Amjad Askary
Amjad is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at UCLA. He is also a member of the Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences and Brain Research Institute. Amjad is interested in understanding how cell fate decisions are orchestrated during development and has been developing molecular tools that help us answer this question.
Amjad did his undergrad in Iran at University of Tehran, before moving to US to work on his PhD with Dr. Gage Crump at USC, where he worked on cell fate specification in joint cartilage and developed a zebrafish model for human joint disease. He then worked with Dr. Michael Elowitz at Caltech on genetic recording and in situ readout of cell lineage.
Fun fact about Amjad: there is none.
Zainalabedin (Zain) Samadi
Zain is a postdoctoral scholar focused on developing new methods for spatial profiling of gene expression and lineage. He has recently finished his PhD degree in Communication Systems Engineering at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) and has experience in signal processing, statistics, and machine learning. He is new to developmental biology, but excited to apply the mathematical principles that are frequently used for signal processing and data compression to address fundamental biological questions. In his spare time, he enjoys writing short stories, reading novels, and taking a long walk in nature.
Neel Tangella
Neel is a graduate student in the Systems Biology PhD program at UCLA. He is developing imaging-based barcodes and in situ readout technology to build a spatial and mechanistic picture of how prostate cancer escapes treatment, alongside computational methods for finding recurring motifs in the organization of complex tissues. Before joining the lab, he earned his B.S. and M.S. in Quantitative and Computational Biology at USC, where he built agent-based models of tumor–immune interactions in Stacey Finley’s lab, and he spent a year as an AI research engineer at the Ellison Medical Institute working on in silico drug discovery and digital pathology. He is drawn to problems where a new measurement technology and the right analysis method have to be developed together. Outside of lab, Neel enjoys working out, discovering new music, and making espresso.
Sami Majid
Sami is a first year UCLA biology student with a deep interest in biomedical research, especially at the intersection of clinical applications and computational tools. As someone who is looking to become a healthcare physician, creating and applying algorithms to clinical scenarios to help with identifying, predicting, and preventing disease is what he is passionate about. He is also very interested in using computational tools to study and understand cell genomics and tissue engineering to open pathways to all sorts of new insights. Outside of academics, he loves to go to the gym, go on hikes, hangout with friends and family, and read books.
Anthony Pluhar
Anthony is a third-year student majoring in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology with a strong passion for genetic research involving gene regulation, cell signaling, and computational biology. He is especially interested in integrating quantitative modeling approaches to dissect enhancer function and gene expression control, which could be used to further develop gene therapy technologies. Beyond the lab, he is passionate about teaching and working with peers to create a welcoming learning environment. Outside of academics, he likes working with animals, volunteering at hospitals, and spending time with friends and family.
Previous members
Mykel Barrett (Graduate student; MBIDP)
Yuka McGrath (Lab Assistant)
Pratiti Dasgupta (Postdoctoral fellow)
Sahana Ramesh (Undergraduate; MCDB)
Kai Hao (Postdoctoral fellow)
Joseph Bugliarelli (Lab Assistant)
Parviz Seifpanahi Shabane (Staff Research Associate)
Tyler Buckley (Rotation student; MBIDP)
Swetha Ramesh (Rotation student; Bioinformatics)
Ashley Arancio (Rotation student; MBIDP)
Andy Garcia (MCDB; Now UCLA Medical School)