| Members |
Alexa Burger
Alexa earned her PhD from the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, in 2007 and joined then the lab of Dr. Daniel Haber at the MGH Cancer Center as a postdoctoral research fellow. In collaboration with Dr. Randy Peterson, she wants to do a chemical screen for modifiers of mesenchymal development to identify mechanisms involved in kidney tumorigenesis.
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 Sonia Kim
After earning a B.S. in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sonia joined the Peterson lab in September 2007. She is working with Randy and learning the various methods and concepts behind chemical biology. She finds the lab's research fascinating and enjoys experimenting with zebrafish. |
 David Kokel, PhD
David began working with the CVRC in 2006 after earning his PhD at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is interested in using chemical genetics to understand the molecular pathways that contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. |
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 Yan Liu, PhD
Yan earned his Ph.D. in 2004 from the University of Virginia. He joined the CVRC after completion of his training as an AHA fellow in Dr. Eric Olson’s lab at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 2007. He is interested in developing zebrafish models for various heart diseases and identifying novel regulatory pathways using a chemical biology approach.
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Rita Mateus
I am a visiting Fulbright researcher in Randy's lab since November 2008. While I was still finishing my Masters degree in zebrafish caudal fin regeneration in Portugal, I decided I wanted to learn more and have more practical experience before pursuing a PhD. That's when I came across Randy's work and thought that the world of screening for small molecules in zebrafish was amazing and definitely very worth learning more about. At the moment I am working closely to Dave Kokel in trying to understand neurodegenerative diseases and their molecular pathways in the zebrafish embryo. |
Anjali Nath, PhD
Anjali earned her PhD in the department of Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology at Yale University. In 2009 she joined the Peterson lab where she is using chemical biology to both define the mechanisms of the pathogenesis of diabetes and identify potential therapeutic agents. |
 Chetana Sachidanandan, PhD
I joined Randy's lab in March 2006. I earned my PhD on muscle regeneration in India and then worked on mouse development in London for a few years. I decided to move into the exciting world of zebrafish development and chemical genetics to be able to address questions that are difficult to address in the mouse. I am studying iron metabolism and regulation in the body. |
 Peter Schlueter, PhD
Peter earned his PhD from the University of Michigan in the fall of 2006 and shortly after joined the Peterson lab. He is interested in modeling cardiac hypertrophy in the zebrafish and identifying novel chemicals that suppress this pathological condition. He also plans to investigate how hypertrophy affects cardiomyocyte function, with particular emphasis on calcium signaling. |
 Gromek Smolen, PhD
In 2002, Gromek earned a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at Johns Hopkins University. Subsequently, Gromek came to Boston as a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Dr. Daniel Haber at the MGH Cancer Center. Given the fact that cancer cells can misappropriate a number of signaling pathways used for normal organism development, Gromek grew interested in researching the interface of developmental biology and cancer research. In collaboration with Dr. Randy Peterson, he is studying a number of cancer genes using zebrafish as a model organism. |
 Joanna Yeh, PhD
Joanna has been with the CVRC since July 2003. In 2001, she earned her Ph.D. at Yale University from the Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology. She is interested in identifying the molecular mechanisms governing cancer and angiogenesis and discovering small molecule modifiers of these processes. |
Alumni |
 Kathleen Munson
Kathleen joined the CVRC in June 2006 after graduating with a B.A. in biochemistry from Vassar College. She is working with Joanna Yeh and is interested in the use of the zebrafish as a model organism in chemical biology studies.
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Arpita Mukhopadhyay, PhD
Arpita joined the CVRC in June 2006. She earned her PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore from the Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit. She is interested in applying the methods of chemical biology to understand vascular development and metabolic syndrome.
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 Yvonne Chao, Research Technician
Before joining the CVRC in June 2004, Yvonne earned a B.S. in Biology at Brown University. She is now pursuing a joint M.D./Ph.D. degree at the University of Pittsburgh. |
 Elma Feric
Elma began working at the CVRC in the summer of 2005. She is interested in the developmental biology of the zebrafish. In May of 2005 she earned her B.A.'s in Neuroscience and Psychology from Brandeis University. She is also an avid runner and plans to run the Boston Marathon. Elma is now preparing to apply to medical school. |
 Charles C. Hong M.D., Ph.D
Charles began working with the CVRC in July 2003. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at Yale University, completed his residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and came to Massachusetts General Hospital for a fellowship in Cardiology. He is interested in researching the chemical genetics of vascular development. Charles recently accepted an assistant professor position at Vanderbilt University. |
 Gloria Lee
Gloria Lee is currently an undergraduate student at MIT pursuing a double major degree in Biology and Brain & Cognitive Sciences. She joined the Peterson Lab in May 2006 and departed at the end of the summer of 2007. She is fascinated by the numerous advantages that zebrafish offers as a model organism to study biological processes and diseases. During her stay, she learned a lot of different lab techniques as well as about the research
lifestyle. Having grown up in NYC, she likes hip-hop music and the NY Yankees. |
 Quinn Peterson
Quinn joined the CVRC in August 2005. He earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University in 2005. Quinn is now enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
Shipeng Yuan, PhD
Shipeng Yuan graduated from the Tianjin Medical School in the P.R. of China. He studied early developmental biology as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Gary C Schoenwolf at the University of Utah School of Medicine. In 2000, He pursued further postdoctoral training on the molecular genetic control of cardiovascular development with Dr. Mark C. Fishman at the CVRC. Later he joined the Peterson lab investigating the molecular pathways involved in the formation and function of the heart by a chemical genetic approach. Shipeng Yuan is currently an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Assistant in Biology at the Diabetes Research Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital. |
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