Lab Members
Maureen Su, MD
Maureen A. Su, MD, is a physician scientist and the Principal Investigator of the research group. She received her combined AB/AM degrees from Harvard College and MD from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology [Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program]. She completed her pediatrics residency, chief residency, and pediatric endocrine fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In the summer of 2018, she joined the faculty at UCLA where she is a tenured Professor of Microbiology Immunology and Medical Genetics (MIMG) and Pediatrics and Associate Director of the UCLA/Caltech MSTP program. Dr. Su is a member of the Society of Pediatric Research (SPR) (Council member 2016-19) and the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and holds the Morrison Family Endowed Chair.
Melissa Lechner, MD, PhD
Melissa G. Lechner, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of
Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
After undergraduate studies in Public Health at Berkeley, she completed a combined
MD/PhD in the USC/CalTech program in Los Angeles. She completed residencies in
Medicine and Pediatrics in Boston at the Harvard Medical School hospitals before returning
to Los Angeles for her clinical endocrinology fellowship at UCLA. As a physician scientist,
Dr. Lechner’s clinical and research interests are related to endocrine disease resulting from
cancer immunotherapy and advanced thyroid cancer. Her work seeks to understand the
cause of immune related adverse events from cancer immunotherapy so that new therapies
can be developed for patients that reduce autoimmune toxicities without compromising anti-
cancer efficacy. She established the Onco-Endocrinology clinic at UCLA and serves on the
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Management of Immunotherapy Toxicity
Side Effects guidance panel. In addition, she leads multiple prospective clinical trials at
UCLA studying thyroid disease and cancer immunotherapy and her research is funded by
the American Thyroid Association, the Aramont Charitable Foundation, and the National
Institutes of Health.
UCLA health
Mahnia Mohebbi
Lab Manager
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Young Zhou
Undergraduate Student
Young was born and raised in Guangzhou, China before moving to LA in 2014. He is currently a second-year Biochemistry student at UCLA and plans to go to medical school in the future. Using single-cell sequencing technology, he is investigating the key difference between NOD wildtype mice and NOD knockout mice to further understand and identify the development of autoimmunity, especially Type 1 Diabetes. In his free time, Young loves to travel, read, and try out different cuisines of food.
Nicole Huang
Undergraduate Student
Nicole is a third year undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Human Biology and Society, and hopes to go to medical school in the future with a continued interest in research throughout her career. She is largely interested in autoimmunity, and is currently investigating mechanisms and potential therapies for immune related adverse events that result from cancer immunotherapy. Born and raised in the Bay Area, she enjoys graphic design, learning different recipes, and exploring new places in her free time.
Celine Park
Undergraduate Student
Celine is an undergraduate student majoring in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics and double minoring in community engagement and social change and biomedical research. She is helping investigate sex differences in autoimmunity by assisting research on the role Xist has on the regulation of x-linked immune related genes. During her spare time, she enjoys cooking, making crafts, and finding new coffee shops to study in.
Au Vo
Undergraduate
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Ethan McCarthy
Lab Manager
Ethan McCarthy is a fourth-year undergraduate studying microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics with a minor in biomedical research. His research is currently focused on characterizing the autoantibody profile of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in the hopes of developing antibody tests for the autoimmune disease. Ethan plans on attending medical school and pursuing a career as a physician scientist. In his free time, Ethan enjoys running, computer programming, and exploring LA.
Howard Chen
Graduate Student
My name is Howard Chen and I am currently the second year of PhD student in IMMP at UCLA. I am originally from Taiwan and received my master degree with Chemical Engineering major at Rutgers University at New Jersey in 2016. After that, I worked as a research technician in Dr. Scott Lowe’s lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for 1 year. Then, in order to learn research in Immunology, I moved to California, joined group of Dr. Gay Crooks and Dr. Christopher Seet and studied human T cells and dendritic cells development in vitro. My current project is to study infiltrating immune cells in local tissues of autoimmune diseases and to develop immunotherapy for type I diabetes and Graves’ disease.
