Team

In chronological order

Longzhi Tan

Assistant Professor of Neurobiology

Originally from Wuhan, China, Tan received his S.B. in Physics (minor: Biology) from MIT in 2012, studying evolution with Jeff Gore and Pardis Sabeti. He earned his Ph.D. in Systems Biology from Harvard in 2018, developing high-precision methods for single-cell genomics with Sunney Xie. He uncovered the 3D structure of the human genome in a single cell, revealed unique chromosome organization in the mouse eye and nose, and measured the true mutation spectrum of single neurons in the normal human brain. Tan also attended the Neurobiology course at MBL in 2014, and worked with Ibrahim Cisse at MIT in 2019. As a postdoc in Karl Deisseroth’s lab at Stanford Bioengineering (co-mentor: Howard Chang), Tan discovered major 3D genome transformation in the mouse brain after birth. Tan started his own lab at Stanford Neurobiology in Dec 2022, and discovered evolutionarily conserved 3D genome restructuring over the life spans of both humans and mice. Tan’s awards include PSF MIND (2024), Sanofi iAward (2024), HHMI FHS Finalist (2023), Baxter (2023), BWF CASI (2021), ISFS (2021), Berry (2020), Science & SciLifeLab Grand Prize (2019), HHMI ISRF (2015), and IPhO Gold Medal (2008). Outside of the lab, he enjoys designing holiday cards, t-shirts, and music videos, and is a scientific illustrator.

Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, Stanford University, 2022 – Present
Postdoc in Bioengineering (Karl Deisseroth, Howard Chang), Stanford University, 2019 – 2022
Postdoc in Physics (Ibrahim Cisse), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019
Postdoc in Chemistry and Chemical Biology (Sunney Xie), Harvard University, 2018 – 2019
Ph.D. in Systems Biology (Sunney Xie), Harvard University, 2012 – 2018
S.B. in Physics (minor: Biology; Pardis Sabeti, Jeff Gore), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009 – 2012
Freshman in Physics, Peking University, 2008 – 2009

Jenny Shi

Undergraduate Student in Chemistry and in Computer Science

Jenny Shi is an undergraduate studying Chemistry and Computer Science at Stanford University. She is working on characterizing the 3D genome in the brain and is interested in how molecular changes in DNA and RNA can affect neuronal circuitry and ultimately behavior in psychiatric diseases. Outside of the lab, she enjoys painting, writing poetry, and drawing/petting cats.

Email | Stanford Profile

Cydney P. Wright

Undergraduate Student in Biology (Neurobiology Tract)

A Florida native, Cydney Wright is a graduate of Mainland High School located in Daytona Beach, Florida. Graduating as Salutatorian of her class, Wright was involved in many extracurricular activities. She served as the Varsity Track and Field team captain (2019 – 2021) and ambassador for the Academy of Scientific Inquiry and Medicine (2019 – 2021). Wright, Class of '25, is a pre-med undergraduate student at Stanford University prospectively majoring in Biology on the Neurobiology tract. Wright is a member of the Varsity Track and Field team at Stanford University where she specializes in short and long sprints. Continuing her career at Stanford she served as lead student intern in an anti-racism and health equity initiative under the direction of Suzette Ship (Spring 2022). She is also a member of the executive board of Cardinal BLCK (2022 – present), a former student intern for the Hardan Lab (2022), and a lab class participant under the instruction of Dr. Yamin Yang (2022). In her free time, Cydney enjoys listening to music and reading, her favorite authors are Toni Morrison and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

CV | Email | LinkedIn | Stanford Profile

Bibudha Parasar

Postdoctoral Scholar in Neurobiology

Bibudha received his Dual BS-MS in Chemistry from IISER-Kolkata, India, developing organic synthesis reactions with Prof. Jyotirmayee Dash and dynamic system modeling with Prof. Partho Sarothi Ray. He did his PhD in chemistry and chemical biology from Cornell University with Prof. Pamela V Chang, where he developed technologies to understand and modulate inflammation. He developed two optogenetic probes that can alter inflammatory states in macrophages and naïve T cells on-demand. Additionally, he developed an antibody-free activity-based technology to selectively enrich and identify bacteria from mouse gut expressing an active gut microbial enzyme. He also worked with Prof. Inma Cobos at the Stanford University School of Medicine investigating an interneuron subtype expressing KIT in both human and mouse brain. Currently in the Tan lab, he is developing second generation of Dip-C technologies to understand aging and development of cerebellum in both human and mouse. His hobbies include study and collection of fossils, crystals, minerals, antiquarian books, mint never hinged (MNH) stamps, and uncirculated (UNC) paper money.

