Hi there!
I'm a research associate in Feng Zhang's Lab at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard. I did my undergrad at UC Berkeley, where I studied Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis on Molecular Therapeutics.
I'm interested in neurobiology, programmable therapeutics, and aging.
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Research
I was an undergraduate researcher at the Wilson Lab, part of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). My senior honors thesis research, funded by the UC Berkeley Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, is on optimizing CRISPR RNP formulations for more efficient neuronal genome editing in the brain.
Before that, I was a member of the Knight Lab at UCSF, where I worked on a project regarding the neural circuits responsible for satiation, specifically examining how the caudal nucleus of the solitary tract (cNTS) responds to ingestive feedback.
Publications
- Sequential appetite suppression by oral and visceral feedback to the brainstem
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Nature (2023)
T Ly, JY Oh, N Sivakumar, S Shehata, N La Santa Medina, H Huang, Z Liu, W Fang, C Barnes, N Dundar, BC Jarvie, A Ravi, OK Barnhill, C Li, GR Lee, J Choi, H Jang & ZA Knight
Before this project, the cNTS' response to ingestive feedback had never been directly observed in awake animals. Using optogenetic methods to record neural activity in mice, we discovered that signals from taste and gastrointestinal stretch can suppress appetite and promote satiety. This challenges the traditional belief that tasty food only stimulates consumption. My specific roles included performing behavioral and fiber photometry experiments, managing mouse colonies, and administering drugs to mice via injections.
Mentors
I'm deeply grateful for the following mentors:
- PI - Prof. Ross Wilson @ UC Berkeley / IGI
- Postdoc mentor - Christopher Baehr @ UC Berkeley / IGI
- PI - Dr. Zachary A. Knight @ UCSF
- Grad student mentor - Truong Ly @ UCSF
Outside of research
I also spend time on...