Section Chief: Yaron Rotman, M.D., M.Sc.
Lab Members
Our Staff
Section Chief
Our Fellows
Lila González-Hódar, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. González-Hódar received her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences in 2020 from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Chile. She started her career studying the role of lysosomal proteins in the gallstone formation. In her Ph.D. thesis, she worked on lipid metabolism in a murine model of lipodystrophy. She joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in September 2020 and is working on elucidating the mechanisms by which some genetic variants protect against NAFLD damage.
Allison Wing, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Wing received her PhD from Yale University in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology in 2021. As an undergraduate, she optimized an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier at the University of Delaware. For her dissertation, she studied the effects of dietary fats on adipocyte precursor proliferation and differentiation. She joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in 2021 where she is investigating the role of genetic diversity in the liver on peripheral insulin sensitivity.
Wenqi Cui, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Dr. Cui received her PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from University of Kansas in 2017. Her PhD dissertation research was focused on the post-translational modifications of nuclear receptor PXR in drug metabolism and liver inflammation. In her first round of postdoctoral research, she studied signaling-dependent lipid droplets catabolism and turnover in NAFLD at University of Minnesota. She joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in February 2021. Her research interests are unveiling the mechanism of HSD17B13 genetic variants to protect against hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, and identifying therapeutics that target hepatic HSD17B13.
Willis Tang, B.S.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA
Mr. Tang received his Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology with honors from the University of Southern California in 2022. Throughout his undergraduate career, he has conducted a wide variety of research that spans basic science, clinical, and public health fields. His most recent project, before arriving at the NIH, focused on investigating the role of PPAR-beta/delta in linking lipid metabolism with epigenetic changes that promote circulating tumor cell survival. He is currently studying the role of HSD17B13 in liver diseases.
Lady DAG
Lab mascot
An inflatable shark by training, Lady DAG presides over the lab.
Alumni
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2010-2011
Next position: Medical Student, Boston University, Boston, MA
Current position: Medical Director of Genitourinary Reconstruction, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center
Koji Fujita, M.D., Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, 2011-2014
Next position: Research Assistant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yokohama City University Hospital, Yokohama, Japan
Gihan Naguib, M.B.Ch.B.
T-32 Clinical Fellow (University of MD), 2013-2016
Next position: Clinical Associate, Division of Pediatric Gastroentrology and Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
Current position: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Children's Center
Yanling Ma, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral/Research Fellow, 2014-2020
Next position: Senior Research Investigator, Bristol Myers Squibb
Current position: Principal Scientist/Group Leader, Bristol Myers Squibb
Katherine Valles, M.D.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA, 2014-2016
Next position: Medical Student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Maren Podszun, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, 2016-2020
Next position: Lecturer, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Current position: Interim Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Philip Brown, B.Sc.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2016-2018
Next position: M.D., Ph.D. Student, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX.
Dennis Lin, B.S.P.H.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2018-2020
Next position: Medical student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Mark Shapses, M.D.
Medical Research Scholar, 2019-2020
Next Position: Medical Student, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
Current Position: Internal Medicine Resident, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Current Position: Internal Medicine Resident, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Lakshmi Mahajan, B.Sc.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2020-2021
Next Position: Medical Student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Allie Carroll, M.D.
Medical Research Scholar, 2021-2022
Next Position: Medical Student, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Bowoo Lee, B.Sc.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2021-2023
Group Photos
View full-sized image Escape Room (2022)
Zoom lab meeting (2021)
Marshall Nirenberg's Nobel Medal at the National Library of Medicine (2020)
