"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge."
Carl Sagan
Lab Alumni
Aik Ooi _______________________________________________________________
Post-Doctoral Scholar, October 2007 - August 2013
PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences; University of Arizona; 2007
BS Chemistry, Mount Union College; 2002
Daphne Darmawan ______________________________________________
Lab Assistant, June 2012 - August 2013
Undergraduate Work-Study Student, January 2010 – June 2012
BS Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology; UC Los Angeles; 2012
I love spending time in the water whether it be surfing, competitive swimming, or playing water polo. I also enjoy keeping active through yoga and hula or Tahitian dancing. As an avid puzzle lover, I enjoy being challenged by Sudoku puzzles, Rubik’s cubes, and riddles!
Richard Chiou _______________________________________________________
Undergraduate Volunteer, September 2011 – June 2013
BS Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology; UC Los Angeles; 2013
I enjoy watching TV, reading, swimming, checking out new restaurants, and UCLA sports
Yasser Attiga ________________________________________________________
Technical Director, Environmental Management Services
yattiga@yahoo.com
Lab Manager, April 2012 – October 2012
Staff Research Associate, January 2011 – April 2012
MS Physiology and Biophysics; Georgetown University; 2010
BS Chemical Engineering; UC Los Angeles; 2006
Though I have an engineering degree, I am more drawn to the health sciences. My research experience has mostly been cancer related.
I love most sports, both playing and watching. Golf is probably my favorite to play, and when it comes to watching, I'm always counting down the days until the next World Cup.
I now work at a small business in the San Francisco Bay Area called Environmental Management Services. My job is to sample, designate, and ship out low level radioactive waste and to help with the administrative and management side of the company.
Vi Luan Ha ___________________________________________________________
Research Specialist III, Children's Hospital Los Angeles
vha@chla.usc.edu
Post-Doctoral Scholar, March 2009 – September 2012
PhD Cell Physiology; University College London; 2003
BS Physiology and Pharmacology; Nottingham Trent University; 2000
French University Degree Applied Biology; Institut Universitaire de Technologie, Clermont-Ferrand; 1997
In Dr. Gomperts' lab, I studied the role of lung stem cells in repair and regeneration processes using in vitro and in vivo model systems of airway injury.
In my spare time, I enjoy doing volunteering work, playing tennis, volleyball and soccer.
Derek Nickerson ___________________________________________________
Medical Student, American University of the Carribean School of Medicine
Lab Manager, 2006 - April 2012
AE Hegab ____________________________________________________________
Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Post-Doctoral Scholar, July 2009 - June 2012
PhD Pulmonary Medicine; University of Tsukuba; 2006
Master of Pulmonary Medicine; Cairo University; 2000
BS (MD); Cairo University; 1994
My research interests during my PhD included Genetics of Complex Human Diseases with focus on COPD & Asthma, regulation of mucus secretion in the airways in addition to the genetic & cellular regulations of Asthma.
Since I started my post-doctoral research in 2006, I became more interested in lung stem cells and regeneration. In the Gomperts Lab, I worked to isolate and characterize the progenitor/stem cell population(s) that is/are responsible for maintenance and repair of upper trachea and submucosal gland. To achieve this goal, I used a combination of methods and techniques that included sorting and culturing of the different subpopulations of cells, lineage tracing cells of interest and gene expression profiling of isolated cells. These methods are applied to healthy mice and mice that have been exposed to different injury models to assess the contribution of these cells in homeostasis and after injury.
Jennifer Gilbert _____________________________________________________
Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
jengilbert13@gmail.com
Post-Doctoral Scholar, June 2009 – April 2012
PhD Epithelial Immunobiology; National University of Ireland, Maynooth
BS; Trinity College Dublin; 2003
My research project in the Gomperts lab involved identifying tumor-initiating cells in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and understanding aberrant processes that occur early in squamous cell carcinoma pre-cancerous lesions.
When not working hard in the lab I enjoy surfing, volleyball and convincing people leprechauns do exist.
Sonal Ram Khemani _______________________________________________
MD, Pediatric Critical Care Huntington Memorial Hospital and City of Hope
sonalram.md@gmail.com
PICU Clinical Fellow, 2008 – 2010
Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship, UC Los Angeles, 2008-2010
Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship, University of Chicago, 2007-2008
General Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Oakland, CA 2004-2007
MD, Rosalind Franklin University/Chicago Medical School 2004
BA, Biology, University of Southern California 1999
My research interests include epigenetics and reactive airway disease.
My hobbies have been put on hold while I take care of my 17 month old son!
Daniel Sivalingam ________________________________________________
BRIDGES Graduate Student, August 2011
daniel.sivalingam.40@my.csun.edu
BS Cell and Molecular Biology; CSU Northridge; 2012
I am interested in the onset and treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. I am currently working on using iPSC technology to model the disease so it can be better studied.
When I am not in lab some of my hobbies include: rock climbing, reading, scuba diving, motorcycle touring, hiking, home brewing, running, backpacking, target and sporting clay shooting, raquetball, mountaineering, fishing, slow pitch softball, mixed martial arts, sailing, golf, underwater photography, cycling, carpentry, swimming, and traveling.
Katherine Chung _________________________________________________
Neonatology Fellow, 2012
Fellowship; Perinatal-Neonatal Medicine; UC Los Angeles; 2011-2014
Residency; Pediatrics; UC Los Angeles, 2008-2011
MD; Albert Einstein College of Medicine; 2008
BS; Molecular Biology; UC San Diego; 2003
I am interested in differentiating human iPSC into mature lung epithelium. Additionally, I am studying the mechanisms of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by looking at differential gene expression using RNA sequencing.
I enjoy reading, eating, dancing, and home brewing.
Andy Chon ________________________________________________________
Volunteer, February 2010
BS Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics; UC Los Angeles; 2011
Some of my hobbies include hiking, cooking, going to the gym, and playing basketball. I enjoy DJing and love discovering new music, eating, and trying new things. My favorite move is “Back to the Future” and my favorite color is blue.
Christy Kim _______________________________________________________
Undergraduate Work-Study Student, February 2012
kimyeonsun@ucla.edu
BS Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology; UC Los Angeles; 2015
Bharti Bisht _______________________________________________________
Post-Doctoral Scholar, September 2010 - November 2015
PhD Biotechnology; National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Mohali, India; 2008
My research interest includes exploring various signaling events taking place in stem cells during their proliferation and differentiation and how these signals alters under pathological condition like cancer and COPD.
My hobbies include singing, listening to music and dancing. Now being a mom a new hobby is to collect things made by my daughter.
I love teaching and want to be associated with students.
Mehrsa Mehrabi __________________________________________________
Staff Research Associate, May 2014 – January 2015
CIRM Bridges Student August 2013 – April 2014
BS; Cell and Molecular Biology CSU Northridge 2010-2014
BS; Biomedical Engineering, Iran 2002-2007
My hobbies are trying different international foods, hiking, swimming, dancing and camping.
Abdo Durra _____________________________________________________
Staff Research Associate, September, 2014 - August, 2015
BS. Biology; UC Irvine; 2014
I have always been interested in biology since I was young and pursued a degree in biology. I got involved in research from the beginning of my undergraduate journey and my area of research was intracellular molecular transport. I presented my final findings at the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Symposium. After graduation, I wanted to continue research and after joining Dr. Gompert's lab, I am helping with research on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
In my free time, I like to read, watch movies, and having fun with friends and family.
Miranda Sam _____________________________________________________
Undergraduate Volunteer, April 2012 - June 2015
BS Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology; UC Los Angeles; 2015
I am part of the top ranked UCLA Dragon Boat team, a paddling sport and have competed with my team across California, Arizona, and Vancouver. I also enjoy spending my summers mentoring middle-school students as part of InnoWorks, a science day-camp hosted at UCLA. In my free time, I enjoy baking, working out, and spending time with friends and family.
