Section Chief: Yaron Rotman, M.D., M.Sc.
Lab Members
Our Staff
Section Chief
Our Fellows
Lila González-Hódar, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. González-Hódar received her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences in 2020 from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Chile. She started her career studying the role of lysosomal proteins in the gallstone formation. In her Ph.D. thesis, she worked on lipid metabolism in a murine model of lipodystrophy. She joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in September 2020 and is working on elucidating the mechanisms by which some genetic variants protect against NAFLD damage.
Allison Wing, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Wing received her PhD from Yale University in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology in 2021. As an undergraduate, she optimized an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier at the University of Delaware. For her dissertation, she studied the effects of dietary fats on adipocyte precursor proliferation and differentiation. She joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in 2021 where she is investigating the role of genetic diversity in the liver on peripheral insulin sensitivity.
Haressh Sajiir, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Sajiir received his PhD in Immunology from the University of Queensland in 2024. As an undergraduate, he studied G-protein-coupled receptor signaling in macrophages during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. During his PhD, he investigated the endogenous and exogenous role of a cytokine in MASLD. He joined the Liver and Energy Metabolism Section in September 2024, where he investigates the liver's response to a meal and the mechanisms driving MASLD to MASH conversion.
Reem Araji, B.S.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA
Ms. Araji received her Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University in 2024. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on the annotation of bacteriophage genomes with antimicrobial potential against human pathogens. She was previously a summer intern at the Liver Diseases Branch where she investigated the role of the Hepatitis B e antigen in ER Stress. She is currently studying the role of HSD17B13 in liver diseases.
Lady DAG
Lab mascot
An inflatable shark by training, Lady DAG presides over the lab.
Alumni
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2010-2011
Next position: Medical Student, Boston University, Boston, MA
Current position: Medical Director of Genitourinary Reconstruction, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center
Koji Fujita, M.D., Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, 2011-2014
Next position: Research Assistant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan
Current position: Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yokohama City University Hospital, Yokohama, Japan
Gihan Naguib, M.B.Ch.B., M.H.Sc.
T-32 Clinical Fellow (University of MD), 2013-2016
Next position: Clinical Associate, Division of Pediatric Gastroentrology and Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
Current position: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Children's Center
Yanling Ma, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral/Research Fellow, 2014-2020
Next position: Senior Research Investigator, Bristol Myers Squibb
Current position: Principal Scientist/Group Leader, Bristol Myers Squibb
Katherine Valles, M.D.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA, 2014-2016
Next position: Medical Student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Current position: Psychiatry Resident, Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Manchester, CT
Current position: Psychiatry Resident, Eastern Connecticut Health Network, Manchester, CT
Maren Podszun, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Fellow, 2016-2020
Next position: Lecturer, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Current position: Interim Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Philip Brown, B.Sc.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2016-2018
Next position: M.D., Ph.D. Student, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX.
Dennis Lin, M.D.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2018-2020
Next position: Medical student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Current position: Intern, Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY
Current position: Intern, Internal Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY
Mark Shapses, M.D.
Medical Research Scholar, 2019-2020
Next position: Medical Student, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
Current position: Internal Medicine Resident, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Current position: Internal Medicine Resident, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Lakshmi Mahajan, B.Sc.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2020-2021
Next position: Medical Student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Allie Carroll, M.D.
Medical Research Scholar, 2021-2022
Next position: Medical Student, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Current position: Internal Medicine Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Current position: Internal Medicine Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Bowoo Lee, B.Sc.
Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, 2021-2023
Next Position: Clinical Laboratory Associate II, BillionToOne
Wenqi Cui, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Researcher, 2020-2023
Next Position: Research Scientist II, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Willis Tang, B.S.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA, 2023-2024
Next Position: Medical Student, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine
Group Photos
View full-sized image Escape Room (2022)
Zoom lab meeting (2021)
Marshall Nirenberg's Nobel Medal at the National Library of Medicine (2020)
Last Reviewed October 2024