RONG LI LABORATORY

Guangbo Chen

Predoctoral Researcher

gch@stowers.org

2006 BS Biology (Fudan University, China)

Projects:

- Ability of cell and biological molecule network to evolve and adapt
- Cancer as an evolutionary system

Hometown: Hunan, China

Arupratan Das

Predoctoral Researcher

ard@stowers.org

2006 MS Biochemistry (Calcutta University, India)

2004 BS Chemistry (Calcutta University, India)

Projects:

- Cdc42 recycling mechanism in dynamic maintenance of cortical polarity

Hometown: Calcutta, India
Family: one older sister
Hobbies: cricket, soccer

Amr Eldakak

Postdoctoral Research Associate

ahe@stowers.org

2006 PhD Molecular Biology (University of Illinois, Chicago, IL)
1999 MS Biology (Texas A&M, Kingsville, TX)
1992 BS Microbiology (Alexandria University, Egypt)

Projects:

- Asymmetric polarization of a group of transporters and its effect on aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Hometown: Alexandria, Egypt
Family: Iten Bayoumy (wife, Montessori teacher), Yousef (10 yrs old son) and Omar (5 yrs old son)
Hobbies: basketball, soccer, tennis

Blake Geppert

Graduate Researcher

bmg@stowers.org

2005 BS Biology (University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO)

Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Family: Wife (Sadie) Son (Aiden) Cats (Magnus, Elvis) Dog (Zephyr)
Hobbies: Travel, fly fishing, snowboarding, BBQ… the list goes on

Rong Li

Investigator, Professor of Physiology

rli@stowers.org

1992 PhD Cell Biology (UCSF)

1988 BS/MS Biochemistry (Yale University)

Hometown: Beijing, China
Family: husband – Dan, two children – Olivia and Gregory
Hobbies: art, hiking, sports in general

Swarna Mehrotra

Postdoctoral Research Associate

sme@stowers.org

2009 PhD Cancer Biology (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA)

2003 BS/MS Human Biology and Biochemistry (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India)

Projects:

- Exploring the role of paracrine signaling in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Hometown: Lucknow, India
Family: Husband (Vishal)

Renju R. Nair

Laboratory Assistant

rrn@stowers.org

M.Sc Pure Chemistry, 2002 , Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India.

B.Ed. Physical Science, 2004, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India.

B. Sc. Chemistry , 2000, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India.

Hometown: Kottayam , India
Family: Husband (Bony De Kumar), Son  (Advaith)
Hobbies: Gardening, cooking

Parama Paul

Predoctoral Researcher

ppa@stowers.org

2006 MS Biochemistry (University of Calcutta, India)

2004 BS Chemistry (University of Calcutta, India)

Projects:

- Mechanism of epigenetic regulation of Mef2 transcription factor by HDAC5 and its role in ADPKD pathogenesis

Hometown: Kolkata, India
Family: parents
Hobbies: Listening to music, watching movies and some sports

Ines Mendes Pinto

Predoctoral Researcher

ipi@stowers.org

2002 BS/MS Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of Porto, Portugal)

Projects:

- Spatial and temporal analysis of Myo1 interactions for cytokinesis in yeast S. cerevisiae

Hometown: Amarante, Portugal
Hobbies: jazz and classical music, cinema

Tamara Potapova

Postdoctoral Research Associate

tbo@stowers.org

2009 PhD Cell Biology (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK)

2004 MS Cell Biology (Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS)

1998 DVM (Ural State Academy of Veterinary Medicine, Troitsk, Russia)

Projects:

- I am interested in various aspects of mitotic exit

Hometown: Zlatoust, Russia
Hobbies: animals – big and small

Sreekumar Ramachandran

Research Specialist I

skr@stowers.org

PhD Biochemistry (Mahatma Gandhi university, India)

BS/MS Zoology (Kerala univervisty, India)

Projects:

- Quantitative analysis of Cdc14 release kinetics in single live cells in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Hometown: Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Hobbies: reading, cricket

Sarah E. Smith

Predoctoral Researcher

sas@stowers.org

2005 BS Physics

Projects:

-The role of Bem1 in actin-independent polarization in S. cerevisiae

Hometown: Kansas City, MO, USA
Family: Husband, Jeremy and son, Miles
Hobbies: Volunteering for disaster recovery and environmental and cultural preservation

Praveen Suraneni

Research Technician II

pks@stowers.org

2003 MS Biotechnology and Pharmacology (Sheffield Hallam University, England)

1999 BS Pharmacy (MGR Medical University, India)

Projects:

- Determine the role of the Arp2/3 complex in vertebrate cell motility using mouse embryonic stem cells as a model system
- Studying the novel chromatin-mediated actin assembly pathway during meiotic cell division using starfish oocytes as a model system

Mary Toth

Senior Administrative Assistant

mtt@stowers.org

BA

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Family: sons, Justin and Zane
Hobbies: weaving/textiles, literature, travel

Pei-Shan Wang

Postdoctoral Research Associate

psw@stowers.org

2011  PhD Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada)

2000 MS Biopharmaceutical Science (National Yang-Ming University,Taipei, Taiwan)

1998 BS Biology (Fu Jen Catholic University,Taipei, Taiwan)

Projects:

Cell motility of neural lineage cells

Hometown/Country: Taipei/Taiwan

Family: Husband (Fu-Sheng)

Hobbies: Animals

Yuping Wu

Postdoctoral Research Associate

yuw@stowers.org

2008 PhD Cell and Developmental Biology (University of Illinois, Urbana,IL)

2002 MS Genetics (Jinan University, Guangzhou, China)

1998 BS Biotechnology (South China Agriculture University, Guangzhou, China)

Projects:

Aneuploidy and Brain Development

Hometown/Country: Jiangxi, China

Family: Wife (Haiyan) Son (Matt)

Sheng Xia

Research Specialist I

shx@stowers.org

2003 PhD Biophysics (Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China)

1998 MS Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Hubei University, China)

1995 BS Biology (Hubei University, China)

Projects:

- Polycystins transduce fluid flow stress signal through activation of the MEF2C/HDAC5 transcription pathway

Kexi Yi

Research Specialist I

kyi@stowers.org

2004 PhD Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Beijing Normal University, China)

1998 BS Biological Science (Qufu Normal University, China)

Project:

- Mechanism of Actomyosin assembly in oocytes of model organisms

Chuankai Zhou

Predoctoral Researcher

czh@stowers.org

2010 BS Biology (Peking University, China)

Project:

- Asymmetry and Aging

Hometown: Wenzhou city, Zhejiang Province, China
Family: My dad, my mom and a little sister
Hobbies: soccer, basketball, swimming, movies and travel

Jin Zhu

Research Technician I

jzu@stowers.org

2008 MS Cell Biology (Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
2005 MS Biology (Peking University, China)

Hometown: Jiangsu, China
Family: wife, Di