Kiley Chen
Undergraduate
​My name is Kiley and I am a second-year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major. I was born in Taiwan and raised in Hong Kong. Before joining the Su Lab, I volunteered at the Xia Yang Lab and investigated the effects of PFOA on select liver cells. As a new lab member, I am eager to expand my horizons and contribute to cancer and immunology research. I can be found on the basketball court or in the movie theater in my free time.
Madison Bang
Undergraduate
​Madison Bang is a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Global Health. Her previous work characterized peripheral nerve-infiltrating CD4 T cells and their pathogenic role in an autoimmune inflammatory neuropathy model. She is currently investigating epigenetic regulation of human CD4 T cells in Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Madison plans to attend medical school with a strong emphasis on research. In her free time, Madison enjoys cycling, concerts, and antique markets.
Kristy Kim
Medical Student
Kristy is a second-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Originally from Port Orange, Florida, she completed her undergraduate studies in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University. After graduation, she worked as a Research Associate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigating personalized neoantigen vaccines in the lab of Dr. Joshua Brody. Currently, she is researching mechanisms mediating immune-related adverse events (iRAEs) as a result of cancer immunotherapy treatment. In her free time, Kristy enjoys reading, long walks, and rewatching Seinfeld.
Christian Bustillos
My name is Christian and I am a current second year in the IMMP program. Prior to starting my PhD at UCLA, I studied biology at California Lutheran University and received a Masters in Translational Medicine from City of Hope conducting my thesis research in NK cell biology and immunotherapy. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my cat, going to concerts, and watching movies.
Alumni
Xihui Yin
Undergraduate Student
Current Position: SRA at Stanford University
Scott Chin
Undergraduate Student
Current Position: SRA at UCLA
Lily Guo
Lab Manager
Current Position: Medical Student at Duke Medical School
Aline Hoang
Lab Manager
Current Position: Medical Student at Temple University
Anushi Patel
Undergraduate Student
Current Position:
Michael Astourian
Staff Research Associate
Current Position:
Natalie Yakobian
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Medical Student at St. Louis University
Kevin Joung
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Dental Student at Loyola University
Erin Xu
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Medical Student at UNC Chapel Hill
Annie Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Scholar at UNC Chapel Hill
Hsing-Hui Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Scholar at UNC Chapel Hill
Denise Allard Trout, PhD
Graduate Student
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the University of Utah
Collin Jamal Smith, MD, PhD
Graduate Student, MSTP Program
Current Position: Medicine Intern at UNC Chapel Hill
Bradly Thrasher, DO
Pediatric Endocrinology Fellow
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Louisville
David Sailer
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Medical Student at UNC Chapel Hill
Rebecca Notini
Undergraduate Student
Current Position: Medical Student at Wake Forest
Calleigh Kimpston
Undergraduate Student
Current Position: MD/PhD Candidate at Virginia
Isabella Sarria
Step-Up Student
Current Position: Undergraduate at Johns Hopkins
Bridget Conley
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Graduate Student at the University of Minnesota
Pearl Bakhru, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Sanofi
Menglei Zhu, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Current Position: Pathologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Fatima W Larry, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Current Position: President, Lead Consultant at FBL ClinWriters
Lily Zeng
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Pediatrics Resident, Northwestern University
Neil Nagavalli
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: Resident, Penn State Health
Philip Cheng
Lab Manager, Research Assistant
Current Position: MD/PhD at UT Southwestern
Nicole Wilkinson
MSTP MD/PhD student
Current Position: Lab Manager for Lechner Lab
Maryam Seyedsadr
Postdoctoral fellow
Current Position:
Jessica Ortega
Undergraduate Student
Current Position: Medical student at UCSF
Mandy Cheng
Graduate Student
Current Position: Immunology Scientist at Tempest Therapeutics