Principal Investigator
Sihem earned her Ph.D. working at Cold Spring Harbor labs on microRNAs. She then moved to Massachusetts General Hospital for her postdoctoral training where she worked on cellular reprogramming and chromatin regulation. When not in the lab Sihem is a mother of two young girls and enjoys cooking and exploring nature.
Graduate Student, CMDB Program
Reuben earned his BS degree in Biology at CSU Bakersfield while wrestling at the Division I level. Post graduation, Reuben spent some time working as a Winery Lab Technician before joining our lab to investigate how histone chaperones maintain stem and progenitor cell identity. Outside of research, Reuben enjoys coaching (both on the mat and in the lab) and outdoor activities.
Meijuan Chen
Junior Specialist
Meijuan earned her MS degree in plant pathology from Huazhong Agriculture University in China. She then worked as a research assistant in Center of life science and technology in China focus on resistance genes against Magnaporthe oryzae in rice. Meijuan spent some time working as a volunteer in Prof Shouwei-Ding's lab at UCR before joining in our lab to investigate the role of small non-coding RNAs in cellular plasticity. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and watching movies.
Shreyans (Archie) Patel
Undergraduate Student
Shreyans is junior at UC Riverside majoring in Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. Archie's project is focused on applying CRISPR-CAS9 technology to study mechanisms of chromatin organizations. Outside the lab, Shreyans is Vice-President of UCR's Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières and a Supplemental Instructor for the Academic Resource Center. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games and watching sports
Diana Del Castillo
Rotation Student, Biomedical Sciences Program
Diana earned her BS degree from UC Riverside in Biochemistry. She spent some time working in the lab of Dr. David Lo at UCR as a Junior Specialist where she worked on M Cells and Mucosal Immune Surveillance using microscopy. Outside of the lab, Diana enjoys roller
skating, drawing and always finding new hobbies.
Brian Zhang
Rotation Student, CMDB Program
Brian earned his BS degree from UC Riverside in Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. Throughout undergraduate he worked in Dr. Katayoon Dehesh’s lab at UCR where he set up a genetic screen to identify components involved in metabolite altered calcium signaling in eubacteria and plants. Outside the lab, Brian enjoys cooking and playing video games.