Mete Civelek, Principal Investigator
- Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
- M.S., Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
- B.S., Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University
Mete Civelek, Principal Investigator
Mete Civelek joined the University of Virginia after a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular genetics in the laboratory of Jake Lusis at the University of California, Los Angeles. He studied the genetic regulation of gene expression in vascular cells and adipose tissue in human and mouse populations. He identified novel candidate genes that can play causal roles in the development of atherosclerosis, obesity and insulin resistance. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and is also a resident faculty at the Center for Public Health Genomics. He is a member of the Robert M Berne Cardiovascular Research Center and has a secondary appointment in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. He is the co-chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a member of the Program Committees of the American Heart Association Vascular Biology Conference and the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.
Rédouane Aherrahrou, Postdoctoral Fellow
Rédouane Aherrahrou completed his Ph.D. in the research group of Prof. Jeanette Erdmann at the University of Lübeck. He joined the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia as a postdoctoral fellow in 2016. He is interested in understanding how genetic factors regulate the development of coronary artery disease. His focus is on genetic factors regulating smooth muscle cell function. Redouane was an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellow between 2018 and 2020.
Warren Anderson, Postdoctoral Fellow
Warren Anderson has worked in neurophysiology and cardiac electrophysiology with a focus on understanding how ion channels regulate synaptic integration and arrhythmogenesis. During his Ph.D. studies, he implemented computational studies that revealed novel insights into the mechanisms of neuroinflammation and the autonomic nervous systems’ integrated contributions to the development of hypertension. His current work is focused on understanding the genetic basis of sex differences in adipose tissue. Warren was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Cardiovascular Training Grant between 2017 and 2018 and an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellow between 2018 and 2020. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Neuroendocrinology Training Grant.
Qianyi Yang, Postdoctoral Fellow
Qianyi Yang is trained as a biochemist and molecular biologist. She completed her Ph.D. with Dr. Jim Forney, studying the function of SUMOylation in Tetrahymena using biochemical and proteomics approaches. Following that she joined the lab of Humaira Gowher at Purdue University where she studied the role of transcription factor Vezf1 during angiogenesis. She then moved to St. Louis and joined Zhou-Feng Chen lab at Washington University in St. Louis. There she focused on understanding the mechanism of circadian-regulated mouse itch behavior. She joined Civelek lab in November 2018 as a postdoctoral research associate. She is interested in investigating the role of transcription factor KLF14 in adipocyte function.
Nicolas Barbera, Postdoctoral Fellow
Nik Barbera completed his PhD in the laboratories of Drs. Belinda Akpa and Irena Levitan at the University of Illinois at Chicago. During his PhD studies, he studied interactions between lipids, sterols, and membrane proteins in a dynamic membrane environment using molecular dynamic simulations. His current work is focused on identifying causal genetic variants in loci associated with coronary artery disease susceptibility. He is a postdoctoral fellow in the Cardiovascular Training Grant.
Jordan Reed, PhD Student
Jordan Reed received a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and did undergraduate research in bacteriology, studying antibiotic resistance at the University of Rochester. Her current focus is understanding the flow of genetic information in adipose tissue gene expression networks using causal inference modeling. Jordan was a Predoctoral Fellow in the Cardiovascular Training Grant between 2018 and 2020.
Noah Perry, PhD Student
Noah Perry received a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and did undergraduate research in biomechanics and imaging, creating computational eye models to study the impact of glaucoma conditions on the biomechanics of the eye at Georgia Tech and Emory University. His current focus is understanding the flow of genetic information in vascular smooth muscle cell gene expression networks using causal inference modeling. He is a Predoctoral Fellow in the Cardiovascular Training Grant
Yonathan Aberra, PhD Student
Yonathan Aberra received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine. He studied systems neurobiology and microscopy, designing miniaturized fluorescence microscopy cameras to study regulatory circuitry in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in awake mice with the support of the National Institute of Mental Health. His current focus is identifying the causal genes in genomic regions associated with body fat distribution with a focus on the CPEB4 locus. He is a Fellow of the The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program.
Rita Anane-Wae, Biomedical Engineering Fourth Year Undergraduate
2019 Harrison Undergraduate Research Award
Dillon Lue, Biomedical Engineering Third Year Undergraduate
2020 Harrison Undergraduate Research Award
Diana Albarracin, Biomedical Engineering Third Year Undergraduate
NSF REU Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering Program Participant
2021 Harrison Undergraduate Research Award
Zhiwen Xue, Biochemistry Second Year Undergraduate
2020 – 2021 Harrison Undergraduate Research Award
Jordan Giles, Biomedical Engineering First Year Undergraduate
Alfredo LeBron
NIH Summer Research Internship Program Participant
Department of Natural Sciences
University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla, PR
May – August 2018
May – August 2019
Carolyn Graham
NIH Summer Diabetes Research Internship Program Participant
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
May – August 2018
Nicholas Garza
NSF REU Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering Program Participant
Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
May – August 2018
Anthony Boivin
Department of Physiology and Integrative Biology
Université Pierre et Marie Curie- Sorbonne Universités
April – August 2018
Sonavine Nget Chan
Department of Physiology and Integrative Biology
Université Pierre et Marie Curie- Sorbonne Universités
April – July 2018
Florent Bouchon
M.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology
Agrocampus Ouest, Rennes, France
September 2017 – January 2018
Rebecca Habisch
Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Biberach an der Riss, Germany
March – November 2017
Simon Perrin
Department of Physiology and Integrative Biology
Université Pierre et Marie Curie- Sorbonne Universités
March – June 2017
Shayna Holness
NSF REU Multi-Scale Systems Bioengineering Program Participant
Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics
Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
May – August 2017
Cameron Raglin
NIH Summer Research Internship Program Participant
Departments of Chemistry and History
Amherst College, Amherst, MA
May – August 2017
Jameson Hinkle, M.S. in Environmental Studies
2015-2020 Lab Manager
Life after Lab: Lab Manager, Dr. Heather Ferris Lab
Joon Yuh Sohl, B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
2016-2018 Undergraduate Research Assistant
2018-2020 Bioinformatics Technician
Life after Lab: Master of Science in Data Science at the University of Virginia
Ngozi Akingbesote, B.S. in Biology with Distinction
2017-2020 Undergraduate Student Opportunities in Academic Research (USOAR) Program
2018 Harrison Undergraduate Research Award
2019 Caltech Wave Fellow
2019-2020 Department of Biology Distinguished Majors Program
Life after Lab: Ph.D. Program in Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology at the Yale School of Medicine
Lisa Chen, B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
2015-2019 Undergraduate Research Assistant
2018 Harrison Undergraduate Research Award
2018-2019 Capstone Design Project
Life after Lab: Master of Engineering in BME at the University of Virginia
Jewel White, B.S. in Biology
2017-2019 Undergraduate Research Assistant
Life after Lab: Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience at the University of Maryland
Aaron Aguhob, B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
2015-2018 Undergraduate Research Assistant
2017-2018 Capstone Design Project
Life after Lab: Bioinformatics Software Developer at Cyrus Biotechnology
Ryan Cheng, B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
2015-2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant
Life after Lab: Senior Data Scientist 2nd Order Solutions
Nicholas Asby, B.S. in Biomedical Engineering
2015-2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant
Life after Lab: Ph.D. Program in Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago
