Meet The Team
Principal Investigator

Farah Sheikh
Professor of Medicine
Post-Doctoral Fellows + Project Scientists

Project Scientist
Education:
B.S. in Biological Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Zhejiang University
Awards and Honors:
2017: Poster Presentation Award, Alternative Muscle Club
2018: Poster Presentation Award, Alternative Muscle Club
2018-2020: American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship
Jing Zhang

Post-doctoral Fellow
Education:
M.B.B.S. in Medicine, Taishan Medical University
B.A. in English/Language Arts Teacher Education, Taishan Medical University
M.Sc in Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba
Ph.D. in Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba
Awards and Honors:
2014: Edwin Kroeger Award for Excellence in Cellular Physiology
2015: Research Manitoba Studentship Award
2016: Have a Heart Bursary Program
Jie Wang

Post-doctoral Fellow
Education:
B.S. in Bioengineering, Yamagata University
Ph.D. in Bioengineering, Yamagata University
Awards and Honors:
2015: The Shimemura Young Author Prize Award
2015: QE Best Presentation Award
Kyohei Fujita

Erika Gutierrez Lara
Post-doctoral Fellow
Education:
Pharmacist degree: Pharmacy Faculty, Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM)
M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacy Faculty, Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM), with mention honorific
Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV)
Awards and Honors:
2018: Newton International Fellowship, from the Royal Society and AMS

Post-doctoral Fellow
Education:
B.S. in Life and Earth Sciences, Lebanese University
M.S. in Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, Lebanese University
Ph.D. in Medical and Biological Sciences, Saint-Joseph University of Beirut and the Lebanese
University
Awards and Honors:
2018-2021: Doctoral fellowship from the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in
Lebanon
Afaf Jreije

Post-doctoral Fellow
Education:
B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Washington
Ph.D. in Cellular & Molecular Physiology, Yale University
Awards and Honors:
2019: NIH F31 Predoctoral NRSA
2021: Ivy+ and Yale 3 Minute Thesis Competition 1st Place Winner
Matthew Ellis
Undergraduate Students

Lab Assistant
Education:
B.S. Human Biology Candidate, UC San Diego
Charlize Duron

Volunteer Research Assistant
Education:
B.S. Human Biology Candidate, UC San Diego
Jessica Jiang

Lab Assistant
Education:
B.S. Molecular & Cell Biology Candidate, UC San Diego
Kimia Shojaee
Lab Personnel

Aryanne Do
Research Associate
Education:
B.S. in Human Biology, UC San Diego

Research Associate
Education:
B.S. Human Biology, UC San Diego
Lena Nguyen

Tsui Min Wang
Research Associate
Education:
Ph.D in Medical Science, Taipei Medical University