Gladstone Institutes & UCSF
Seth shipman
Associate Investigator
gladstone institute of data science and biotechnology
Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease
Associate professor
Bioengineering & therapeutic sciences, ucsf
Weill Institute for Neurosciences
Health Innovation via Engineering (HIVE)
Bakar Aging Research Institute

Seth received his BA in from Wesleyan University and PhD in Neuroscience from UCSF. His graduate work was done with Roger Nicoll, using electrophysiology to investigate synapse formation in the hippocampus. He completed his postdoc with George Church and Jeffrey Macklis at Harvard, using synthetic biology to build tools to study development. In 2019 he opened his lab in the Gladstone Institutes.
Kate Crawford
Kate graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a BS in Engineering in 2013. Before beginning graduate school, she researched mechanical properties of cancer cells at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul on a Whitaker Fellowship and created microfluidic devices to measure cell stiffness at CytoVale, a biotech startup in the Bay Area. In her free time, Kate enjoys cooking, techno, and annoying her cat.
2019 NSF Graduate Research Fellow
2020 UCSF Discovery Fellow
kate.crawford@gladstone.ucsf.edu

Graduate Student
Bioengineering
Rebecca Fang
Graduate Student
Neuroscience
Rebecca graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Neuroscience. Prior to joining the Neuroscience PhD program at UCSF, she studied gut-related disorders at Kallyope, a gut-brain axis therapeutics start-up. Outside the lab, she enjoys making and eating heaps of food in the kitchen, tending to her plants, and playing cello.
2021 Hillblom/Bakar Aging Research Fellow
2021 UCSF Discovery Fellow
rebecca.fang@gladstone.ucsf.edu

Alejandro González Delgado
Postdoc
Alex graduated from Universidad of Salamanca (Spain) with a BS in Biology. He did his PhD work at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Granada (Spain), where his main focus was studying Reverse Transcriptases associated with CRISPR-Cas systems. During his postdoc, he is keen on exploiting prokaryotic RTs as novel biotechnological tools. As a frustrated football player, outside the lab he enjoys outdoor activities, playing different sports and tasting craft beers.
2023 CIRM Fellow
alejandro.gonzalez@gladstone.ucsf.edu
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Asim Khan
Research Associate
Asim Khan graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology. He previously researched the development of neural lineages and circuits in the Drosophila brain and how they impact the transfer of information. Outside of the lab he enjoys exploring new hikes, shooting hoops, and sipping coffee.

Sierra Lear
Graduate Student
Bioengineering
Sierra graduated from Tulane University with a BSE in chemical engineering and BS in neuroscience prior to joining the UC Berkeley-UCSF joint Bioengineering PhD program as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. She hopes to engineer genetic tools to advance neuroscience research. Outside the lab, she swaps her pipette for a pencil as a writer and an editor for the Berkeley Science Review.
2019 NSF Graduate Research Fellow
2021 Berkeley SciComm Fellow
2021 Berkeley Science Review Editor-in-Chief
sierra.lear@gladstone.ucsf.edu

Santiago Lopez
Graduate Student
Bioengineering
Santiago graduated from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru with a BS in Biology before joining the UC Berkeley-UCSF joint Bioengineering PhD program. Outside of lab, he aspires to become a pizzaiolo and jazz drummer.
2019 Berkeley Graduate Fellowship
santiago.lopez@gladstone.ucsf.edu

Matías Rojas Montero
Research Associate
Matias graduated from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru) with a BS in Biology. Before joining the lab, he investigated antibiotic resistance mechanisms of M. tuberculosis, and was part of the first Peruvian iGEM team. During his time in the lab, he wants to contribute to the research about retron-based tools. In his free time, he enjoys visiting new places, playing video games, and watching different sports.
alfonso.rojasmontero@gladstone.ucsf.edu

Darshini Poola
Master's Student
Darshini is pursuing an integrated BS-MS at IISER-Pune and has joined the lab for her master's thesis project. Her previous research endeavors revolved around investigating the epigenetic mechanisms regulating the progression of cancer cells. Beyond her academic commitments, she enjoys reading novels, taking long walks, and solving sudoku puzzles.
darshini.poola@gladstone.ucsf.edu

Linhan Wang
Postdoc
Linhan received her Ph.D. from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, where she studied the mechanism of membrane proteins degradation from the ER in mammalian cells. During her postdoc, she is interested in developing and applying new gene editing tools into human cells. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing the Chinese zither, doing yoga and watching NBA games.
linhan.wang@gladstone.ucsf.edu

David Wen
Graduate Student
Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
David graduated from the University of Southern California with a BS in Quantitative Biology and a minor in Computer Science, where he studied bone repair and zebrafish heart development. He is currently in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology PhD program at UCSF. Joint with the Theodoris Lab, he is interested in creating new molecular and computational tools for studying gene regulation during development. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, playing video games, and doing outdoor activities.
2022 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Karen Zhang
Graduate Student
Bioengineering
Karen graduated from the University of Washington in 2021 with a BS in Biochemistry and a BS in Microbiology. She is currently part of the joint Bioengineering PhD program at UC Berkeley and UCSF. Her research interests involve engineering bacteria and viruses to create novel biotechnological tools. Outside of lab, she enjoys exploring fictional worlds in movies, books, and video games.
2021 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
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Lab Alumni
Postdocs
Christina Palka, HIVE Fellow (2019-2021) - Senior Scientist at Ohalo Genetics
Research Associates
Santi Bhattarai-Kline (2019-2022) - MD/PhD Student UCLA & Caltech
Chloe Fishman (2020-2023) - PhD Student Rockefeller University
Summer Students
Pemba Sherpa (2021, PUMAS) - Undergraduate, UC Davis
Sofia Arreola (2022, PUMAS) - Undergraduate
Evelyn Kwong (2022, PUMAS) - Undergraduate, UC Merced
Jose Nunez (2022, UCSF SRTP) - Undergraduate, UC Santa Barbara
Kelechi Onwuzurike (2023, UCSF SRTP) - Undergraduate, UCLA
Yumie Lee (2023, UC LEADs) - Undergraduate, UC Merced
Kazuo Nakamura (2023) - Burlingame High School
Our Science is possible because of generous support from:





Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research

