Our Team
Current Members
Juan Rene Alvarez Domínguez, Ph.D.
Juan grew up in Guatemala, and went to school there and in Italy. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Molecular Biology, and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Ph.D. in Biology. He worked as an HHMI LSRF Fellow in the Melton Lab at Harvard University, studying the physiological maturation of pancreatic islets. His interests include regenerative medicine, circadian rhythms, and organoids. Outside of lab, Juan enjoys film, music, travel, skiing, and chess.
Sam Preza
Sam graduated from University of Maryland in 2019 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He worked for three years at AstraZeneca in Bioprocess Development, where he researched N-linked glycosylation, Raman chemometric modeling, and perfusion technologies. Broadly, Sam’s interests lie in researching and developing technologies for unmet medical needs—currently, optimizing pancreatic islet maturation and scale-up for therapeutic application. Outside the lab, Sam enjoys rock climbing, romantic date nights, snowboarding, beach volleyball and kicking it with friends.
Mai Liu
Mai graduated from Purdue University in 2020 with a major in biological engineering and minors in computer science and biotechnology. He completed his master of biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 2022, where he studied cell-specific gene expression using deep learning-enabled tissue labeling in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. His interests lie in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, including current projects on epigenetic control of human pancreatic islet maturation. Outside the lab, Mai enjoys playing video games and hanging out with friends.
Zihan Gao
Zihan Graduated from Purdue University in 2020 with a degree in Biological Engineering and a minor in Biotechnology. From 2020 – 2022, she pursued her master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering in the Johns Hopkins University, where she explored the epigenetic and mechanotransducive regulation of PD-L1 expression in breast cancer cells. Zihan’s professional interests include tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and cell therapy. Her personal interests include watching Chinese costume drama, cooking, baking, hiking, and traveling with friends.
Stephen Lee
Stephen graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2017 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Most recently, he worked for two years at a biotech company using directed evolution to engineer N-terminal amino acid recognizers for use in a time-domain protein sequencing instrument. Before this, he worked in labs at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health, focusing on immunoengineering and molecular gerontology, respectively. Stephen’s scientific interests include functional genomics, molecular engineering, experimental automation, and open science. He is a student leader of the Graduate Association of Bioengineers (GABE) and a Research Council Representative of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA). Outside the lab, he enjoys cooking, traveling, backpacking, and live music.
Yu Xie
Yu graduated from New York University in 2024 with a major in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. His interests lie in biotechnology that creates tangible, real-world impacts on people's lives, driving innovations that improve health and well-being. Outside of lab, he enjoys playing golf, badminton, snowboarding, traveling, and exploring new and interesting things.
Zhihui Cheng.
Zhihui graduated from Peking University in 2023 with a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, where she researched the mechanism of ColGalT1 in regulating EMT transformation in hepatocellular carcinoma and its specific inhibitors. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in biotechnology at Penn. Her research interests focus on regenerative medicine, with current projects exploring how genes regulate pancreatic islet rhythms and immune responses. Outside the lab, Zhihui enjoys playing video games, listening to music, and reading.
Bliss Zheng
Bliss is a second year Bioengineering MSE student. She graduated from Cornell University in 2022 with a Bachelor's in Biological Sciences and a concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She is broadly interested in understanding how known cellular and molecular mechanisms can be leveraged to engineer novel therapies for diseases. Outside the lab, Bliss enjoys traveling, reading, and going to concerts with friends.
Stacy Liang
Stacy is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, studying Biology and Health & Societies on the Pre-Med track. Her interests lie within the intersection of development, endocrinology, focusing on reproductive health. Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling, laughing with friends, making TikTok dances, and cooking/eating new recipes.
Monica Cho
Monica is junior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a B.S.E. and M.S.E. in Bioengineering. She is from Seoul, South Korea and Atlanta, GA, and her interests lie within the intersection of synthetic biology and regenerative medicine. Outside of the lab, Monica loves to explore new coffee shops, cook, and spend time with friends.
Leila Abdel-Qader.
