Affiliated Faculty

Dr. Carlos Milla's research interests have centered on the inflammatory responses that lead to airway disease in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and the metabolic factors that contribute to CF lung disease progression. Current efforts are focused on the understanding of the early events that drive the development of lung disease through the study of infants with CF identified by newborn screening. This includes the development of new diagnostic tools that permit the early detection of lung disease manifestations.

Dr. Natalie Torok's lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of liver fibrosis,  focusing on the role of oxidative pathways in non-alcoholic and alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Dr. Torok's lab has demonstrated the intricate link between hepatocyte cell death, generation of apoptotic bodies and their phagocytosis by stellate cells triggering fibrogenic activation. Key to this was the activation of the NADPH oxidase and production of reactive oxidative species inducing stellate cell transdifferentiation and collagen I transcription.

Dr. Sohail Husain is a Physician-Scientist in Pediatric Gastroenterology, whose overarching research goal is to come up with targeted therapies for exocrine pancreatic disorders, particularly pancreatitis. Dr. Husain's lab studies three broad areas of the exocrine pancreas: (1) The crucial signaling pathways that initiate and transduce pancreatitis; (2) the factors that turn on pancreatic regeneration and recovery after pancreatic injury; and (3) the mechanisms underlying drug-induced pancreatitis.

Dr. Kanwaljeet Sunny Anand is a translational clinical researcher who pioneered research on the endocrine-metabolic stress responses of infants undergoing surgery and developed the first-ever scientific rationale for pain perception in early life. This provided a framework for newer methods of pain assessment, numerous clinical trials of analgesia/anesthesia in newborns, infants and older children.

Dr. Wendy Gu's group studies the mechanical behavior of nanomaterials. They work at the intersection of solid mechanics, materials science and nano-chemistry. They research the unique properties of nanoscale metals, ceramics and nano-architected composites in order to design strong, tough and lightweight structural materials, materials for extreme environments, and mechanically-actuated sensors. The Gu group's experimental tools include nanoindentation, electron microscopy, and colloidal synthesis.

Dr. Marshall Burke is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth System Science, deputy director at the Center on Food Security and the Environment, and center fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University. He is also a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a co-founder of AtlasAI, a remote sensing start-up.

The focus of Dr. Silvana Konermann's lab is to develop and apply technologies for high-throughput transcriptional perturbations to understand the cellular and molecular pathways driving human genetic risk in neurodegenerative disease

Dr. Benjamin Lev's research focuses on exploring the organizing principles of quantum matter through the development of techniques at the interface of ultracold atomic physics, quantum optics, and condensed matter physics.  Dr. Lev's major achievements and current projects include: