Nicole Coufal, MD PhD

Associate Professor
Pediatric Critical Care
Department of Pediatrics

Superpower: Juggling (life)

About the PI

Physician Scientists

Celina Nguyen, PhD
MSTP Student

Kaitlin Farrell, MD PhD
Neuroimmunology Fellow

UCSD Medical Scientist Training Program 
PhD: UCSD Neurosciences 
Bachelor's: University of Arizona

​Superpower: Tissue culture Ninja

MD/PhD: University of Pittsburgh
Neurology Residency: UCSD
 

Superpower: rodent behavior paradigms AND a yoga master

 

Postdoctoral Fellows

Carla Pernaci, PhD
​Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD: Department for Biomedical Research (DBMR), University of Bern Switzerland
​

Superpower: Best Blue Cheese Burger Maker!

Shivakumar Rajamanickam, PhD
Senior Scientist ​

PhD: Southern Illinois University
Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Texas Health Sciences

Superpower: stay tuned!

Jing Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Masters in Neurology, Harbin Medical University, China
​MD: Institute of Human Genetics, Heidelberg, Germany
​
Superpower: Experimental planning as 3D chess

Annalisa Maggio, PhD
​Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD: University College London

Superpower: stay tuned!

Mitchell Krawczyk, PhD
​Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD: University of California, Los Angeles
Bachelor's: University of Washington​

Superpower: Remembering the actors name

Zahara Keulen, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD: University of California, Irvine
MS: CIRM Cal Poly
BS: UC Santa Cruz

Superpower: plant whisperer 

Graduate Students

Vanessa Martin, MS Graduate Student​

Neurosciences Graduate Program
Master's Degree: UCSD Biology
Bachelors: UCSD

Superpower: All things Real Housewives

Genevieve Curtin
​MSTP Student

UCSD's Medical Scientist Training Program
Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
Bachelor's: UCSD


​
Superpower: The Orchid Whisperer

 

Katie Mostoller
​MSTP Student

UCSD Medical Scientist Training Program
Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences
Bachelors: University of Washington

Superpower: Banjo picking

Cristina Mora, MS
​MSTP Student

UCSD Medical Scientist Training Program
Graduate Program: Neurosciences
Bachelor's: UC Berkeley
Master's: San Francisco State, CIRM

Superpower: Stay tuned!

Master's Students

Amanda Wilpitz, BS
BS/MS Student

University of California, San Diego
BS/MS Student

Superpower: always having trinkets and stationery on hand

Lana Purdy
Master's Student

California Polytechnic State University
CIRM Master's Program
Undergraduate: UC Santa Barbara

Superpower: Being in two places at once!

Samantha Mak, MS
​Staff Research Associate

University of California, San Diego
McNair Fellowship
BS/MS Program graduate 
​
Superpower: Incredible weightlifting skills

Amazing Staff

Anna Warden, PhD
​Bioinformatician

Bing Xia
​Lab Manager

Lee Hanlin
Staff Research Associate

PhD: Neurosciences, University of Texas at Austin
​
​Superpower: Baker extraordinaire and mad R skills

University of California, San Diego

​
​Superpower: Library cloning / lab mom!

Bachelors: Union College, NY

​ 
Superpower: baker extraordinaire

Undergraduates

Raina Cheng
Undergraduate Student

University of California, San Diego
​
Superpower: stay tuned!

Nicole Ziqing Zhu
Undergraduate Student

University of California, San Diego

​​Superpower: Playing 2048

 

Ana Noel
​Undergraduate Student

California State University San Marcos

​​Superpower: Relentless curiosity (powered by banana lattes)

Dhwani Kharidia
Undergraduate Student

University of California, San Diego

Superpower: Matcha-powered creativity!

 

LAB ALUMNI

Avalon Johnson, MS
2020-2023 CIRM Master's San Luis Obispo + Postbac
​Next: Doctoral student, European Molecular Biology Laboratories (EMBL), Barcelona, Spain

Samantha Trescott, BS
2019-2023 CIRM Undergrad San Diego State University + Postbac
​Next: Doctoral student, Genetics Graduate Program, Stanford University.

Juri Dojun, BS
2025-2026 University of California, San Diego 
​Next: Staff Research Associate, Nicola Allen's Lab, Salk Institute 

Emily Hansen, MS
2019-2022 CIRM Master's San Luis Obispo + Postbac
​Next: MD/PhD MSTP Program, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Madison Wright, MS
2021-2022 CIRM Master's San Luis Obipso
​Next: Neurocrine, Inc

Sydney Gillette, MS
2023-2025 CIRM Master's San Luis Obispo + Postbac
Next: Neurocrine, Inc

Claudia Han, PhD
2019-2023 Postdoctoral Fellow
​(Joint Glass Lab)
​Next: Assistant Professor, Washington University at St. Louis

Chad McCormick, MS
2024-2025 CIRM Master's San Luis Obispo 
Next: ​Capricor Therapeutics

Mark Lopez Sanchez
2021-2023 CIRM Cal State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Undergraduate, McNair Scholar
​Next: Master Program in Bioinformatics, San Diego State University

Jessica Esparza, MS
2023-2025 San Diego State University Master's student and CIRM Fellow
Next: Amydis 

Jesial Diaz, BS
2025-2026 University of California, San Diego
​Next: Staff Research Associate, Gene Yeo Lab

Michael Zakariaie '22 (UCSD Undergrad) - Johns Hopkins University Bioengineering                                               Graduate Program
Sam Anavim '21 (UCSD Undergrad) - University of California Irvine School of Medicine
​Shreya Shriram '21 (UCSD Undergrad) - Northwestern School of Medicine
Roy Kim '20 (Staff Research Associate) - iXCells Biotechnologies
Zahara Keulen '19 (SLO CIRM Master's) - University of California Irvine Neurosciences
​                                 Graduate Program
Jiang Xiao '19 (Undergrad) - The Scripps Research Institute Graduate Program
Yin Wu '19 (Undergrad) - Baylor Neurosciences Graduate Program