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. Tan’s awards include BWF CASI (2021), ISFS (2021), Berry Fellowship (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
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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.
Francesca Kim
Master’s Student in Computer Science | Co-mentor: Anshul Kundaje
Francesca Kim is a current master's student in Computer Science and a recent graduate from Stanford University with a major in Biomedical Computation. Born and raised in South Korea, Francesca is passionate about developing computational and genetic tools to investigate neural circuitry underlying complex behaviors. She was previously mentored by Prof. Karl Deisseroth developing minimally invasive interfaces for optogenetics, for which she was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship. She is now jointly advised by Prof. Anshul Kundaje conducting computational genomic analysis of regulatory elements in various neuronal subtypes. Outside of research, Francesca is involved with Arbor Free Clinic, co-founded Healing Strokes art therapy, and loved building community as a Resident Assistant on campus. In her spare time, she can be found cooking new recipes, glazing ceramic mugs, or developing film in the darkroom!
Cydney 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.
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Izzi Gengaro
(Rotation) PhD Student in Chemical Engineering | Co-mentor: Xiaojing Gao
Born and raised in New Jersey, Izzi received her B.S. in Chemical-Biological Engineering (minor: Computer Science) from MIT in 2022. While at MIT, she worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Love lab, where she investigated methods to to increase heterologous protein expression in Pichia pastoris for the development of vaccines and other therapeutics for low-to-middle income countries. In addition, she worked briefly in the Doyle lab and the Hamel lab. Izzi is also a Stanford Graduate Fellow, a member of the Sarafan ChEM-H CBI training program, and a member of Tau Beta Pi. Outside of the lab, Izzi enjoys running and country music.
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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.
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