Meet Our Faculty Mentors

All of our faculty mentors are experts in their fields of study. Learn more about their academic experiences and research interests below.

Assistant Professor, Ph.D

randreseneguiluz@ucmerced.edu

Website: Website

Education:

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2015 — Cornell University

M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, 2010 — UNAM

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2007 — UNAM

Robert Andresen Eguiliz

Research Interests:

Biomaterials

Mechanotransduction

(Bio)Tribology

Cell Mechanics

Force Spectroscopy

Surface Science

Graduate Groups: Materials and Biomaterials Science Engineering Quantitative and Systems Biology

Curriculum Vita: andresen_eguiluzroberto_cv.pdf

Discipline: Materials Sci & Engineering

Micheal Cleary

Professor Cleary is interested in how complex tissues develop from relatively small populations of stem cells. Nervous system development in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, provides an excellent model system for studying this process. His lab focuses on how Drosophila neural stem cells, called neuroblasts, which produce the diversity of cell types found in the nervous system. His primary aim is to understand:

How Cell Fate Decisions are Temporally Regulated, so that Distinct Cell Types are Made at Specific Times During Development
How Mitotic Activity is Regulated, so that Neuroblasts Stop and Start Dividing at the Proper Time
How Cell Fate Information is Passed from a Neuroblast to its Progeny and the Role of Chromatin Remodeling Factors and Other Transcription Factors in this Process

His research team uses the many powerful molecular and genetic techniques available for Drosophila research to address these questions, with the ultimate goal of identifying mechanisms that are conserved in human stem cells.

Associate Professor, Ph.D

mcleary4@ucmerced.edu

(209) 228-4554

Office: S&E 1, 328

Website: http://faculty.ucmerced.edu/mcleary4

Location: S&E 1, 325

Education:

Ph.D., 2005 — Stanford University

B.S., 1997 — University of California, Davis

Assistant Professor, Ph.D

xge2@ucmerced.edu

Office: S&E 1, 260

Website: Research

Location: S&E 1, 253

Education:

Ph.D., 2009 — Harvard University

B.S., 2000 — Health Science Center, Beijing University

Susan Ge

Research Interests:

The Ge lab is interested in understanding molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopment and its related diseases. Researchers focus on the developing cerebral cortex and cerebellum, and study how different cell signaling pathways integrate to govern neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Specifically, they aim to understand:

How Signaling Pathways are Integrated at the Cilium, the Antenna of the Cell, to Control Cell Behaviors
How the Molecular Signaling Pathways Interact With Each Other to Control the Cell Proliferation and Cell Fate Determination in the Developing Brain
How to Apply What is Learned From Cultured Cells and Animal Models to Clarify the Pathogenesis of Neural Developmental Disorders and Pediatric Brain Tumors

Graduate Groups: Quantitative and Systems Biology

Discipline: Molecular Cell Biology

Jennifer Manilay

Awards:

2007 - New Faculty Award, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Research Interests:

Professor Manilay is a developmental immunologist. Her current area of focus is the influence of communication between bone and hematopoietic stem cells on immune cell fate decisions.

Graduate Groups: Quantitative and Systems Biology

Professor

jmanilay@ucmerced.edu

(209) 228-4175

Office: S&E 1, 320

Website: Website

Location: S&E 1 Bldg., RM 325

Education:

Ph.D., 1999 — Harvard University

B.A., 1992 — The University of California, Berkeley

Assistant Professor

smaterna@ucmerced.edu

(209) 228-3520

Office: S&E1 350

Education:

Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, 2012 — California Institute of Technology

M.S. in Cell Biology, 2002 — University of Freiburg, Germany

Diploma in Science, 2000 — University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Stefan C. Materna

Graduate Groups:

Quantitative and Systems Biology

Discipline: Molecular and Cell Biology

Kara McCloskey

Research Interests:

Tissue engineering is a sub/cross discipline that focuses on the design, development and maintenance of tissue products that are used for repairing, improving or restoring tissue function. This field is still in its infancy, and many problems and challenges exist that have yet to be overcome before safe, high-quality engineered tissue products are available in the marketplace. Therefore, my research focuses on:

Deriving and characterizing pure populations from stem cells in vitro
Comparing the function of such cells with mature cells derived in vivo
Using these cells towards regenerative medicine applications
Tissue engineering and cell therapy approaches
Cardiovascular cell lineage, but plan to expand into other cell systems long-term