Lab Members
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David Chan
Hung Trinh
Bill Lowry
Andrew White
Kathy Tran
Michaela Patterson
Iris Claire Ha
Joan Khuu
Lab Doggie

Albert Hwang
Laura Richter
Otaren Aimiuwu

David Chan Graduate Student David is a second year Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major originally from Hong Kong. He received his bachelor's degree in Biology from UC Irvine where he also studied gene expression in viral models. He has been a graduate researcher in the Lowry lab since the summer of 2007 through UCLA’s ACCESS Program. He is currently studying the factors involved in self-renewal and differentiation of neural stem cells.

Hung Trinh Undergraduate Student Hung is a third year Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major originally from the Sacramento area. He has a member of the Lowry lab since the summer of 2007 through UCLA’s Biomedical Research Minor. He is currently studying the factors involved in growth and differentiation of epidermal progenitor cells. Outside of the lab, Hung is also interested in public health issues and is involved with the Mobile Clinic Project and UCLA’s Community Service Commission. In his free time, Hung enjoys bicycling, playing tennis, and eating a wide variety of ethnic cuisines.

Albert Hwang Undergraduate Student Albert is from Los Altos Hills, California. He is a fourth year undergraduate at UCLA, studying Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. He has been a member of the Lowry Lab since September 2007, and is currently working on epidermal differentiation. His ultimate goal is to whittle down the 30,000 genes of the human genome into a subset of genes and gene clusters that are responsible for directing differentiation along the epidermal lineage. When he is not hitting the books or working in the hood, Albert enjoys playing the cello and watching Food Network.

	Shankar Lyer Access Graduate Student

Bill Lowry Assistant Professor Bill grew up in Seattle, WA and received his B.S. from the University of Washington in 1996. He then moved to New York to do his graduate work in signal transduction and cell biology with Xin-Yun Huang at Cornell Medical College in the fall of 1997. Bill then went across the street to work with Elaine Fuchs at the Rockefeller University in 2002 where he studied the mechanisms of quiescence and activation in stem cells of the Epidermis. In the summer of 2006 Bill joined the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at UCLA to explore adult stem cells and embryonic development. Bill holds the Maria Rowena Ross Term Chair in Cell Biology, and is supported by the March of Dimes, CRCC, JCCF, and ACS

Laura Richter Staff Research Assistant Laura Richter is originally from Redding, California. She graduated in 2006 from UC Berkeley with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology. She came to the lab in 2007 as a Staff Research Associate. She is interested in modeling ectodermal development using human embryonic stem cells. Laura regularly volunteers at Mattel Children's Hospital and will be attending medical school in the fall of 2008.

	Andrew White Postdoctoral Fellow Andrew received his Ph.D. from Washington University. He studied lung morphogenesis and pulmonary angiogenesis through mouse models during his graduate work, and has transitioned to cancer biology of the epidermis for his postdoc in the Lowry lab. Andrew enjoys the good weather of Southern California on his free time.

Lab Doggie Mole’ was rescued from a shelter in Queens, NY where she studied peeing on the floor and cage management. Mole’ moved to Manhattan in 2004 where she enrolled in puppy training and finished first in her class (out of 2 enrolled). Mole’ then moved to Beverly Hills in 2006 where she is now working towards a graduate degree in fetch. She is keenly interested in anyone who comes to Bill’s office and her thesis is titled, “Olfactory mechanisms of foot recognition.”

	Kathy Tran Kathy is a fourth year Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology major originally from Anaheim. She has been a member of the Lowry lab since winter quarter 2008 and is currently studying the connection between stem cells and tumor formation. Besides research, she interested in environmental issues and is involved with E3 and ESLP.

Otaren Aimiuwu Staff Research associate Otaren is originally from Benin-City, Nigeria. He obtained his Bachelors degree from Cal. State Dominguez Hills in General Biology and Biochemistry where he also studied HPA Axis activation and Nicotine Addiction. He is about to obtain a masters in Public Health from Charles Drew University. He is currently working on his thesis “Effects of air pollution and water contamination among rural population in Southern Nigeria”. He plans to attend medical school in fall of 2010 and he enjoys playing Soccer, Basketball, reading novels and watching movies.

Michaela Patterson Graduate Student Michaela is a second year MCDB graduate student. She grew up in Fresno, CA, although she received her B.S. from Bates College in Maine where she majored in Spanish and Biology. Prior to starting graduate school, Michaela worked in Ole Isacson’s lab at Harvard where she studied regenerative treatments for Parkinson’s disease. She joined the Lowry Lab in June 2008 through the UCLA ACCESS program. In 2009 Michaela was awarded a training grant from Genetic Mechanisms here at UCLA. She is interested in using pluripotent stem cells to model ectodermal development in vitro.

Iris Claire Ha Iris is currently a third year Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology major, Biomedical Research minor originally from San Jose, CA. Since joining the Lowry Lab in spring 2008, she has been using human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells to model human embryonic development. Iris is also a member of the UCLA Undergraduate Science Journal research review board, 2008 Amgen Scholar, Howard Hughes Undergraduate Researcher (HHURP), and both a College Honors student and Honors Fellow mentor.

	Joan Khuu Joan is a fourth year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics major at UCLA. She has been a member of the lab since winter quarter of 2009. She is interested in furthering her education in the pre-health field. In her spare time, she is a mentor to elementary school students. Her favorite quote is, "stay hungry, stay foolish."