Leila is a current junior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a B.A. in Neuroscience with minors in Healthcare Management and Chemistry. Her professional interests lie in developmental and molecular biology, circadian rhythms, and neurobiology. Outside of the lab, she enjoys being with her cats, binge-watching shows, and reading dramas.
Luisa Lopez-Monzon
Luisa is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, pursuing a B.A. in Biology with a minor in Anthropology. She is passionate about translational research and integrating mathematical and computational approaches into wet lab experiments. Outside of the lab, Luisa enjoys hiking, attending concerts, engaging in science communication with children, and spending quality time with her loved ones.
Alumni
Andrew Neff
Andrew is a sophomore at Franklin and Marshall College studying Animal Behavior on the pre-vet track. Before working in the Alvarez lab, he gained experience in a behavioral research lab with capuchin monkeys and a number of other animals. After working in the Alvarez lab, Andrew shadowed a vet for a few weeks before returning to school. His personal interests include rooting for the Eagles and spending time with friends.
Derek Owusu-Dabo
Derek Prince is a Doctor who graduated from the university of Ghana(Legon). He is interested in the broad field of public health and decided to take the summer of 2024 to explore some research interests at the Alvarez lab. Outside of Medicine and Research, he does a lot of music and singing alongside business.
Beatrice Han
Beatrice is an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Biochemistry and Bioethics. Before joining the Alvarez lab, she conducted neurovirology research on a cerebral organoid model system. Currently, she is investigating the link between pancreatic beta cell maturity and vulnerability to autoimmune attack. Outside of the lab, she enjoys listening to horror podcasts, ink sketching, cooking with friends, and all things speculative fiction.
June Hyunjun Ahn
June is from Boston, and is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a M.A. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Biochemistry, Physics, and Biophysics. His interests lie in applying novel chemical biology approaches to solving problems in regenerative medicine. Outside the lab, June loves to play basketball, drink lattes, and skateboard.
Zoe Gruskin
Zoe graduated from the University of Maryland in 2022 with a B.S. in Animal Science and the Outstanding Service in Research award. During her undergraduate she worked in a gastrointestinal lab and an orthopedic lab. Her professional interests include animal behavior and welfare, immunology, biophysics, and organoids. She also likes reading, traveling, hiking, and volunteering.
Yasthika AshokKumar
Yasthika is a Conestoga High School student from Berwyn, PA graduating in 2023. She is monitoring the success in making beta cells from pluripotent cells by quantifying the expression of expected protein markers via flow cytometry at each stage of the process.
Israeli Galicia Silva
Isra is from Guatemala, and graduated from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala with a degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology. Her interest in Molecular Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine stems from her undergraduate thesis work, which introduced the first mammalian cell model at her university. She has worked as a Teaching Assistant for Biochemistry, Biology, and Chemistry courses, and loves introducing kids to science. Her personal interests include acting, theater, musicals, nature, art, and swimming.
Azariah J. Wise
Azariah is an undergraduate student from Spelman College majoring in Health Science and graduating in 2025. Her professional interests include Obstetrics and Gynecology, Endocrinology, and Circadian rhythms. Her personal interests include reading, swimming, baking, and traveling.
Roberto Mendoza-Rodriguez
Roberto is a Salvadoran-Mexican born in the United States. He is a freshman at University of Pennsylvania from Philadelphia, PA, hoping to pursue a career in Biomedical Research. His personal interests include spending time with family/friends and going out for walks in nature.
Daria Zhadanova
Daria graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023 with a BA in biology and earth science. She is broadly interested in developmental biology, cell signaling, epigenetics, and chromatin. Daria is currently studying the dynamics of repressive histone modfications throughout SC-islet differentiation. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, going to museums, puzzles, and summer.
Sam Pollock, B.S.
Sam graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017 with a degree in bioengineering and a minor in chemistry. He worked in the neuro-radiology department of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh for a year before joining the Peace Corps, serving in Guinea for two years as a math teacher. Sam's professional interests include genetics, neurology, epidemiology, imaging, and signals and systems. His personal interests include rock climbing, skiing, traveling, reading, and music.