Our community

Our highly individualized education is designed to focus on your scientific interests and career goals.

At the heart of the program is mentorship by outstanding faculty. Unique aspects of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Ph.D. program include:

Highly personalized curriculum with 1:1 tutorials
Career advising and support in research training
Immigration support
Training also offered in:
• Writing and presentation skills
• Leadership development
• Career and professional development

Educating Ph.D. students to become the innovative biomedical scientists of the future.

Current graduate students

Katja Birker, B.S.

Katja’s work focuses on elucidating the molecular, cellular, and morphological processes of candidate congenital heart disease genes in the Drosophila heart.

Ryan Loughran, B.S.

Ryan is working to uncover new and important roles of phosphoinositide lipid kinase signaling in the context of tumor cell metabolism.

Karina Barbosa Guerra, B.S.

Karina’s research focuses on understanding the dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms in hematological malignancies to improve therapeutic interventions.

Current graduate students

Michael Alcaraz, B.S.
Michael’s work will focus in understanding the epigenetic changes that occur in humans as we age and how these changes lead to a higher cancer incidence.
Aleksandr Arzamasov
Alex studies the key bacterial taxa involved in healthy development of the neonatal human gut microbiota using bioinformatic and biochemical approaches.
Karina Barbosa Guerra, B.S.
Karina’s research focuses on understanding the dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms in hematological malignancies to improve therapeutic interventions.
Nicole Bata, B.S.
Nicole’s work focuses on exploring STK3/STK4 kinases as modulators of autophagy in cancer.
Meher Beigi Masihi, M.S.
Meher’s work is focused on understanding underlying molecular mechanisms of pediatric brain tumor development to identify potential therapeutic targets.
Betsaida Bibo Verdugo, M.S.
Betsaida focuses on elucidating cell death mechanisms triggered by cancer treatment interventions. She is interested in potentiating inflammatory cell death mechanisms on cancer cells, such as necroptosis and pyroptosis, as a path to improve therapeutic outcomes.
Yu-Ling (Linda) Chang
Linda’s research focuses on identifying novel barriers to cell reprograming to regenerate cardiomyocytes and investigating the mechanism of barriers in cell fate determination and reprogramming.
Zong Ming Chua, B.S.
Zong Ming's work focuses on understanding the aging process through altering the stability of the epigenome.
Jordan Friedlein, M.S.
Jordan's work will focus on using mouse models and genetic engineering techniques to identify mutations in cancer cells that act as a lifeline to many cancer types.
Joe Fromm, B.S.
Joe’s research looks into the role of Fatty Acid Synthase in cancer metabolism and the mechanism by which the protein recognizes and cleaves the proper substrate.
Shea Grenier, M.S.
Shea's work will contribute to investigating metabolic adaptations that promote the development and progression of Ras-mutant cancers.
Patrick Hagan, B.A.
Patrick is joining the Cosford Lab where he will study how autophagy and ULK1/2 contribute to cancer therapy resistance and develop and test inhibitors to these targets to improve treatment outcomes.
Mallika Iyer, M.S.
Mallika will be using structural bioinformatics to study the evolutionary conservation of protein conformational diversity and its relationship to function.
Rema Iyer
Rema is interested in understanding the role of genetic and epigenetic factors in the progression of cancers and finding meaningful therapies for patients.
James Kent, B.S.
James’ work focuses on determining the structure and function of both bacterial and human proteins using numerous structural biology techniques.
Shaun Lim
Shaun's work explores the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate autophagic flux and their implications on aging using C. elegans as a model.
Tianhui Liu, B.S.
Tianhui is interested in contribution of autophagy in stress-induced cellular senescence.
Ryan Loughran, B.S.
Ryan is working to uncover new and important roles of phosphoinositide lipid kinase signaling in the context of tumor cell metabolism.
Michaela Lynott, B.S.
Michaela’s research focuses on identifying novel cardiac disease-associated pathways and innovative cardiac regenerative strategies using in vitro models and an automated screening platform.
Rachael McVicar, B.S.
Rachael’s research aims to characterize proximal lungs cells by unique cell surface markers in order to increase the efficiency of lung differentiation protocols and enrich the target cell populations.
Tatiana Moreno, B.A.
Tatiana will explore how autophagy is regulated upon hormetic stress and aging in the nematode C. elegans and mammalian/human systems.
Ruslan Nuryyev, M.S.
Ruslan’s research will be focused on examining progenitor cells in a hypothermic environment in an effort to develop a neuroprotective treatment for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Utkarsha Paithane
Utkarsha’s research will be focused on studying genetic mutations that contribute to cancer initiation.
Adarsh Rajesh
Adarsh is interested in using cell biology and bioinformatic techniques to unlock the cellular mechanisms behind aging and age-associated diseases.
Steven Sakuma, B.S.
Stephen's work focuses on elucidating the role of modulating nuclear pore complex composition and assembly at the cellular and organismal level.
Paloma Sanchez Pavon, B.S.
Paloma studies the role that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) plays in a neurological disease called hydrocephalus, trying to counteract its effects and improve the life of the patients.
Cedomir Stamenkovis
Ceda is interested in studying muscle stem cells and is utilizing mouse genetic models to understand how loss of heterogeneity of muscle stem cells is linked to the depletion of muscle mass that occurs in aging.
Benjamin Van Espen, M.S.
Benjamin’s research focuses on signaling pathways that are deregulated in cancer, putting an emphasis on the importance of ubiquitin ligases, which control cellular response to diverse stress stimuli.
Jiaqian (Emily) Wu, M.S.
Emily’s research focuses on developing small drug inhibitor for cancer therapeutics and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Sviatlana Zaretski
Sviatlana is interested in studying the role of autophagy in such age-associated phenomena as cellular senescence, to understand the interplay of the key components of autophagy involved in cellular senescence and describe how autophagy is being re-modelled upon entering senescence to find possible interventions and promote healthy aging.
Zhouting Zhu, M.S.
Zhouting will investigate the RNA methylation pathways and their impact on cancer development as well as identification of small molecule inhibitors of targets involved in cancer.

Alumni

"Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute graduate students are bright and highly driven with a clear focus on their next career step. Upon graduation, most of our students have moved on to become successful biomedical researchers in both fields of industry and academia."

– Malene Hansen, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs

Cameron Pernia, Ph.D.

"A great feature of Sanford Burnham Prebys graduate school is its size, we have more faculty members than students, so I have easy access to mentors. I could not be happier with my decision to pursue my Ph.D. here, and I am confident it will be one of the best choices I will ever make."

Marisa Sanchez, Ph.D.

"I chose to study at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute because it is leading the frontiers of translational biomedical research. I have always had a fascination for research and discovering new ways to improve the lives of people suffering from disease."

Miguel Reina Campos, Ph.D.

"I was drawn to Sanford Burnham Prebys for its clinically oriented goals, state of the art facilities and the great talent that inhabits the institution. It appeared to me as the perfect blend of the will to cure and the genuine curiosity that drives the finest basic research."

Alumni

2021

J. Scotty Cadet
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Mannose Supplement and SGK1 Attenuation Enhance EGFR-Targeted Therapy
Huiyu Ren
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Discovery of Novel Cancer Therapeutics by Targeting the ULK1/2 Autophagy Initiation Complex

2020

Numana Bhat
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Regnase-1 is essential for B cell homeostasis to prevent autoimmunity
Daniel Ojeda Juarez
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Lipocalin-2 mediates neuronal damage and behavioral deficits in HIV-induced brain injury
Pavel Ryzhov
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Structural Studies of Bcl-2 Family Proteins in Lipid Bilayers
Jessica Stupack
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Novel roles for the AD risk factor SORLA in neurite outgrowth and synaptic protection

2019

Clyde Campbell
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: In vivo Lineage Conversion of Vertebrate Muscle into Early Endoderm-Like Cells
Current Position: Adjunct Assistant Professor at Iowa State University
Alex Campos
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: TXNRD1 Mediated Regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin Pathway in Colorectal Cancer
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, David Cheresh lab, UC San Diego
Lisa Elmen
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: From Disease Promotion to Therapeutics - the Multifaceted Roles of Gut Bacteria
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Peterson lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Anjali Gupta
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: CRTC Signaling in the Heart of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Ocorr lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Cameron Pernia
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Hyper-Excitable Neurons Produce Hypo-Functional Neuronal Networks: Evidence from Modeling CRMP2 in Bipolar Disorder
Miguel Reina Campos
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Increase Serine and One-Carbon Pathway Metabolism by PKC Lambda/Iota Deficiency Promotes Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer
Marisa Sanchez
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Coordination of Adaptive and Pro-apoptotic Responses to Oxidative Stress at the mRNA Translation Level

2018

Francesca Boscolo Sesillo
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Role of p53 in balancing self-renewal, myogenic commitment, and cellular transformation of muscle stem cells
Current position: Postdoctoral research fellow, Alperin lab at University of California San Diego
Monica Gonzalez
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: The role of caspases in inflammation
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Newton lab in the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) program at University of California San Diego
Marco Maruggi
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Elucidating the Mechanisms Underlying Resistance to Targeted Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate, Powis lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Wesley McKeithan
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Reengineering an Antiarrhythmic with Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar, Lim lab at University of California San Francisco
Róisín Puentes
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Targeting the CNK1 PH domain to inhibit mutant KRAS cancer growth
Amir Razai
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Biochemical Toolbox: New Strategies for the Characterization and Inhibition of Proteases
Tiara Wong
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Using iPSC-derived mesenchymal stromal cells to study fibrosis in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy

2017

Jinsha Liu
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: T-cadherin and Adiponectin in hippocampal synaptic functions and behaviors
Current Position: Postdoctoral Scientist, Eli Lilly & Company
Gianluigi Lichinchi
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Dynamics of RNA methylation during HIV and ZIKV infections
Current Position: Postdoctoral Scientist at Roche
Khooshbu Shah
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Pathological Interactions of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) Cardiomyocytes with ARVD/C Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
Current Position: Applications Scientist at Bio-Techne
Victoria Thaney
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Neuroprotection by IFN-beta in HIV/gp120 Brain Injury
Current Position: HCA Technical Sales Specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific

2016

Paula Coutinho Toto
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Cell Quiescence, Proliferation and Differentiation by Brahma-based SWI/SNF Chromatin-Remodeling Complex
Current Position: Associate Faculty at Mira Costa College
Alessandra Dall'Agnese
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: MYOD-directed changes in the nuclear architecture during myogenic conversion of somatic cells
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate at the Whitehead Institute
Mirco Guigli
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Investigation of Structured Illumination Confocal Microscopy for High Content Screening
Current Position: Instrumentation Engineer at Vala Sciences
Stephen Soonthornvacharin
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Systems-Level Analysis to Elucidate the Regulation of the RIG-I-Mediated Antiviral Innate Immune Response
Current Position: Research Scientist I at Tocagen
Matthew Tierney
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Regulatory mechanisms controlling muscle stem cell behavior during skeletal muscle repair
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow in Fuchs Lab at Rockefeller University

2015

Giuseppina Claps
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Redefining AFT2 in Braf-driven melanoma
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate at Institut Gustave Roussy
Yi Ding
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Structural and Functional Studies of the Outer Membrane Protein Ail from Yersenia Pestis
Current Position: Data Scientist at Sysco
Sara Gelino
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Investigating the Mechanisms of Autophagy-Mediated Longevity During Dietary Restriction
Current Position: Project Manager at Anza Innovations
Saumya Nagar
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Role of MEF2 in photoreceptor degeneration

2014

Angel Bottini
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Drug Discovery Studies on Influenza A Virus and Yersinia Outer Protein H (YopH)
Current Position: Assistant Project Scientist at University of California San Diego
Ryan Esquejo
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Integration of Lipid Synthesis and Other Biological Processes via Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Biology at Pfizer
Domenico Fasci
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: New Insights into the Regulation of SUMO Dynamics by the Human SUMO-specific Proteases (SENPs)
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
Lorenzo Giordani
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institut de Myologie in Paris, France
Ryon Graf
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: The Regulation of Breast Cancer Metastasis by Caspase-8
Current Position: Senior Biomarker Scientist at Epic Sciences
Janna Hachmann
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Activity and Specificity of the Human Paracaspase MALT1
Current Position: Manager Validation Fund, Berlin Institute of Health
Philip McQuary
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Understanding the longevity of rsks-1/S6K C. elegant mutants
Current Position: Director of Product Development, OncoCyte Corporation
Goonho Park
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Investigation of Aberrant Epigenetic Mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Edward Koo at UCSD
Judith Scheliga
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Role of elf3e in mRNA Translation
Current Position: Technical Applications Scientist at Illumina
Danhua Zhang
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: The Specification of Ductal Lineages in Liver and Pancreas
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Farham Imam at UCSD

2013

Wenqing Cai
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Stage-Specific Cell Fate Commitment During Cardiac Differentiation in mESCs
Current Position: Research Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital
Xin Wang
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Loss of Sorting nexin 27 Continues to Excitatory Synaptic Dysfunction Via Modulation of Glutamate Receptor Recycling in Down Syndrome
Current Position: Principal Investigator, School of Medicine at Xiamen University

2012

Corrine Lee
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Spinal Disinhibition in a Rodent Model of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Mark Tuszynski's Lab at UCSD
Runquan Zhang
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Novel Synthetic Ligands of CCR5 and CXCR4: Biochemical Characterization and Preclinical Studies
Current Position: Scientist at QoolAbs

2011

Cheng-Ho Chung
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences
Thesis Title: Adult Beta Cell Regeneration
Current Position: Physician, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Johanna Samuelsson
Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences 
Thesis Title: DNA Demethylation of SST1 Pericentromeric Repetitive Elements in Human Cancer
Current Position: Gene Regulation and Product Services Manager at Active Motif
Ying Zhang
Ph.D. in Biomedical Biosciences 
Thesis Title: Integrating Computational Structure-Function Analyses for the Genome-Scale Modeling of Metabolic Networks
Current Position: Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island

2009

Lorena Puto
Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine 
Thesis Title: Epigenetic Control of Apoptosis and Autophagy Gene Expression and Promotion of Tumorigenicity by Nuclear Body Protein, Daxx
Current Position: Faculty Member, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
Annelies Zinkernagel
Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine 
Thesis Title: Exploring Bacterial Pathogen Interactions with Host Phagocytes to Identify Novel Approaches to Infectious Disease Therapy
Current Position: Attending and Physician Scientist at University Hospital Zürich, Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology