PRISM Mentors

Utkan Demirci is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and serves as the interim division chief and co-director of the Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection in the Department of Radiology. His group focuses on developing innovative microfluidic biomedical technology platforms with broad applications to multiple diseases. Some of his inventions have already been translated into Food and Drug Administration-approved products serving patients. He has mentored and trained many successful scientists, entrepreneurs, and academicians. Currently, the group has a strong core focused on bio fabrication, Extracellular vesicle enrichment, and isolation, small-scale robotics for biomedicine, and the development of point-of-care metamaterial-based optical sensors.

Our research focus is in computational systems biology, primarily in cancer and more recently in neurodegenerative diseases.  We develop and apply methods to understand biological processes underlying disease, using high-throughput genomic and proteomic datasets and integrating them with phenotypes and clinical outcomes. A key interest is dissecting how the cellular composition and organization of tissues affects their behaviour in disease; and how these things might be targeted for therapy or diagnostic purposes. We collaborate with many wet lab and clinical groups at Stanford, including in the areas of cancer, immunology, and neuroscience.

The Majeti lab focuses on the molecular/genomic characterization and therapeutic targeting of leukemia stem cells in human hematologic malignancies, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In parallel, the lab also investigates normal human hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem cells. Our lab uses experimental hematology methods, stem cell assays, genome editing, and bioinformatics to define and investigate drivers of leukemia stem cell behavior. As part of these studies, we have led the development and application of robust xenotransplantation assays for both normal and malignant human hematopoietic cells. A major focus of the lab is the investigation of pre-leukemic hematopoietic stem cells in human AML.

X-ray laser physics; matter at extreme conditions and fusion research

Dr. Sarangi is a senior scientist at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory with 19 years of experience in the application of a combination of hard and soft x-ray spectroscopic techniques to a range of systems, from complex biological/biomimetic catalysts to related homogenous catalyst systems. One of her main research foci is understanding the mechanism of first row transition metal metalloenzyme active sites involved in redox catalysis. She drives the technological development on several x-ray spectroscopy facilities and plays a critical role in training and dissemination of synchrotron-based techniques. She is also involved in strategic planning to enhance access of various research user communities to SSRL facilities.

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.

Dr. Sarangi is a senior scientist at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory with 19 years of experience in the application of a combination of hard and soft x-ray spectroscopic techniques to a range of systems, from complex biological/biomimetic catalysts to related homogenous catalyst systems. One of her main research foci is understanding the mechanism of first row transition metal metalloenzyme active sites involved in redox catalysis. She drives the technological development on several x-ray spectroscopy facilities and plays a critical role in training and dissemination of synchrotron-based techniques. She is also involved in strategic planning to enhance access of various research user communities to SSRL facilities.

I am a clinical pathologist and assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Genetics (by courtesy) at Stanford. I completed my MD-PhD training at Yale University and my residency training and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. My experiences as a clinical pathologist and genome scientist have made me passionate about applying cutting-edge technologies to primary patient specimens in order to characterize disease pathologies at the molecular level. The core focus of my lab is to study the mechanisms by which genetic variants influence the risk of disease through effects on intermediate molecular phenotypes.

We are a highly interdisciplinary group with a diverse set of research interests that span various areas of medicine and public health. These interests include i) the use of novel causal inference techniques in electronic health record data to assess the real-life effectiveness of clinical (e.g., medications), behavioral, and health services interventions; ii) deep learning in satellite imagery and other publicly available geotagged data sources to monitor health indicators in low- and middle-income countries; iii) the re-analysis of clinical trial data to gain novel insights; and iv) randomized trials and analysis of household surveys in low- and middle-income countries to improve population health (with a focus on chronic conditions, particularly cardiovascular disease risk factors).

The research at Stanford's Health Policy Data Science Lab is centered on developing and integrating innovative statistical machine learning approaches to improve human health and health equity. This includes ethical algorithms in health care, risk adjustment, comparative effectiveness research, and health program evaluation. 

The STAAR Lab is a dynamic new neuroscience lab in Stanford’s Psychiatry Department, led by Neir Eshel, MD, PhD. We are looking to hire curious and ambitious postdocs to join our team. Lab projects focus on the neural circuitry of aggressive and compulsive behaviors, using optogenetics, in vivo imaging, electrophysiology, and sophisticated machine learning/artificial intelligence analyses of animal behavior. There are ample opportunities for career development and clinical exposure based on candidate interest. Compensation and benefits are highly competitive. The ideal postdoctoral candidate has an MD and/or PhD in neuroscience or related field and extensive experience with rodent neuroscience. Excellent analytical skills, e.g., Python & Matlab, are strongly preferred. An expert data analyst may be considered even without animal experience. We are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion.

Giardino Lab: Circuits & Systems Neuroscience

Our research group aims to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying the interactions between psychiatric conditions of addiction, stress, and sleep disturbances. The Giardino Lab uses in vivo physiological tools for neural recording and neuromodulation in genetic mouse models to dissect the neuropeptide basis of extended amygdala circuit function in motivated behaviors with molecular and synaptic resolution. The lab, located in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences' Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, is currently accepting applicants for postdoctoral researchers.

Research Topics

• Stress & Reward
• Drug Addiction
• Sex Differences
• Wakefulness/Arousal
• Neuropeptide Release & Signaling
• Feeding & Metabolism

 Research Approaches

• Neuromodulation (optogenetics, chemogenetics)
• Neurophysiological recordings (fiber photometry, calcium imaging, EEG/EMG)
• Neurogenetics (CRISPR/Cas9 editing, Cre/loxP recombination, viral gene transfer, mouse genetics) 
• Neuroanatomy (circuit tracing, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, confocal & light sheet microscopy)
• Neuropharmacology (alcohol & drug self-administration, receptor mechanisms)
• Computation (neural circuit modeling, machine learning analysis of behavioral & physiological datasets)
• Behavior and Evolution (rodent model organisms, cross-species comparisons)
• Translation (interdisciplinary and clinical collaborations, treatment development)

Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in neuroscience/ psychology/ biology/ related field (or other doctoral degree with relevant research experience) Excellent publication record (including first-author papers) Enthusiasm for making new discoveries on the neural basis of behavior (stress, addiction, sleep/wake arousal states) Computational expertise / programming skills (strongly encouraged but not required) Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at Stanford (non-negotiable)

Required Application Materials: Curriculum Vitae Cover letter describing your interest in the position (1-2 brief paragraphs) Contact info for 2+ references (name & email address)

Contact: willgiar at stanford dot edu

The research interests of the molecular imaging instrumentation lab are to create novel instrumentation and software algorithms for in vivo imaging of molecular signatures of disease in humans and small laboratory animals. These new cameras efficiently image radiation emissions in the form of positrons, annihilation photons, gamma rays, and/or light emitted from molecular contrast agents that were introduced into the body and distributed in the subject tissues. These contrast agents are designed to target molecular pathways of disease biology and enable imaging of these biological signatures in tissues residing deep within the body using measurements made from outside the body.

The goals of the instrumentation projects are to advance the sensitivity and spatial, spectral, and/or temporal resolutions, and to create new camera geometries for special biomedical applications. The computational modeling and algorithm goals are to understand the physical system comprising the subject tissues, radiation transport, and imaging system, and to provide the best available image quality and quantitative accuracy.

The work involves designing and building instrumentation, including arrays of position sensitive sensors, readout electronics, and data acquisition electronics, signal processing research, including creation of computer models, and image reconstruction, image processing, and data/image analysis algorithms, and incorporating these innovations into practical imaging devices.

The ultimate goal is to introduce these new imaging tools into studies of molecular mechanisms and treatments of disease within living subjects.

My research group is currently focused on understanding brain function and inter-brain synchrony during naturalistic social interaction. We use ultra-portable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to address specific scientific questions with an emphasis on multi-modal assessment (e.g., behavioral, physiological, environmental setting, and eye-tracking in addition to functional NIRS). This overall scientific apprach is called "interaction neuroscience:.

Mitochondria move and undergo fission and fusion in all eukaryotic cells. The accurate allocation of mitochondria in neurons is particularly critical due to the significance of mitochondria for ATP supply, Ca++ homeostasis and apoptosis and the importance of these functions to the distal extremities of neurons. In addition, defective mitochondria, which can be highly deleterious to a cell because of their output of reactive oxygen species, need to be repaired by fusing with healthy mitochondria or cleared from the cell. Thus mitochondrial cell biology poses critical questions for all cells, but especially for neurons: how the cell sets up an adequate distribution of the organelle; how it sustains mitochondria in the periphery; and how mitochondria are removed after damage. The goal of our research is to understand the regulatory mechanisms controlling mitochondrial dynamics and function and the mechanisms by which even subtle perturbations of these processes may contribute to neurodegenerative disorders.

Our lab has several major interests: 1. Using CRISPR-edited hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes to develop a better understanding of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease. 2. The role of alterations in mitochondrial structure and function in dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 3. Single cell analysis of mitochondrial function and the effect of mitochondrial heterogeneity on cellular function. 4. Differences between right and left ventricular responses to stress and in their modes of failure, including gene expression and miR regulation of angiogenesis and mitochondrial function. 5. Use of iPSC-CMs in pharmacogenomics, specifically determining the role of gene variants in anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

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.

In contrast to many other organs, a significant portion of lung development and growth occurs postnatally during the first decade of life. The immaturity of the lung after birth heightens its susceptibility to insults that can disrupt this developmental program, but also offers immature lung a greater capacity for repair and regeneration after injury. The main focus of the Alvira lung is to define developmental pathways that direct postnatal lung growth with the long-term goal of leveraging this knowledge to create new therapies to preserve lung development and promote repair in the setting of injury. Our lab uses genetically modified mouse models, human lung tissue, and single cell transcriptomics to define what makes the immature lung unique from the adult lung at the molecular and cellular level with a key focus on transcriptionally-distinct populations of lung endothelial, immune and mesenchymal cells. Department URL: https://med.stanford.edu/pediatrics.html

We are an interdisciplinary team focusing on generating new biomaterials to tackle healthcare challenges of critical importance to society. We are using these new biomaterials as sustained delivery technologies that can act as tools to better understand fundamental biological processes and to engineer next-generation healthcare solutions.

The Sellers Laboratory and Clinical Research Group are engaged in research spanning basic and translational laboratory science - clinical research - quality improvement initiatives.  Projects are focused on improving the health of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis and digestive diseases.

Key areas of our research include:

-- Epithelial airway and intestinal ion transport, with specific focus on bicarbonate secretion

-- Pancreatitis and the bi-directional relationship between the pancreas and intestines

-- Cystic fibrosis-associated liver disease

-- Epidemiology of rare diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and concurrent pancreatitis with other childhood diseases

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 main focus of Dr. Gomez-Ospina’s lab is to develop therapies for patients with genetic neurodgenerative diseases. The lab uses genome editing and stem cells to produce definitive treatments for childhood neurodegenerative diseases, many of which are lysosomal storage disorders.

Current projects in the lab include developing autologous transplantation of genome-edited hematopoietic stem cells for Mucopolysaccharidosis type I, Gaucher, Krabbe disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Friedreich's ataxia.

Although there is a strong translational focus to the lab, we are also pursuing basic science questions to understand and enhance our therapies including: 1) increasing the efficiency of genome editing tools, 2) understanding microglia turnover in response to conditioning before hematopoietic stem transplant, and 3) stablishing brain-specific conditioning regimens to neurometabolic diseases.

The lab's current research is aimed primarily at understanding how hematopoietic stem cells interact with their microenvironment in order to subsequently modulate these interactions to ultimately improve bone marrow transplantation and unlock biological secrets that further enable regenerative medicine broadly. We are primarily focused on studying the cell surface receptors on hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and bone marrow stromal cells, and are actively learning how manipulating these can alter cell state and cell fate.  

There are many exciting opportunities that stem from this work across a variety of disease states ranging from rare genetic diseases, autoimmune diseases, solid organ transplantation, microbiome and cancer. While we are primarily focused on blood and immune diseases, the expanded potential of this work is much broader and can be applied to other organ systems as well and we are very eager to develop collaborations across disease areas. The Czechowicz lab hopes to further add in the field of translation research.

Goals

• We aim to increase our understanding of the basic science principles that govern hematopoietic stem cells and then exploit these findings to develop improved therapies for patients
• We are particularly focused on pediatric non-malignant bone marrow transplantation with a strong interest in genetic blood/immune diseases and bone marrow failure, but do complementry work on solid tumors with marrow disease, solid organ tolerance induction, autoimmune diseases and gene therapy/gene editing.

The Davis laboratory is looking for post-doctoral scholars interested in the study of cancer. We use single-cell, high-dimensional approaches in primary patient materials to identify cells associated with poor clinical outcomes. We have a focus on childhood leukemia, neuroblastoma and Ewing sarcoma. Once identified, we can further interrogate mechanisms of resistance in candidate cell populations and develop new approaches for treatment. 

We are looking for motivated and talented computational biologists and cancer biologists with interest in joining our active group. In particular, opportunties for data scientists/computational biologists are available. 

Welcome to the Weinacht Lab, where we study hematopoiesis and immune system development in the context of specific, clinically relevant, genetic defects. A physician scientist with formal training in hematology/oncology/stem cell transplantation and never-ending fascination with the immune system, I have always been captivated by inborn errors in immunity and hematopoiesis. Our team focuses on solving the molecular puzzles that underly rare diseases to shed light on fundamental principles governing hematopoiesis and immune system development. Our goal is to find better therapies for patients. We are a young and dynamic group, driven by excitement for scientific discovery. Our lab is home to a mindset of growth and possibility. Curious? Come check us out...

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.

The overarching goal of Brain Dyanamics Lab is to develop computational methods that could allow for anchoring psychiatric diagnosis into biological features (e.g., neural circuits, spatiotemporal neurodynamics). The lab is funded through an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), an NIMH R01, and a faculty scholar award from Stanford’s Maternal and Child Health Research Institute. Our lab excels in developing data-driven computational methods to generate clinically and behaviorally relevant insights from high-dimensional biological data (e.g., neuroimaging) without necessarily averaging the data at the outset. The lab also actively pursue developing novel technologies for experimental design and data collection for enhancing human cognition (e.g., creativity and collaboration). Lastly, the lab also uses large-scale biophysical network modeling approaches to study effects of neuromodulation via TMS and pharmacology (e.g., psychedelics).

Giardino Lab: Circuits & Systems Neuroscience

Our research group aims to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying the interactions between psychiatric conditions of addiction, stress, and sleep disturbances. The Giardino Lab uses in vivo physiological tools for neural recording and neuromodulation in genetic mouse models to dissect the neuropeptide basis of extended amygdala circuit function in motivated behaviors with molecular and synaptic resolution. The lab, located in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences' Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, is currently accepting applicants for postdoctoral researchers.

Research Topics

• Stress & Reward
• Drug Addiction
• Sex Differences
• Wakefulness/Arousal
• Neuropeptide Release & Signaling
• Feeding & Metabolism

 Research Approaches

• Neuromodulation (optogenetics, chemogenetics)
• Neurophysiological recordings (fiber photometry, calcium imaging, EEG/EMG)
• Neurogenetics (CRISPR/Cas9 editing, Cre/loxP recombination, viral gene transfer, mouse genetics) 
• Neuroanatomy (circuit tracing, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, confocal & light sheet microscopy)
• Neuropharmacology (alcohol & drug self-administration, receptor mechanisms)
• Computation (neural circuit modeling, machine learning analysis of behavioral & physiological datasets)
• Behavior and Evolution (rodent model organisms, cross-species comparisons)
• Translation (interdisciplinary and clinical collaborations, treatment development)

Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in neuroscience/ psychology/ biology/ related field (or other doctoral degree with relevant research experience) Excellent publication record (including first-author papers) Enthusiasm for making new discoveries on the neural basis of behavior (stress, addiction, sleep/wake arousal states) Computational expertise / programming skills (strongly encouraged but not required) Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at Stanford (non-negotiable)

Required Application Materials: Curriculum Vitae Cover letter describing your interest in the position (1-2 brief paragraphs) Contact info for 2+ references (name & email address)

Contact: willgiar at stanford dot edu