Current Students and Alumni

Zachary Engfer

Since joining Dr. Palczewski lab in the Center for Translational Vision Research (CTVR) at the beginning of 2021, Zachary has demonstrated exceptional tenacity and drive to advance his research and obtain the training he needs to fulfill his future goal of becoming an independent investigator. His research interests are multifaceted, and he is currently spearheading two independent projects while assisting with a third, collaborative effort. His primary project focuses on studying retinoid flux and the biochemical basis of a two-cell visual chromophore recycling pathway, i.e., the “visual cycle”, via the manipulation of two key enzymes in murine retinas.  Zachary’s main goal with his core project is understanding how engineering Lrat and Rpe65 expression in the photoreceptors (normally these are endogenously expressed in the RPE) affects retinoid flux and influences normal retinal function and morphology. Understanding how perturbations to the visual cycle affect both health of the retina and movement of retinoid intermediates provides insight into potential metabolic networks that need to be addressed for effective treatment and/or reversal of specific retinal degenerative pathologies. Additionally, Zachary is working on generating new antibodies against rod- and cone-specific cyclic nucleotide-gated channel isoforms that are responsible for generating the initial hyperpolarization response in the photoreceptors. Zachary has demonstrated a profound keenness to engage with the biomedical research community at large, and he actively engages with guest speakers in an array of diverse fields. Innate enthusiasm, serious work ethic, and curiosity for discovery is essential for a lifelong career in research, and Zachary displays these attributes on a daily basis. His commitment to bettering human health through a balance of basic and translational research identifies him as a student who will continue a schoolwide commitment to excellence and empathy in biomedical research as he continues with his career.
 

Kristen Fong

Kristen Fong is an undergraduate student currently pursuing her B.S. in Biological Sciences at UCI. Kristen's background as an Optometric Technician inspired her to pursue a more comprehensive understanding of ocular health with experiences in both patient care and research. She joined the Palczewki laboratory as an undergraduate researcher under the mentorship of Dr. Krzystof Palczewski and Dr. Alex Tworak in 2024. Her current research project with Dr. Tworak encompasses studying the function of the membrane frizzled-related protein (MFRP) and prime gene editing in to alleviate ocular symptoms related to mutations in the structural transmembrane protein peripherin-2 (PRPH2). She is passionate about the progression of gene editing and its subsequent impact on treatment for ocular diseases.

Hernan Gomez

Hernan Gomez is a second year graduate student in the chemistry department.  Hernan previously had one year of undergraduate research experience developing nanoparticles to target toxic peptides and proteins.  Post graduation he spent one year in industry at Takeda Pharmaceuticals where he learned about the potential of plasma derived protein therapeutics and how to perform analysis on them.  Following his experience, he decided to continue to pursue his research experience and joined the chemistry PhD program at UCI to further investigate areas of chemical biology. Curious about exploring a new area of science, he joined the Palczewski laboratory in 2022.  Since then, he has begun studying ophthalmology and expanding my knowledge on related fields to begin developing his research project.  From the collaborative nature of the lab, he hopes to learn and develop his technical skills from wide range of disciplines available to eventually apply them to his research project.  Currently he is synthesizing retinoid compounds to test if they stabilize the P23H rhodopsin mutant.

Fang-Shiuan (Sherry) Leung

Sherry is a second-year PhD student in Physiology and Biophysics at UC Irvine. She completed her B.S. in Biological Sciences at UC Davis in 2018, where her curiosity for in vivo modeling and clinical applications began. Her undergraduate research encompassed inflammation and tissue regeneration, behavioral studies, and mouse genetic engineering, leading to two co-authorship publications.

Post-graduation, Sherry furthered her research at UC San Francisco for over four years as an Assistant Specialist. Her focus was on morphogenesis and signaling in craniofacial and foregut development, alongside providing technical support in generating seven CRISPR/Cas9-edited mouse lines using i-GONAD (improved-genome editing via oviductal nucleic acids delivery). This phase of her career contributed to co-authorships in prestigious journals such as eLife and Nucleic Acids Research, along with two forthcoming papers. Additionally, her research on the function of a novel chaperone protein, Pfdn1, in cleft palate pathogenesis and brain development is expected to culminate in a first-author publication.

In 2023, Sherry began her PhD in Genetics and Genomics at Baylor College of Medicine, delving into genetics and genomics through rigorous coursework and lab rotations. Her work during this period includes an upcoming co-authored publication applying high-throughput proteomic profiling to space omics at the Human Genome Sequencing Center. Subsequently, she joined Dr. Rui Chen's lab relocated with the team to UC Irvine in 2024, focusing on the mechanisms of the ABCA4 gene in macular degeneration and developing gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases.

Besides her academic pursuits, Sherry is an active volunteer in various non-profit biomedical associations, aiming to inspire and collaborate with young scientists in the biomedical field.

Yasmeen Joannna Solano Rodriguez

Yasmeen Solano is a Ph.D. graduate student who is training under the mentorship of Dr. Philip Kiser. Yasmeen’s research interest involves the development of unfamiliar proteins involved in critical biological systems. Specifically, Yasmeen’s current objectives are to contribute scientific findings towards various proteins that take part within the visual cycle, one of them being Lecithin retinol acyltransferase (LRAT). LRAT is a retinyl ester synthase, catalyzing the formation of fatty acid retinyl esters, a crucial step in the retinoid cycle. In the eye, it is specifically expressed in the RPE, therefore, LRAT dysfunction leads to diminished visual chromophores and eventual retinal degeneration. Loss-of-function of LRAT in humans causes severe vision loss, ultimately developing into retinitis pigmentosa (RP). What captures Yasmeen’s interest the most about this protein is that at present, native LRAT, an integral membrane protein, has never been purified and its structural knowledge is not fully established. By applying various biochemical techniques, Yasmeen has expressed, solubilized, and purified a fully functioning LRAT protein. This sets the stage for Yasmeen to move onto crystallizing the protein and obtain an overall better structural understanding of native LRAT. As she strives to expand the development of proteins within the visual cycle, Yasmeen has also taken the role of mentoring undergraduates in the lab. She finds it critical to take part in mentorship and outreach as she notes that if outreach would have been accessible to her in her lower income community, her love for science would have started at a much younger age. For that reason, her and her mentor are working to provide a day of science to low-income students in neighboring minority-filled communities. Outside of lab, Yasmeen enjoys spending time with her family and creating new memories with her newborn son, Eleus.