Yamamoto Lab@BCM
Current Members
The Team
Diverse members of the Yamamoto Lab work together in a highly collaborative environment. If you are interested in joining our team, please contact the PI.
Jung-Wan Mok, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Jung-Wan obtained his PhD from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) and joined our group to study the function of genes and variants identified in rare and undiagnosed diseases patients and to pursue mechanistic studies.
Mikiko Oka, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mikiko obtained her PhD from Tokyo Metropolitan University and joined our group to study the function of a novel Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk gene, TM2D3, its function in the adult nervous system, and its relationship to other AD causing genes.
Kaz (Hirokazu) Hashimoto, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Kaz obtained his PhD from the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan and joined our group to study the neuronal function of SATB2, which causes SATB2-associated syndrome in children. He also leads several projects related to the Undiagnosed Diseases Network and Alzheimer's disease related projects.
Rei Yasuda, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Rei obtained his MD and PhD from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and joined our group to identify novel genes that cause adult-onset neurodegenerative disorders or stroke by combining next-generation sequencing and functional studies in flies.
Shelley B. Gibson
PhD Candidate,
Genetics & Genomics Program
Shelley is a PhD student in the Genetics & Genomics Graduate Program who is exploring the function of a developmental signaling pathway in regulating dopamine levels. She is also actively studying a novel syndromic disorder in collaboration with the Undiagnosed Diseases Network related to this pathway.
Harim Delgado-Seo
PhD Candidate,
Neuroscience Program
Harim is a PhD Candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program who is interested in using flies to study the precise molecular functions of a novel epigenetic modification in the contexts of innate and addictive behavior.
Haley A. Dostalik
PhD Candidate,
Genetics & Genomics
and CTR-CAQ Programs
Haley is a PhD candidate in the Genetics & Graduate Graduate Program and CTR-CAQ Program who is interested in using flies to diagnose, understand, and treat rare genetic disorders.
Mei-Chu Huang, MS
Research Assistant
Mei-Chu is a staff scientist who manages a large scale resource generation project that aims to create transgenic fly lines that allow expression of human protein coding genes.
Danqing Bei
Laboratory Technician
Bei is a Laboratory Technician who supports diverse research activities in the Yamamoto lab. Most recently, she has been co-leading the production of transgenic fly lines by performing microinjections. She also supports transgenic fly generation for our collaborators.
Ling (Hongling) Pan
Research Technician
Ling is a Research technician who supports diverse research activities in the Yamamoto lab. Most recently, she has been co-leading the production of transgenic fly lines by performing microinjections. She also supports transgenic fly generation for our collaborators.
Kyla Wilwayco
Student Helper
Kyla works in the lab to support multiple projects related to rare and undiagnosed disease as a part time Student Helper while pursuing a MPH degree from Baylor University
Yoko Fujita, MD, PhD
Research Assistant
Yoko works in the lab to support multiple projects related to rare and undiagnosed disease as a part-time Research Assistant while pursuing her studies to apply for fellowships to pursue a career in clinical pathology
Jasmine Brown
Post-Bac Student,
PREP Program
Jasmine is a postbac student in the PREP Progam who is interested in using flies to diagnose and understand the mechanism of rare genetic disorders.
Pradnya Bhadane
Lab Manager
(Yamamoto & Wangler Labs)
Pradnya serves as is a lab manager for the Yamamoto lab as well as Dr. Michael F. Wangler's laboratory. The two labs operate jointly and Pradnya coordinates their activity, taking care of a variety of tasks.
Lab Alumni
Former Postdocs
Sheng-An Yang, PhD
Sumit Saurab, PhD
Former PhD Students
Jose L. Salazar, PhD
J. Michael Harnish, PhD
Samantha L. Deal, PhD
Former Post-Bac Students
Samantha L. Deal, PhD
Brooke Hull
Matthew Lagarde, MD
Former Undergrad Students
Ashley Phillips, MPH (Rice U)
David Wang, MD (Rice U)
Subsequent Positions
Staff Scientist, ClinGen Project, BCM
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas Medical Branch
Technical Services Scientist, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
Life Science Consultant, Clearview Heathcare Partners
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania and HHMI
PhD Student, Baylor College of Medicine
PhD Student, Princeton University
Medical Student, McGovern Medical School at UTHeath
MPH Student, New York University
Medical Student, McGovern Medical School at UTHeath