TEAM
We intentionally bring people together from different backgrounds because it means people are wired differently, offering the team complementary perspectives on how problems are framed and solved. We believe that fostering diverse perspectives encourages collaboration, sparks creativity, and leads to better science.
MEHDI BOUHADDOU
Principal Investigator (PI)
Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG)
Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio)
Mehdi received his B.A. from UC Berkeley, Ph.D. from Mount Sinai, and did a postdoc at UCSF. For his Ph.D. with Marc Birtwistle, he developed ordinary differential equation (ODE) mathematical models of cancer signaling pathways. During his postdoc with Nevan J Krogan, he applied mass spectrometry phosphoproteomics and affinity purification to virology and cancer. He is fascinated by how proteins communicate and how they are interconnected. In his free time, he aspires to be a professional tennis player (not) and dabbles in triathlon training.
Our Team.
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Immy Ashley, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Coral proteomics and molecular biology
Pritha Sankar
High School Student
Coronaviruses protein evolution
Mentored by Yennifer
Kyla Dangerfield, B.S.
PhD Rotation Student
Pan-alphavirus kinase inhibition
Mentored by Declan
Andrea Chan
Undergraduate Researcher
SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein phosphorylation
Mentored by Yennifer
Aaron Kunitz
Undergraduate Researcher
HPV-host interaction during viral genome integration
Mentored by Charles
Charles Olwal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
HPV-host interaction during viral genome integration
Declan Winters, B.S.
PhD Candidate
Comparative alphavirus phosphoproteomics
Andrea Chan
Undergraduate Researcher SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein phosphorylation
Mentored by Yennifer
Declan Winters, B.S.
PhD Candidate
Comparative alphavirus phosphoproteomics
Pritha Sankar
High School Student
Coronaviruses protein evolution
Mentored by Yennifer
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Shaylyn Carthen
Undergraduate Researcher
Applied human biomedical knowledge to coral biology
Mentored by Immy
Sophie Lin
Undergraduate Researcher
Mapping human kinases to viral phosphorylation sites
Mentored by Kareem
Yennifer Delgado, B.S.
PhD Candidate
Phosphorylation-driven CoV-2 M protein multifunctionality.
Aaron Kunitz
Undergraduate Researcher HPV-host interaction during viral genome integration
Mentored by Charles
Immy Ashley, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Coral proteomics and molecular biology
Sandra Papazian
Undergraduate Researcher
SARS-CoV-2 orf9b protein-protein interactions
Mentored by Shipra
Shipra Sharma, Ph.D.
Project Sci. & Lab Manager
Comparative SEC-MS across diverse viruses
Tom Shi
Undergraduate Researcher
HPV-host interaction during viral genome integration
Mentored by Charles
Charles Olwal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
HPV-host interaction during viral genome integration
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Kyla Dangerfield, B.S.
PhD Rotation Student
Pan-alphavirus kinase inhibition
Mentored by Declan
Sara Makanani, M.S.
PhD Student
Herpesvirus Latency Proteins as Phosphorylation-Triggered Biosensors
Sophie Blanc, B.S.
MD/PhD Candidate
HIV-1-induced peripheral nervous system toxicity
Valerie Vandersall
Undergraduate Researcher
Relating kinase activity and viral life cycle dynamics
Mentored by Declan
Alumni
Thank you to all past lab members who have made the lab what it is:
Angelina Park
Undergraduate Researcher 2025-2026 - Now Junior Specialist and Lab Manager at UCSF
Jocelyn Ni
Undergraduate Researcher
2023-2026 - Now 1st year Virology PhD student at Harvard University
Safdar Kilaru
Undergraduate Researcher
2023-2025 - Now performing clinical and medical work in India
Nithesh Perumal
PhD Rotation Student
Winter 2023 - Now BMSB PhD candidate in the Backus Lab at UCLA
Mohammad Alam
PhD Rotation Student
Spring 2023 - Currently Scientist II at Thermo Scientific
Kevin Truong
Undergraduate Researcher
2023 - Now BS in Biochemistry at UCLA
Anthony Truong
Undergraduate Researcher
2025-2026 - Now continuing his undergraduate education at UCLA
Justin Selby
Undergraduate Researcher
2023-2026 - Now Clinical Researcher at Seattle's Children's Hospital
Prashant Kaushal
Postdoctoral Scholar
2023-2025 - Now Senior Scientist at Washington University in St. Louis
Alexia Andrikopoulos
PhD Rotation Student
Winter 2023 - Now BMSB PhD candidate in the Schmidt Lab at UCLA
Matthew Lawson
Undergraduate Researcher
2023-2024 - Now BS in MIMG at UCLA
Callie Phung
Undergraduate Researcher
2025-2026 - Now preparing for medical school application season
Kareem Alba
Undergraduate Researcher
2023-2026 - Now 1st year MD/PhD student at UC San Diego
Matias Lee
BIG Undergrad Program
Summer 2024 - Now PhD student at Johns Hopkins University
Armen Khanbabaei
PhD Rotation Student
Fall 2023 - Now MCIP PhD candidate in the Xiao Lab at UCLA
Nithya Chilukuri
Undergraduate Researcher
2023-2024 - Now BS in CaSB at UCLA
Evan Wynn
Undergraduate Researcher
2025-2026 - 1st year PhD student at University of Indiana Bloomington
Min Hur
Undergraduate Science
2023-2026 - Now Medical Assistant at Dermatology clinic in NY city
Ricardo Roure
BIG Undergrad Program
Summer 2024 - Now PhD student in Systems Biology at UCLA
Erin Kim
PhD Rotation Student
Spring 2023 - Now BMSB PhD candidate in the Li Lab at
UCLA
Darry Wong
High School Researcher
2023-2024 - High School Intern mentored by Mehdi