Meet the Gronert Lab!
Spring 2023
Principal Investigator
Karsten Gronert, MS, PhD
Karsten joined the University of California, Berkeley Faculty in 2007, was tenured in 2011 and promoted to Professor in the School of Optometry in 2014. He was Chair of the Vision Science Graduate Program (2014-2018). He is also a member of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity Program at UC Berkeley. His research interests are focused on elucidating the role and regulation of intrinsic lipid circuits that control healthy & routine execution of ocular surface immune responses and maintain homeostasis & neuroprotection in the retina.
Assistant Research Scientist
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Shruthi Karnam, PhD
I did my Postdoctoral Research at Duke University and obtained my Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2018 from National Institute of Nutrition, India. I joined John Flanagan and Gronert labs in Oct 2020. My research interests are to characterize a neuroprotective network in the retina, define its mechanisms of action and explore the efficacy of amplifying the astrocyte lipid circuit as a novel target for preventing or treating glaucoma using an established mouse model of ocular hypertension, primary cell culture of astrocytes, various molecular and lipidomics approaches. In my spare time, I enjoy listening to music, gardening, and traveling.
Shubham Maurya, PhD
I completed my undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from MNNIT Allahabad, India, and Ph.D. in Gene Therapy from IIT Kanpur, India. Continuing my scientific hues, my work at Gronert Lab aims to understand the role of neuroprotective pathways and the effect of pre-resolving lipid mediators in ocular hypertension models of glaucoma. I love exploring the mountains and beaches in the Bay Area.
Graduate Students
Matangi Kumar
I graduated from UC Davis in 2021 with a degree in Genetics and Genomics and I am currently a PhD student in the Vision Sciences program. My research interests are to understand the mechanisms of damage and neuroprotection in Glaucoma and my current project is to understand the mechanism of muller glia reactivity and the role of lipid mediators for neuroprotection. In my free time I love art, crocheting, music, and trying new activities!
Emily Ward
At Tulane University, I pursued majors in cell/molecular biology & neuroscience and a minor in chemistry. I then completed my MSc by Research at the University of London through a project relating to eicosanoids, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. Next, I worked as a medical writer in New York City (pharmaceutical industry). Currently, I am a second-year PhD student of the Vision Science program and I (together with my great lab colleagues) research the role of lipid mediators in glaucoma. I also continue to work as a freelance medical writer. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, hiking, painting, and cooking/baking.
Undergraduate Students
Amodini Choudhary
Hi, my name is Amodini! I’m a sophomore majoring in French and Molecular and Cellular Biology, with an emphasis in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Outside of the lab, I enjoy climbing, cooking, and exploring the bay!
Amodini Choudhary
Trisha Devchoudhury
Hello! My name is Trisha Devchoudhury, and I'm currently a first-year undergrad student, pursuing a double major in Molecular and Cell Biology (Neurobiology emphasis) and Public Health. In my free time, I love reading, hiking, and exploring new places and foods!
Trisha Devchoudhury
My name is Sydney Adcook and I am currently a sophomore majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology with an emphasis in Infectious Disease. In my free time, I enjoy baking, swimming, and listening to music.
Sydney Adcook
Hi, my name is Branson Bajoua, I'm an undergraduate third-year majoring in Molecular Cell Biology with an emphasis in Immunology and minoring in Bioengineering. In my free time I enjoy long-boarding and running!
Branson Bajoua
Collaborating Investigators
John G. Flanagan, PhD, DSc, FCOptom, FAAO, FARVO
John the eighth and inaugural Dean and Professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley. He is also a member of the American Glaucoma Society, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. His research areas are molecular and cellular biology. His research interests are focused on the Pathophysiology of glaucoma, Glial cell activation, and Cellular models of glaucoma, capable of manipulating biomechanical stretch and ischemia.
Jeremy Sivak, PhD
Dr. Sivak completed his Ph.D. in 2001 at Tufts University/New England Medical Center, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cambridge. He then joined Novartis in 2005 as a project lead, where he led multidisciplinary ophthalmic drug discovery teams. Dr. Sivak returned to academics in 2010 to establish a research program that examines the mechanisms controlling retinal injury responses and to design new treatment and drug delivery strategies. The success of this work is reflected in concurrent funding from federal and non-profit granting agencies, industry collaborations, consistent publications in prominent journals, and broad lecturing internationally.
Lab Alumni
Former Post-Docs
| Name | Time in Lab | Current Position |
|---|---|---|
| Becca Flitter, PhD | 2017-2019 | Associate Director, Vaxart Inc. |
| Yuan Gao, PhD, MD | 2012-2015 | Associate Professor, Southwest Eye Hospital, Third Military University, China |
| Alexander Leedom, MD, PhD | 2009-2011 | Medical Affairs, Research and Development, Jazz Pharmaceuticals |
| Elvira Liclican, PhD | 2008-2010 | Project Manager, University of California, Los Angeles, Clinical and Translational Science Institute |
| Baiyan Dong, PhD | 2007-2008 | Pharmacist |
Former Graduate Students
| Name | Time in Lab | Current Position | Jan Auswitz | 2023-2024 | *visiting student from Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg |
|---|---|---|
| Julian Ho | 2020-2022 | Contractor at Genentech |
| Thao Yeh | 2016-2019 | Medical Director, Alcon |
| Jessica Wei | 2014-2019 | Principal Scientist, Nkarta |
| Kaleb Asfaha | 2014-2018 | Founder & CEO, Merso Labs |
| Marjan Nabiollah* | 2016-2016 | Kite Pharma *visiting student from Utrecht University, Netherlands |
| Di Wu* | 2013-2015 | Optometrist *visiting student from Tianjin Medical University, China |
| Samantha Wang | 2009-2013 | Scientist, Boehringer Ingelheim |
| Melanie Zhang | 2009-2012 | Staff Optometrist, United States Airforce |
| Alexander Leedom | 2007-2009 | Medical Affairs, Research and Development, Jazz Pharmaceuticals |
| Iram Hassan* | 2004-2009 | Inspector, Food Drug Administration *New York Medical School, Pharmacology PhD Program |
Former Undergraduate Students
*Denotes students who completed an Honors Thesis
| Name | Time in Lab | Arzin Thobani* | 2022-2024 |
|---|---|
| Tanirika Singh* | 2022-2024 |
| Maggie Lin* | 2020-2024 |
| Eileen Wang* | 2018-2022 |
| Lily Yang* | 2019-2022 |
| Elainna Ng* | 2019-2022 |
| Jason Huang | 2021-2022 |
| Annie Zhang* | 2019-2021 |
| Christine Cheung* | 2017-2020 |
| Karthik Mouli* | 2017-2020 |
| Franco Faucher* | 2018-2019 |
| Kimberly Tang* | 2018-2019 |
| Nicole Rossi* | 2016-2018 |
| Henry Kilgore* | 2014-2015 |
| Kyungji Min* | 2013-2015 |
| Katy Ong* | 2010-2012 |
| Vincent Le | 2019-2020 |
| Pranav Bhimani | 2019-2020 |
| Rose Li | 2018-2019 |
| Ishita Aggarwal | 2017-2017 |
| Sharon Chen | 2015-2017 |
| Ju Yeon Han | 2015-2017 |
| Julia Yoo | 2015-2017 |
| Victoria Ly | 2014-2017 |
| Katharine Spack | 2014-2017 |
| Allison Chan | 2014-2016 |
| Wang Qi Chen | 2014-2016 |
| Madaleine Nemchek | 2014-2016 |
| Jasmine Nguyen | 2014-2016 |
| Jun Hyung Sin | 2014-2016 |
| John Su | 2014-2015 |
| Yibing Zhang | 2014-2015 |
| Katherine Spack | 2014-2017 |
| Sundeep Bekai | 2013-2013 |
| Panda Kreidler | 2013-2014 |
| Sam Nguyen | 2013-2014 |
| Patrick Salveston | 2012-2013 |
| Vinay Raghuram | 2012-2013 |
| Brian Xieu | 2012-2013 |
| Sean Li | 2012-2014 |
| Jonathan Jong | 2012-2014 |
| Jeremy Lai | 2012-2014 |
| Erick Lu | 2012-2014 |
| Kyle Seamon | 2010-2012 |
| Vinidhra Mani | 2010-2012 |
| Yangdi Chen | 2010-2012 |
| Yuning Annie Wang | 2010-2013 |
| Haemin Hong | 2011-2012 |
| David Lin | 2011-2014 |
| Kyle Hu | 2009-2012 |
| Clifford Bielenski | 2008-2008 |
| Van Nguyen | 2008-2012 |
| Ray Zhang | 2008-2008 |
| Denise Lau | 2008-2009 |
| Nancy Quach | 2008-2009 |
| Hasiao-Yin Cheng | 2009-2012 |
| Eric Zhu | 2008-2009 |
| Kari Lam | 2008-2012 |