennis and hiking, as well as exploring new places and restaurants. 

Peter John

B.S., Biochemistry, Stony Brook University

B.A., Philosophy, Stony Brook University

M.D., Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Internal Medicine Residency, University of Maryland

Hematology/Oncology Fellow, UCLA

Peter is a clinical fellow of the UCLA Division of Hematology and Oncology. He earned his Bachelor's degree at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, in Biochemistry and Philosophy. Afterward, he worked at the NIH as part of the Intramural Post-Baccalaureate program. Subsequently, pursued dual MD and PhD training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, with his thesis work focusing on immune checkpoint pathways and T cell polarization in the tumor microenvironment. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Maryland prior to starting his Oncology fellowship training. Peter's research interests lie in translational therapeutics, cancer immunology, and the tumor microenvironment. Outside of work, Peter enjoys hiking the local trails, weight lifting, and is an avid science fiction fan.

Tomasz Zamyslowski

B.S., Biotechnology, Warsaw University of Technology 

M.S., Biotechnology, Warsaw University of Technology  

Ph.D. Student, Biochemistry, Molecular, and Structural Biology (BMSB), UCLA 

Tomek is a PhD student in the Chemistry & Biochemistry department. He completed his Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s of Science degrees at the Warsaw University of Technology. After graduation he spent 2 years in Anthony Kossiakoff’s lab at the University of Chicago working on antibody engineering. Currently he focuses on developing bispecific T-cell engagers for cancer immunotherapy. In his free time, Tomek enjoys kickboxing, cooking and spending time outside. 

Jimmy Chang

B.S., Biophysics, University of Washington

M.S., Biomedical Engineering, New York University

Jimmy is a Staff Research associate in the Chen Laboratory. His two previous research experiences include observing Tungsten ditelluride topological superconductivity patterns and studying CAR-T cell activation patterns via mechanobiology. Outside of the lab, Jimmy enjoys producing music, cooking, and playing video games.

Caitlin Harris

B.S., Biological Sciences, CSU Fullerton

B.A., Psychology, CSU Fullerton

M.S., Immunology, CSU Fullerton

Caitlin is a Staff Research Associate in the Chen Laboratory. Her previous research focused on characterizing the reactive oxygen species response in Drosophila macrophages. Outside of the lab, Caitlin likes to take care of her house plants, go to the beach, and try new recipes.

Anushka Ahmed

B.S., Bioengineering, UCLA

M.S., Bioengineering, UCLA

Anushka is a Staff Research Associate II. Prior to joining the Chen Lab, she worked throughout the biotech industry in the Los Angeles area. She has previously worked at Amgen, Atara, and GenVivo gaining experience in process and assay development for a variety of biologics including CAR-T cells and viral vectors. Outside of the lab, she enjoys cooking, pottery, and fostering animals.  

Ken Woo

Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology