People – Civelek Lab

Mete Civelek, PI

PhD, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
MS, Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University
BS, Chemical Engineering and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University

Mete 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.

Ingrid Braenne, Senior Scientist

PhD, Computing in Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Lübeck
MS, Molecular Life Science, University of Lübeck
BS, Molecular Biotechnology, University of Lübeck

Ingrid joined the University of Virginia after having worked as a junior group leader in Prof. Jeanette Erdmann’s group at the Institute for Integrative and Experimental Genomics at the University of Lübeck. She studied molecular life science and completed her PhD in machine learning. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she focused on the identification and in-silico prediction of new genes for coronary artery disease using various computational approaches which led to the identification of several genes and variants associated with coronary artery disease and familial hypercholesterolemia. Her current focus lies on the identification of biomarkers that predict the development of type 1 diabetes and coronary artery disease. She is affiliated with both Charles Faber’s and Mete Civelek’s groups.

Rédouane Aherrahrou, Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD, Animal Biotechnology, Moulay Ismail University and University of Lübeck
MS, Engineering and Biotechnology of Microorganisms, Moulay Ismail University and University of Lübeck
BS, Molecular life science, Moulay Ismail University

Rédouane Aherrahrou completed his PhD 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 special focus is on genetic factors regulating smooth muscle cell function.

Warren Anderson, Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD, Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University
MS, Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh
BA, Psychology, Temple University

Warren has worked in neurophysiology and cardiac electrophysiology with a focus on understanding how ion channels regulate synaptic integration and arrhythmogenesis. During his PhD 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. He is currently working with Mete Civelek and Michael Guertin to elucidate the genetic influences on pathway dynamics in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Edna George, Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
MTech, Nanomedical Sciences, Amrita Centre for Nanoscience
MS, Biotechnology, Dr. G R Damodaran College of Science
BS, Microbiology, Dr. G R Damodaran College of Science

Edna completed her PhD under the guidance of Dr Shamik Sen at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Her work focused on studying the different cell responses in the microenvironment patterned with several physical cues that mimicked the native extracellular matrix. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Fellow working jointly with Mete Civelek and Thomas Barker. Her present work aims at designing gene circuit to treat lung and liver fibrosis.

Jordan Reed, PhD Student

BS, Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania

Jordan received a BS 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.

Jameson Hinkle, Lab Manager

MS, Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University
BS, Biology, Roanoke College

Jameson received a BS in Biology from Roanoke College. He then worked at US Geological Survey and completed an MS in environmental studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Now, he is the lab manager of the Civelek Lab. His research focuses on understanding how the transcription factor KLF14 and RNA binding protein CPEB4 regulate obesity and metabolism using cell culture and mouse models.