PRISM Mentors

The research in our laboratory is focused on understanding and controlling surface and interfacial chemistry and applying this knowledge to a range of problems in semiconductor processing, micro- and nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, and sustainable and renewable energy. Much of our research aims to develop a molecular-level understanding in these technologically important systems. Our group uses a variety of atomic and molecular spectroscopies combined with atomically-precise materials synthesis. Systems currently under study in our group include organic functionalization of semiconductor surfaces, mechanisms and control of atomic layer deposition, molecular layer deposition, area selective deposition processes, nanoscale materials for light absorption, interface engineering in photovoltaics and batteries, and catalyst and electrocatalyst synthesis and characterization.

Our goal is to understand how social factors such as interpersonal trauma and cultural biases impact brain function and mental health outcomes. With this knowledge, we develop evidence-based interventions to elevate work productivity, team performance, and well-being. We are passionate about embracing authenticity and vulnerability, and leveraging adverse experiences towards self-growth and achieving one’s full potential.

Dr. Luby’s research group is engaged in several efforts to generate knowledge that will alter the way that bricks are manufactured across South Asia so that they generate less air pollution, less climate change and tens of thousands fewer deaths per year. This involves: 1) evaluating interventions to improve combustion efficiency within brick kilns and so simultaneously reduce coal costs for producers while generating less pollution 2) using remote sensing to specify the location of brick kilns and ultimately evaluate their emissions.

Another strand of his work looks at the release of lead into the environment in low and middle income countries, seeks to identify the sources of lead that is generating the greatest public health burden and develops and evaluates interventions to reduce this burden.

His research group also explores practical interventions to reduce infectious disease transmission in low and middle income countries. These activities include efforts to maximize the uptake of masks, water treatment and vaccines with careful evaluation of the impact of these interventions. His research group explores strategies to reduce the risk of pathogen transmission in healthcare facilities in lower income countries.

We are looking for postdoctoral researchers interested in understanding the impact of rare variants on human diseases. Projects in the lab are either computational and experimental (or both!). We are particularly interested in establishing new research directions for using genomics data to interpret undiagnosed rare diseases. We are also interested in helping to improve the use of genetic data in diverse populations. Great opportunities for networking also as many of the projects in our lab are often part of major genomics research consortium like the UDN, Mendelian Genomics Research Centres, MoTrPAC, GTEx, TOPMED, ENCODE and more!

Please check out our website and our recent list of papers on Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=117h3CAAAAAJ&hl=en

We are looking for postdoctoral researchers interested in understanding the impact of rare variants on human diseases. Projects in the lab are either computational and experimental (or both!). We are particularly interested in establishing new research directions for using genomics data to interpret undiagnosed rare diseases. We are also interested in helping to improve the use of genetic data in diverse populations. Great opportunities for networking also as many of the projects in our lab are often part of major genomics research consortium like the UDN, Mendelian Genomics Research Centres, MoTrPAC, GTEx, TOPMED, ENCODE and more!

Please check out our website and our recent list of papers on Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=117h3CAAAAAJ&hl=en

Steve is interested in the physics of the most massive objects in the Universe and how we can use them to probe how the Universe evolved. Steve and his group are currently focused on understanding the astrophysics of galaxies and of galaxy clusters using multi-wavelength observations, and on using large, statistical samples of these objects to probe the natures of dark matter, dark energy and fundamental physics. More information regarding ongoing research and a list of Steve's current group members can be found here.

Susan is broadly interested in astrophysical magnetism and the physics of the interstellar medium (ISM), from diffuse gas to dense, star-forming regions. Susan’s research tackles open questions like the structure of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, the nature of interstellar turbulence and the multi-phase ISM, and the role of magnetism in star formation. These big questions demand multiwavelength observations and new data analysis techniques. Susan and her group decipher the magnetic ISM using a combination of theory and observation. Data-wise, the group uses a wide range of tracers including gas line emission and absorption, polarized dust and synchrotron emission, starlight polarization, Zeeman splitting, and Faraday rotation. Susan is involved in a number of current and future telescope projects, and leads several efforts focused on Galactic science with sensitive measurements of millimeter-wavelength emission made by cosmic microwave background experiments like the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Simons Observatory (SO).

Tom's current research focuses on studying the formation and evolution of galaxies with new numerical techniques, however, he enjoys all areas of non-linear physics which can be addressed using supercomputer calculations! His research interests span dark matter dynamics, the physics of collisionless shocks, investigating the role that cosmic rays and magnetic fields play in the formation and evolution of galaxies, modeling the formation of stars and black holes as well as turbulence, and applications of numerical general relativity.

Steve is interested in the physics of the most massive objects in the Universe and how we can use them to probe how the Universe evolved. Steve and his group are currently focused on understanding the astrophysics of galaxies and of galaxy clusters using multi-wavelength observations, and on using large, statistical samples of these objects to probe the natures of dark matter, dark energy and fundamental physics. More information regarding ongoing research and a list of Steve's current group members can be found here.

Susan is broadly interested in astrophysical magnetism and the physics of the interstellar medium (ISM), from diffuse gas to dense, star-forming regions. Susan’s research tackles open questions like the structure of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, the nature of interstellar turbulence and the multi-phase ISM, and the role of magnetism in star formation. These big questions demand multiwavelength observations and new data analysis techniques. Susan and her group decipher the magnetic ISM using a combination of theory and observation. Data-wise, the group uses a wide range of tracers including gas line emission and absorption, polarized dust and synchrotron emission, starlight polarization, Zeeman splitting, and Faraday rotation. Susan is involved in a number of current and future telescope projects, and leads several efforts focused on Galactic science with sensitive measurements of millimeter-wavelength emission made by cosmic microwave background experiments like the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the Simons Observatory (SO).

The mission of the Corsello lab is to develop new therapeutic strategies for cancer, with an emphasis on unmet needs in solid tumor oncology. We operate at the intersection of chemical biology and functional genomics to discover novel anti-cancer mechanisms of small molecules. Our findings have resulted in multiple drug development projects.

The mission of the Corsello lab is to develop new therapeutic strategies for cancer, with an emphasis on unmet needs in solid tumor oncology. We operate at the intersection of chemical biology and functional genomics to discover novel anti-cancer mechanisms of small molecules. Our findings have resulted in multiple drug development projects.

The mission of the Corsello lab is to develop new therapeutic strategies for cancer, with an emphasis on unmet needs in solid tumor oncology. We operate at the intersection of chemical biology and functional genomics to discover novel anti-cancer mechanisms of small molecules. Our findings have resulted in multiple drug development projects.

-education of Youth of Color, particularly focusing on processes of pushout, criminalization, and resistance, and racial and/or disability justice;

-experience with qualitative research in the humanistic social science tradition;

-commitment to the academic mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students as well as students from other groups underrepresented in education research;

-interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work welcome including Black Studies, Ethnic Studies, Disability Studies, Women and Gender Studies, law, criminology, sociology, and Queer Studies.

Our research focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying retinal development and diseases. We employ genetic and genomic tools to explore how various retinal cell types, including neurons, glia, and the vasculature, respond to developmental cues and disease insults at the epigenomic and transcriptional levels. In addition, we investigate their interactions and collective contributions to maintain retinal integrity.

Current Research and Scholarly Interests
My laboratory's overall goal is to (i) understand the mechanisms of right heart failure in children and adults with congenital heart disease and (ii) to develop biomarkers as a plasma signature of myocardial events to better understand the mechanisms of heart failure, improve monitoring of disease progression, early detection of heart failure and risk-stratification.

We have focused on tetralogy of Fallot population and single ventricle heart disease. As the survival continues to improve, so also has the incidence of heart failure. However, the underlying cellular mechanisms of heart failure are poorly understood as a result of which no targeted therapy is available. Since it is not possible to obtain heart muscle biopsies routinely on patients, we have taken a novel strategy of using Multi-Omics to better understand disease mechanisms and to follow patients over time comparing their Omics signature to themselves thereby personalizing their care. The goal is to create a targeted biomarker panel for clinical utility to be used in conjunction with imaging data to improve overall prediction of risk. Based on our work to date, we are also interested in understanding myocardial mitochondrial and vascular dysfunction as these have the potential to serve as novel therapeutic targets.

Dr. Carmichael is a perinatal and nutritional epidemiologist and Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on finding ways to improve maternal and infant health. Exposure themes include nutrition, social context, care, environmental contaminants and genetics. Outcome themes include severe maternal morbidity, stillbirth, birth defects, and preterm delivery. She is particularly interested in understanding the intersectionality of these varied types of exposures and outcomes and how they interact to impact health and health disparities, for the mother-baby dyad, in domestic as well as global health settings. She currently (mid 2020) has an opening in her lab for a post-doc focused on maternal health.

My laboratory's overall goal is to (i) understand the mechanisms of right heart failure in children and adults with congenital heart disease and (ii) to develop biomarkers as a plasma signature of myocardial events to better understand the mechanisms of heart failure, improve monitoring of disease progression, early detection of heart failure and risk-stratification.

We have focused on tetralogy of Fallot population and single ventricle heart disease. As the survival continues to improve, so also has the incidence of heart failure. However, the underlying cellular mechanisms of heart failure are poorly understood as a result of which no targeted therapy is available. Since it is not possible to obtain heart muscle biopsies routinely on patients, we have taken a novel strategy of using Multi-Omics to better understand disease mechanisms and to follow patients over time comparing their Omics signature to themselves thereby personalizing their care. The goal is to create a targeted biomarker panel for clinical utility to be used in conjunction with imaging data to improve overall prediction of risk. Based on our work to date, we are also interested in understanding myocardial mitochondrial and vascular dysfunction as these have the potential to serve as novel therapeutic targets.

Lab website is in creation. Link will be updated when it is ready.

My laboratory's overall goal is to (i) understand the mechanisms of right heart failure in children and adults with congenital heart disease and (ii) to develop biomarkers as a plasma signature of myocardial events to better understand the mechanisms of heart failure, improve monitoring of disease progression, early detection of heart failure and risk-stratification.

We have focused on tetralogy of Fallot population and single ventricle heart disease. As the survival continues to improve, so also has the incidence of heart failure. However, the underlying cellular mechanisms of heart failure are poorly understood as a result of which no targeted therapy is available. Since it is not possible to obtain heart muscle biopsies routinely on patients, we have taken a novel strategy of using Multi-Omics to better understand disease mechanisms and to follow patients over time comparing their Omics signature to themselves thereby personalizing their care. The goal is to create a targeted biomarker panel for clinical utility to be used in conjunction with imaging data to improve overall prediction of risk. Based on our work to date, we are also interested in understanding myocardial mitochondrial and vascular dysfunction as these have the potential to serve as novel therapeutic targets.

Lab website is in creation. Link will be updated when it is ready.

Dr. Carmichael is a perinatal and nutritional epidemiologist and Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on finding ways to improve maternal and infant health. Exposure themes include nutrition, social context, care, environmental contaminants and genetics. Outcome themes include severe maternal morbidity, stillbirth, birth defects, and preterm delivery. She is particularly interested in understanding the intersectionality of these varied types of exposures and outcomes and how they interact to impact health and health disparities, for the mother-baby dyad, in domestic as well as global health settings. She currently (mid 2020) has an opening in her lab for a post-doc focused on maternal health.

Our team is committed to finding ways to improve maternal and infant health outcomes and equity by leading research that identifies effective leverage points for change, from upstream 'macro' social and structural factors, to downstream 'micro' clinical factors through a collaborative research approach that integrates epidemiologic approaches with community engagement and systems thinking.

Disparities are prominent in maternal and infant health, so a lot of our work is centered on equity.  Focusing on highest-risk groups will improve health for everyone.

Much of our current research focuses on severe maternal morbidity (SMM). SMM encompasses adverse conditions that put pregnant people at risk of short and long-term consequences related to labor and delivery, including death.

We also study other important perinatal outcomes, including stillbirth, preterm birth, structural congenital malformations and other maternal morbidities.  We are interested in these outcomes individually, as well as in how they are connected to each other -- from a mechanistic standpoint (ie, do they share the same causes), and a lifecourse perspective (eg, how does an adverse newborn outcome affect the mom's postpartum health, and vice versa).

Dr. Carmichael's training is in perinatal and nutritional epidemiology.  She deeply appreciates her multi-disciplinary colleagues who make this work more meaningful by bringing their own varied perspectives and lived experiences, and their expertise in clinical care, qualitative and mixed methods, community engagement, and state-of-the-art epidemiologic approaches and biostatistical methods.

We study the roles of microRNAs in cortical projection neuron development, with an emphasis on corticospinal motor neurons. We have identified a group of mircoRNAs specifically enriched in corticospinal motor neurons during their development and are investigating their functions in cortical progenitors in vitro and in vivo, as well as in ES cells.

Our lab seeks to understand the molecular basis of inherited Parkinson's Disease.  Activating mutations in the LRRK2 kinase cause Parkinson's , and the major substrates of LRRK2 kinase are a subset of proteins called Rab GTPases.  Together with our collaborators, we have discovered that phosphorylation of Rab proteins completely changes the partner proteins with which they interact and leads to a blockade in the formation of critical signaling structures called primary cilia.  We are using biochemical, cell biological and genome-wide approaches to study the molecular cell biology of Parkinson's Disease by focusing on the consequences of Rab GTPase phosphorylation.  Our work includes single molecule biochemical experiments to undertstand the kinase and its corresponding phosphatase--how they are recruited to membranes and activated.  We also study LRRK2-mediated loss of cilia in specific neuronal cell types and astrocytes in both mouse and human brains.  We are using state of the art microscopic tools to understand why cilia are lost and how this leads to Parkinson's disease.

1. Genetic of neuropsychiatric condisions: Concentrating on isolating genetic factors that drive neurodevelopmental disorders like ASD and ADHD. The focus is on unraveling the complex genetic architecture using monogenic genetic conditions, this approach called a genetic first approach in psychiatry.

2. Ras Pathway's Impact on Neurodevelopment: Probing the Ras/MAPK pathway's role in developmental brain disorders, assessing how mutations lead to clinical manifestations in disorders such as Noonan syndrome. The goal is to clarify the pathway's influence on neural circuitry and identify actionable targets for therapy.

3. Integrative Neuroimaging for Clinical Outcomes: Leveraging advanced neuroimaging to quantify brain changes and connectivity patterns in genetic conditions. This rigorous analysis aims to establish neuroimaging as a quantitative tool for evaluating the efficacy of novel treatments in clinical trials. Emphasizing the development of brain-based metrics as a means to validate and refine treatment strategies, with the ultimate objective of personalized medicine.

My laboratory is focused on development and application of molecular imaging techniques towards understanding radiation and cancer biology and improving treatment of human disease. Using modalities including positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), fluorescence imaging, bioluminescence imaging, and small animal conformal radiotherapy, we are investigating the molecular and physiologic factors that determine tumor response to therapy. In addition, we are applying this knowledge towards the development of combination therapies that improve tumor response and minimize normal tissue toxicity. We are a multi-disciplinary group with expertise in engineering, biology, chemistry, medicine, and computer science.

Our research focuses on genetic forms of hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. As many features of the auditory/vestibular system are highly conserved among vertebrates, we use zebrafish as our animal model and have identified over a dozen genes that are required for hearing and balance. Our studies have yielded important insights into the molecular basis of sensory hair-cell function, especially with regard to mechanotransduction and synaptic transmission. To understand the function of deafness genes and delve deeper into the underlying biology, our lab uses a wide range of methods to analyze mutant phenotypes including live cell imaging, physiological experiments, CRISPR gene editing, transcriptomic methods, and auditory/vestibular behavioral analyses.

Department URL:
https://med.stanford.edu/ohns.html

Stanford Solutions Science Lab.

The Stanford Solutions Science Lab designs solutions to improve health and well-being of children, families, and the planet.  Dr. Robinson originated the solution-oriented research paradigm. He is known for his pioneering obesity prevention and treatment research, including the concept of stealth interventions. His research applies social cognitive models of behavior change to behavioral, social, environmental and policy interventions for children and families in real world settings, making the results relevant for informing clinical and public health practice and policy. His research is largely experimental, conducting rigorous school-, family- and community-based randomized controlled trials. He studies obesity and disordered eating, nutrition, physical activity/inactivity and sedentary behavior, the effects of television and other screen time, adolescent smoking, aggressive behavior, consumerism, and behaviors to promote environmental sustainability. Rich longitudinal datasets of physical, physiological, psychological, behavioral, social, behavioral, and multi-omics measures are available from our many community-based obesity prevention and treatment trials in low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations of children and adolescents and their parents.

Stanford Screenomics Lab - Human Screenome Project.

People increasingly live their lives through smartphones. Our Stanford Screenomics app captures everything that people see and do on their smartphone screens – a record of digital life – by taking a screenshot every 5 seconds. The resulting sequence of screenshots, make up an individual’s screenome, an unique and dynamic sequence of exposures, thoughts, feelings, and actions. To date, we have collected more than 350 million screenshots from 6-12 months of phone use from national samples of about 500 hundred adults and adolescents and their parents. Opportunities available to study the screenome to understand digital media use and its impacts on health and behavior,  develop novel diagnostics and prognostics from the screenome, and deliver precision interventions to improve health and well being. An opportunity to help build this paradigm-disrupting new science.

Stanford Solutions Science Lab.

The Stanford Solutions Science Lab designs solutions to improve health and well-being of children, families, and the planet.  Dr. Robinson originated the solution-oriented research paradigm. He is known for his pioneering obesity prevention and treatment research, including the concept of stealth interventions. His research applies social cognitive models of behavior change to behavioral, social, environmental and policy interventions for children and families in real world settings, making the results relevant for informing clinical and public health practice and policy. His research is largely experimental, conducting rigorous school-, family- and community-based randomized controlled trials. He studies obesity and disordered eating, nutrition, physical activity/inactivity and sedentary behavior, the effects of television and other screen time, adolescent smoking, aggressive behavior, consumerism, and behaviors to promote environmental sustainability. Rich longitudinal datasets of physical, physiological, psychological, behavioral, social, behavioral, and multi-omics measures are available from our many community-based obesity prevention and treatment trials in low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations of children and adolescents and their parents.

Stanford Screenomics Lab - Human Screenome Project.

People increasingly live their lives through smartphones. Our Stanford Screenomics app captures everything that people see and do on their smartphone screens – a record of digital life – by taking a screenshot every 5 seconds. The resulting sequence of screenshots, make up an individual’s screenome, an unique and dynamic sequence of exposures, thoughts, feelings, and actions. To date, we have collected more than 350 million screenshots from 6-12 months of phone use from national samples of about 500 hundred adults and adolescents and their parents. Opportunities available to study the screenome to understand digital media use and its impacts on health and behavior,  develop novel diagnostics and prognostics from the screenome, and deliver precision interventions to improve health and well being. An opportunity to help build this paradigm-disrupting new science.

Stanford Solutions Science Lab.

The Stanford Solutions Science Lab designs solutions to improve health and well-being of children, families, and the planet.  Dr. Robinson originated the solution-oriented research paradigm. He is known for his pioneering obesity prevention and treatment research, including the concept of stealth interventions. His research applies social cognitive models of behavior change to behavioral, social, environmental and policy interventions for children and families in real world settings, making the results relevant for informing clinical and public health practice and policy. His research is largely experimental, conducting rigorous school-, family- and community-based randomized controlled trials. He studies obesity and disordered eating, nutrition, physical activity/inactivity and sedentary behavior, the effects of television and other screen time, adolescent smoking, aggressive behavior, consumerism, and behaviors to promote environmental sustainability. Rich longitudinal datasets of physical, physiological, psychological, behavioral, social, behavioral, and multi-omics measures are available from our many community-based obesity prevention and treatment trials in low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations of children and adolescents and their parents.

Stanford Screenomics Lab - Human Screenome Project.

People increasingly live their lives through smartphones. Our Stanford Screenomics app captures everything that people see and do on their smartphone screens – a record of digital life – by taking a screenshot every 5 seconds. The resulting sequence of screenshots, make up an individual’s screenome, an unique and dynamic sequence of exposures, thoughts, feelings, and actions. To date, we have collected more than 350 million screenshots from 6-12 months of phone use from national samples of about 500 hundred adults and adolescents and their parents. Opportunities available to study the screenome to understand digital media use and its impacts on health and behavior,  develop novel diagnostics and prognostics from the screenome, and deliver precision interventions to improve health and well being. An opportunity to help build this paradigm-disrupting new science.

Stanford Solutions Science Lab.

The Stanford Solutions Science Lab designs solutions to improve health and well-being of children, families, and the planet.  Dr. Robinson originated the solution-oriented research paradigm. He is known for his pioneering obesity prevention and treatment research, including the concept of stealth interventions. His research applies social cognitive models of behavior change to behavioral, social, environmental and policy interventions for children and families in real world settings, making the results relevant for informing clinical and public health practice and policy. His research is largely experimental, conducting rigorous school-, family- and community-based randomized controlled trials. He studies obesity and disordered eating, nutrition, physical activity/inactivity and sedentary behavior, the effects of television and other screen time, adolescent smoking, aggressive behavior, consumerism, and behaviors to promote environmental sustainability. Rich longitudinal datasets of physical, physiological, psychological, behavioral, social, behavioral, and multi-omics measures are available from our many community-based obesity prevention and treatment trials in low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations of children and adolescents and their parents.

Stanford Screenomics Lab - Human Screenome Project.

People increasingly live their lives through smartphones. Our Stanford Screenomics app captures everything that people see and do on their smartphone screens – a record of digital life – by taking a screenshot every 5 seconds. The resulting sequence of screenshots, make up an individual’s screenome, an unique and dynamic sequence of exposures, thoughts, feelings, and actions. To date, we have collected more than 350 million screenshots from 6-12 months of phone use from national samples of about 500 hundred adults and adolescents and their parents. Opportunities available to study the screenome to understand digital media use and its impacts on health and behavior,  develop novel diagnostics and prognostics from the screenome, and deliver precision interventions to improve health and well being. An opportunity to help build this paradigm-disrupting new science.

The Wolf Research Group investigates ultrafast photochemical dynamics in isolated molecules. We are part of the Stanford PULSE Institute, a Stanford independent laboratory and a research center at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Our offices and lab space are on the SLAC campus. For our research, we use SLAC’s large-scale research facilities, such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s first hard X-ray free electron laser, and the megaelectronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction (MeV-UED) facility within LCLS.

Our investigative focus is the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of human molecular epidemiology studies of complex cardiovascular disease (CVD) related traits including coronary atherosclerosis and risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis. In addition to performing discovery and validation population genomic studies, we use contemporary genetic studies to gain important insight on the causal and mechanistic nature of associations between purported risk factors and adverse cardiovascular related health outcomes through instrumental variable analyses and genetic risk score association studies of intermediate phenotypes.  Successful applicants will be immersed in cutting-edge molecular epidemiology studies of traits related to cardiovascular disease using large scale population biobanks including the Million Veteran Program, the Women‚Äôs Health Initiative, and the UK Biobank, with the goal of improving biological understanding, refining risk prediction, and discovering new therapeutic targets.

Research overview:

How does the cell make and quality control multi-pass membrane proteins like transporters, receptors and ion channels that are essential for cellular physiology? Our lab combines mechanistic cell biology, (structural) biochemistry and protein engineering to dissect the pathways and molecular machines that mature roughly 5,000 human membrane proteins to a fully functional state. We are developing nanobody-based tools to acutely perturb such dynamic intracellular pathways directly at the protein level and assess immediate functional consequences to the nascent (membrane) proteome.

A related area of focus will be to generate highly specific reagents that can fine-tune the cellular stress responses that adjust cellular protein folding and degradation capacity. Such reagents have potential future therapeutic applications as they can be used to either correct or increase the dysregulation of protein homeostasis in neurodegeneration/ageing or cancer, respectively.

Major techniques in the lab include: mammalian cell culture, flow cytometry, FACS, CRISPR knock-outs/ knock-downs/knock-ins, genome-wide perturbation screens, phage & ribosome display, protein purification from mammalian and E. coli cells, in vitro translation and membrane insertion assays. Many of these techniques are highly sought-after in the biotech industry as well.

Tino is the first in his family to attend college (FirstGen) and this experience has shaped his approach to mentorship. The successful candidate will have access to close mentorship and will witness first-hand how to set up a new lab. The lab has fantastic resources and is surrounded by a world-class, collaborative scientific environment. Outside from the lab, life in the sunny Bay area offers spectacular culinary, cultural, and outdoor recreational opportunities. 

The Pleiner lab will be an inclusive space that fosters learning & curiosity, promotes team work and values mentorship to drive an innovative research program that pushes the boundaries of molecular biology. 

Relevant publications:
(*denotes equal contribution co-first- and † denotes co-corresponding authorship)

Stevens, T.A., Tomaleri, G.P., Hazu, M., Wei, S., Nguyen, V.N., DeKalb, C., Voorhees, R.M.† and Pleiner, T.† (2023) A nanobody-based strategy for rapid and scalable purification of native human protein complexes. Nature Protocols

Pleiner, T.*, Hazu, M.*, Pinton Tomaleri, G.*, Nguyen, V.N., Januszyk, K. and Voorhees, R.M. (2023) A selectivity filter in the ER membrane protein complex limits protein misinsertion at the ER. J Cell Biol 222 e202212007. (On the cover)

Pleiner, T., Hazu, M., Tomaleri, G.P., Januszyk, K., Oania, R.S., Sweredoski, M.J., Moradian, A., Guna, A. and Voorhees, R.M. (2021) WNK1 is an assembly factor for the human ER membrane protein complex. Mol Cell, 81, 2693-2704.e12.

Pleiner, T.*, Tomaleri, G.P.*, Januszyk, K.*, Inglis, A.J., Hazu, M. and Voorhees, R.M. (2020) Structural basis for membrane insertion by the human ER membrane protein complex. Science, 369, 433-436.

Pleiner, T.†, Bates, M.† and Görlich, D.† (2018) A toolbox of anti-mouse and anti-rabbit IgG secondary nanobodies. J Cell Biol, 217, 1143-1154.

The Causality in Cognition Lab at Stanford University studies the role of causality in our understanding of the world, and of each other.

Some of the questions that guide our research:

• How does the mind learn to represent the causal structure of the world?
• What is the relationship between causal thinking and counterfactual simulation?
• How do we hold others responsible for the outcomes of their actions?

In our research, we formalize people’s mental models as computational models that yield quantitative predictions about a wide range of situations. To test these predictions, we use a combination of large-scale online experiments, interactive experiments in the lab, and eye-tracking experiments.

Current research in the Martínez Group aims to make molecular modeling both predictive and routine. New approaches to interactive molecular simulation are being developed, in which users interact with a virtual-reality based molecular modeling kit that fully understands quantum mechanics. New techniques to discover heretofore unknown chemical reactions are being developed and tested, exploiting the many efficient methods that the Martínez group has introduced for solving quantum mechanical problems quickly, using a combination of physical/chemical insights and commodity videogaming hardware.

Health economics, implementation science, access to care, use and effects of consumer health information.  Co-director of the NCI/VA Big Data Fellowship.  https://www.herc.research.va.gov/include/page.asp?id=bd-step