Meet some of UCSF's Women in Basic Science
Support Women in Basic Science
This website has been made possible by a generous donation to support women in the Basic Sciences.
To make a gift to women in discovery science at UCSF, please contact:
Jessica Jencek | 415.476.3215 | [email protected]
Tamara Alliston, PhD
Our research focuses on the molecular pathways controlling mesenchymal stem cell differentiation, how these pathways coordinate with physical cues to influence normal skeletal tissue, and how they can be harnessed to repair tissue damaged in degenerative skeletal disease.
Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff, PhD
The Barcellos-Hoff laboratory studies breast cancer, mammary radiation carcinogenesis, and mechanisms to augment radiotherapy by 1) determining critical interactions of mammary carcinogenesis 2) identifying targetable TGFβ biology in tumors and the tumor microenvironment.
Xin Chen, PhD
Our lab studies molecular genetics and signaling pathways during liver cancer growth using both in vitro and in vivo approaches with the goal to develop new therapies to treat this deadly disease.
Susan Fisher, PhD
Dr. Fisher developed approaches for studying the human placenta that have advanced our understanding of how this transient organ functions during normal pregnancy and discovered a key step in implantation and new methods for deriving human embryonic stem cells.
Danica Fujimori, PhD
The Fujimori lab investigates fundamental biological mechanisms to understand how misregulation leads to disease. Our focus is on modifications of cellular components by small molecule chemical tags, and the roles of these modifications in biological regulation.
Jennifer Fung, PhD
We quantitatively analyze what prevents gametes (sperm and egg in mammals, spores in yeast, pollen in plants) from missegregating their chromosomes during meiosis to result in aneuploidy, a leading cause of infertility.
Kathleen Giacomini, PhD
The Giacomini lab looks at the biological and pharmacological roles of influx transporters in the solute carrier superfamily (SLC). We focus on functional genomic studies of membrane transporters and discovering genetic polymorphisms that underlie differences in drug response.
Jill Hollenbach, PhD, MPH
Dr. Hollenbach’s research analyzes human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) immunogenetic systems. She looks at the population genetics, evolution, and influence on health of these genes, as well as software development designed for these data.
Natalia Jura, PhD
We study cellular communication by investigating structure and function of cellular surface receptor kinases and their cytosolic partners. Our goal is to unveil fundamental principles of signal transduction and advance therapies of diseases driven by abnormal protein phosphorylation.
Tanja Kortemme, PhD
Our research aims to invent computational design approaches to engineer biological molecules with new structures and functions, and to interrogate biological systems to reveal mechanisms that bridge the atomistic, molecular, and network scales.
Diana Laird, PhD
I am interested in stem cells, reproduction, and evolution. We focus on 3 questions: are developing germ cells equally likely to produce functional eggs or sperm; how does environment affect germ cell development; and what is the role of germ cells in ovarian and systemic aging?
Geeta Narlikar, PhD
Dr. Narlikar studies how genome folding and compartmentalization is regulated to generate the cell types that make up our body. Her lab has pioneered application of sophisticated biophysical approaches to study mechanisms of macromolecules regulating genome organization.
Melanie Ott, MD, PhD
The Ott Lab studies how viruses interact with host cells. Through these interactions, we hope to gain molecular insight into cellular processes, the viral life cycle and new drug targets. We focus on HIV latency, Zika neuropathogenesis, and human 3D organoids as model systems.
Katie Pollard, PhD
The Pollard lab develops bioinformatics methods for comparative analysis of massive biological datasets, focusing on genomics and other transformative technologies. This enables statistically rigorous quantitative comparisons across species, developmental stages, and conditions.
Kira Poskanzer, PhD
The Poskanzer lab investigates how neurons and astrocytes function together in the brain, using cellular- and circuit-level multiphoton imaging. Our major questions explore how astrocytes coordinate neuronal activity and how neuronal signals differentially activate astrocytes.
Licia Selleri, MD PhD
We use organismal models, including chick, mouse, pig, and human embryos, to understand the cellular, genetic, and regulatory mechanisms underlying morphogenesis of the embryonic face and its features in evolution and human congenital disease.
Marina Sirota, PhD
The Sirota Lab develops integrative computational methods and applies these approaches to disease diagnostics and therapeutics. We are interested in leveraging and integrating different types of omics and clinical data to understand the immune system’s role in disease.
Thea Tlsty, PhD
Dr. Tlsty is a molecular pathologist studying genetic, epigenetic, and functional changes in the microenvironment in the earliest steps of cancer. This provides novel insights for early detection, disease stratification and new approaches for prevention and treatment of cancer.
Susan Voglmaier, MD, PhD
We use and develop optical tools to image the dynamics of synaptic vesicle components. My lab has developed optical reporters of calcium dynamics and synaptic vesicle recycling based on vesicular transporters involved both in synaptic vesicle filling and trafficking.
Rong Wang, PhD
My lab studies angiogenesis, focusing on molecular and hemodynamic mechanisms of arteriovenous programming during development and aging. We use preclinical mouse models and live imaging approaches to identify drug targets and develop therapeutic strategies for unmet vascular diseases.
Lauren Weiss, PhD
We study the genetics of autism and related disorders, with a particular interest in complex mechanisms like gene-gene, gene-environment, and gene-sex interaction. We use approaches from computational analysis to human induced pluripotent stem cells.