Yunji Seo

MD Student

Yunji is a first year MD student at Stanford School of Medicine from Seoul, South Korea. She received a B.A. in neurobiology and biochemistry and M.S. in chemistry from University of Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate, Yunji worked in the Chen-Plotkin lab investigating molecular mechanisms of alpha-synuclein neurodegeneration and genetic risk factors of Parkinson’s disease. At the Tan lab, she is interested in studying the interplays between neuron and glia that are critical to aging, neurodevelopment and pathogenesis. During her free time, she loves making ceramics, exploring plant nurseries and dog-watching at the park.

Email | Stanford Profile

Jerry Song

MD-PhD Student in Genetics | Co-mentors: Ritchie Chen & Xiaojing Gao

Jerry is a first-year medical student in the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program and a Lipshultz Fellow in the Sarafan ChEM-H CBI Training program. Jerry was born and raised in Xinzheng, China, before moving to Seattle for middle and high school. Jerry received his B.S. in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins and studied biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Before coming to Stanford, Jerry has worked on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration at Johns Hopkins, the molecular bases of behavioral neuroscience at the National Institute of Health, and novel methods for gene delivery in the Feng Zhang Lab at the Broad Institute. Outside of the lab, Jerry is usually found either at the beaches of NorCal or in restaurant supply stores preparing for his next dinner party.

Email | Twitter | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | Stanford Profile

Emma Follman

PhD Student in Neurosciences

Emma is a first-year PhD student in the Neurosciences program. Originally from Garnet Valley, PA, she received her BA in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University in May 2022. During her junior year, she worked in the Gama Lab studying the MCL-1 protein in human neural progenitor cells. As a senior, she worked in the Calipari Lab studying the operant parameters that shape reproducible behavioral responses in mice. Emma is interested in topics such as learning, memory consolidation, the hippocampus, and epigenetics. Outside of lab, she is part of the leadership team for Community College Outreach Program (CCOP) and enjoys listening to music, going to concerts, and dancing.

Email | Twitter | Stanford Profile

Siavash Moghadami

PhD Student in Chemical and Systems Biology | Co-mentor: Carolyn Bertozzi

Born in Tehran, Iran, Siavash received his B.Sc./M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Chemical Biology (Summa cum laude, Highest Distinction, and Departmental Honors) from the University of California at San Diego in 2022, studying the in-vivo conversion of glial cells into functional neurons using single-cell multi-omics and spatial genomics/transcriptomics with Don W. Cleveland and Bogdan Bintu. While at UCSD, Siavash worked on developing the periodic table of mice brain cell types in a pan-brain fashion using Multiplexed Error Robust Fluorescent In-situ Hybridization (MERFISH) technique. Siavash also conducted research in the laboratory of Joe Gleeson at UCSD, working on molecular and biochemical mechanisms of MBOAT7-linked neurodevelopmental disorders and the contribution of cell-type-specific regulatory elements to autism features using single-cell multi-omics. Upon graduation, Siavash received the Harold C. Urey award for exceptional academic achievement from UCSD. Currently, Siavash is a Ph.D. student in the Biosciences program at the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology. While not in the lab, he enjoys reading books, learning Artificial Intelligence, traveling, cooking, or picking up a new skill.

Email | Twitter | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | Stanford Profile

Lucas Sosnick

Undergraduate Student in Bioengineering

Lucas is an undergraduate planning to major in bioengineering at Stanford. Previously, Lucas worked with Dr. Philipp Mews at the Nestler Lab, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he studied the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of cocaine addiction in mouse models. Additionally, Lucas has contributed to projects involving molecular docking, including developing chemical analogs of psilocin for the treatment of depression by targeting the 5-HT2A receptor, and creating a novel small molecule inhibitor of Cdc14 in F. Oxysporum to combat Fusarium Wilt. In his free time, Lucas enjoys playing the alto saxophone and performs in a jazz band on campus.

