Lab Members
Our Staff
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.
Haressh Sajiir, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Sajiir received his PhD in Immunology from the University of Queensland in 2024. As an undergraduate, he studied G-protein-coupled receptor signaling in macrophages during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. During his PhD, he investigated the endogenous and exogenous role of a cytokine in MASLD. He joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in September 2024, where he investigates the liver's response to a meal and the mechanisms driving MASLD to MASH conversion.
Melissa Lee, B.A.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA
Melissa received her B.A. in Sports Medicine and Health Sciences from Rice University in 2026. As an undergraduate, she studied neuromodulation in individuals with spinal cord injury and associations among breakfast behaviors, physical activity, and quality of life in undergraduates. She is currently involved in clinical research investigating MASLD, with a focus on nutritional factors and clinical biomarkers of disease.
Aarush Singh, B.S.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA
Aarush received his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Case Western Reserve University in 2026. During his undergraduate studies, he investigated extracellular vesicles as biomarkers in cardiometabolic diseases, as well as the innate immune mechanisms underlying the propagation of neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease. He is currently studying the adipose tissue’s response to a meal and the mechanisms driving the progression of MASLD to MASH in the liver.
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., M.H.Sc.
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: Director, Research Program 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
Current position: Psychiatry Resident, Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Manchester, CT
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, M.D.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2018-2020
Next position: Medical student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Current position: Resident, Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, 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: Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
Lakshmi Mahajan, M.D.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2020-2021
Next position: Medical Student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Current position: Internal Medicine Resident, Columbia University, New York, NY
Allie Carroll, M.D.
Medical Research Scholar, 2021-2022
Next position: Medical Student, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Current position: Gastroenterology Fellow, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Bowoo Lee, B.Sc.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2021-2023
Next position: Clinical Laboratory Associate II, BillionToOne
Wenqi Cui, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Researcher, 2020-2023
Next position: Research Scientist II, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Current position: Research Senior Scientist, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Willis Tang, B.S.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2023-2024
Next position: Medical Student, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine
Allison Wing, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Researcher, 2021-2026
Next position: Senior Scientist, Pfizer
Reem Araji, B.S.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2024-2026
Next position: Medical Student, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Group Photos
Zoom lab meeting (2021)
Marshall Nirenberg's Nobel Medal at the National Library of Medicine (2020)
Last Reviewed September 2026
View full-sized image Escape Room (2022)