Email | LinkedIn | Stanford Profile

Jay X. J. Luo

(Visiting) Undergraduate Student in Neuroscience and in Computational Medicine

From Vancouver, Canada (born in Beijing, China), Jay is an undergraduate studying Neuroscience and Computational Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. As a high school student, he performed small molecule assays on synovial sarcoma cultures in Dr. Martin Hirst’s lab at the University of British Columbia. As a freshman at Johns Hopkins, he worked on analyzing the epigenetic responses to genome-wide DNA cleavage by Cas9 in the lab of Dr. Taekjip Ha. As a sophomore, he worked on custom reference genomes for the K562 cell line and variant effects on transcription factor binding in the lab of Dr. Michael Snyder. As a junior, he worked on gene therapy for chronic pain in the lab of Dr. William Renthal. In the summer of 2023, he worked on multiome sequencing data for the psychENCODE project in the Snyder Lab. Now in the Kundaje and Tan labs, he is working with Dr. Longzhi Tan and Dr. Ritchie Chen on applying machine learning to characterize gene regulation in the mouse brain. He is broadly interested in the connection between the multiple scales of neuroscience (molecular to theoretical) and specifically in brain circuits that generate diverse behavioral states and the cell types that underpin neurological disorders. Outside of the lab, Jay enjoys playing tennis and listening to classical and jazz music (especially bebop).

Email | GitHub | LinkedIn

Brandon Ameglio

(Rotation) PhD Student in Biophysics

Brandon received his bachelor's in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University, where he worked in Dr. Jeffery Gray's lab building and evaluating de novo antibody designs. After graduating, he worked in Dr. Richard Sherwood's lab at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. In the Sherwood lab, Brandon worked on developing novel high throughput assays to study protein interactions to study cellular processes implicated in neurodegenerative disease. Outside of the lab, Brandon enjoys reading, tennis, and cooking.

Email | LinkedIn

Achuthan Raja Venkatesh

PhD Student in Biophysics | Co-mentor: Alexander R. Dunn

Hailing from Chennai, India, Achuthan received his BS-MS in Biology from IISER Mohali. He remotely worked with Prof. Onn Brandman and Prof. David Weld for his Master's thesis (locally guided by Prof. Purnananda Guptasarma simulating space-dependent diffusivity in cells to probe how it influences transport and compartmentalization. After a brief foray into single-molecule experiments at the Max Planck Institute, Dresden, Germany, he joined the Biophysics Program at Stanford. Out of work, he enjoys figuring out the next song to butcher over karaoke, going down rabbit holes on the internet and debating haircare products.

Email | Twitter

Evelyn Wong

(Rotation) MD-PhD Student | Co-mentor: Ritchie Chen

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Evelyn is a first-year in the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). She completed her B.A. from Harvard University with a major in neuroscience and a minor in Spanish literature. Evelyn received the Herchel Smith Fellowship for her thesis project with Dr. Edward Boyden at the MIT McGovern Institute, developing a next-generation protein sequencing platform. As a Marshall scholar, she earned an MPhil from the Division of Medicine (Neuroscience) at University College London, where she optimized existing neurotechnologies to understand cortical brain function. Evelyn aspires to merge her interests in asylee health and neuroengineering to tackle technical and structural barriers to neuropsychiatric health. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, taking long walks in the redwoods, and spending time with loved ones.

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Lab Alumni

Francesca Kim

2022–2023: Master’s Student in Computer Science (Co-mentors: Ritchie Chen & Anshul Kundaje)

Position after Tan Lab: MD Student, Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST)

Izzi Gengaro

2022: (Rotation) PhD Student in Chemical Engineering (Co-mentor: Xiaojing Gao)

Position after Tan Lab: PhD Student in Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Stanley Qi, Department of Bioengineering

Stephanie Zhang

2022–2023: Undergraduate Student in Bioengineering and in Architectural Design

Position after Tan Lab: Same as above

Blake Zhou

2022: (Rotation) PhD Student in Neurosciences

Position after Tan Lab: PhD Student in Neurosciences, Laboratory of Ryann Fame, Department of Neurosurgery

Kelli Ann Lynch

2022: (Rotation) PhD Student in Biophysics

Position after Tan Lab: PhD Student in Biophysics, Laboratory of Christine Jacobs-Wagner, Department of Biology

Luis Hernandez

2023: (Rotation) PhD Student in Biology

Position after Tan Lab: PhD Student in Biology, Laboratory of Or Gozani, Department of Biology

Deven Shah

2023: Undergraduate Student in Biology and in Computer Science