
Jim Hurley
jimhurley [at] berkeley.edu
Grad Students

King Cada
kingcada [at] berkeley.edu
NIH NRSA F31 predoctoral fellow from NIAID
Joint with Bustamante Lab
King is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines and a product of community college and public state university (San Francisco State University). In the lab he studies how membranes are severed by ESCRTs using fluorescence and optical force microscopy.

Liv Jensen
livjensen [at] berkeley.edu
A Bay Area native, Liv did her undergraduate work here at Berkeley while also competing with Cal Women’s Swimming. In the Hurley lab, she uses fluorescence microscopy and optical trapping to understand autophagy cargo engulfment. In addition to autophagy, she applies her interest in the regulation of complex systems to racing sailboats on San Francisco Bay.

Rachel Jansen
rachel_jansen [at] berkeley.edu
NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Originally from the East Coast, Rachel completed her BS in Biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst where she studied the structure and function of the chaperone DnaK. In the Hurley lab, she uses cryo-electron microscopy to understand lysosomal regulation. Outside of lab, Rachel enjoys hiking, puzzles and playing the cello.

Dan Tudorica
dan_tudorica [at] berkeley.edu
Dan graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in Biochemistry and Mathematics. At Oregon, he studied bacterial sensing and motility in the Karen Guillemin lab, with a focus on the structural aspects of oxidation sensors. In the Hurley lab, he studies the structure and function of autophagy regulation. Outside of lab, Dan loves to read, hike, and explore the city.

Yuichiro Iwamoto
yuichiro_iwamoto [at] berkeley.edu
Joint with Drubin Lab

Lisa Strong
lmstrong [at] berkeley.edu
Lisa received a BS in Biochemistry from UT Austin where she worked with Dr. Lauren Webb measuring the electrostatic field at protein-protein interfaces. She is now working towards determining structures of proteins involved in autophagy.

Kevin Rose
kevin_rose [at] berkeley.edu
Kevin completed a BS in Microbiology from UMD, College Park where he worked with Dr. Jeffrey DeStefano selecting for nucleic acid inhibitors against HIV Gag and Pol proteins. He is now working towards understanding viral co-option mechanisms of ESCRTs during virus budding and assembly using structural biology techniques.

Zeke Cook
zeke_cook [at] berkeley.edu
Zeke is a Pennsylvania Amish country native with a BS in physics from Penn State. He will be working on piecing together the structural organization of autophagy machinery using cryo-electron microscopy. When not in the lab, Zeke enjoys trail running, rock climbing, and donkey racing.
Post-Docs

Adam Yokom
alyokom [at] berkeley.edu
Jane Coffin Childs postdoctoral fellow
I am a first-gen scientist who is interested in studying ‘stubborn’ structural biology complexes. In my postdoctoral studies in the Hurley group this has focused on autophagy initiation complexes. Outside of the lab I work with the iMCB program, hunt for sour beers and host board game nights.

Cosmo Buffalo
Ruth Kirchstein NRSA postdoctoral fellow
buffalo [at] berkeley.edu

Kevin Larsen
kplarsen [at] berkeley.edu
Ruth Kirschstein Fellow
Kevin received his Ph.D. at Stanford University under the guidance of Joseph and Elisabetta Puglisi. He is broadly interested in applying electron microscopy methods to uncover the molecular mechanisms that govern host-pathogen interactions. When not in the lab, he enjoys volleyball, exploring California parks, and discovering local food and drink.

Sankalp Shukla
sankalp {at} berkeley.edu
Sankalp received his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania under the guidance of Tobias Baumgart. He is broadly interested in the mechanistic studies of membrane-protein interactions and their effect on membrane mechanics. His life outside the lab involves playing recreational sports, cooking spicy food, and practicing mindfulness.

Rick Hooy
rhooy1 [at] berkeley.edu
Ruth Kirschstein Fellow
Rick completed his Ph.D. work in the lab of Jungsan Sohn at the Johns Hopkins University. His research strives to understand the molecular basis for immunity, including mechanisms used by pathogens to thwart the immune system. Rick, a native Californian, has a love/hate relationship with the Giants and Niners, and spends as much time as possible outdoors.

Aaron Joiner
amj85 {at} berkeley.edu
Miller Institute Fellow
Aaron earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University while working in the lab of Dr. Chris Fromme. His doctoral work unveiled the mechanisms of GEF-mediated nucleotide exchange of small GTPases. He is broadly interested in using structural and biochemical approaches to understand the molecular logic of protein functions at the surface of a membrane.

Emma Garst
egarst {at} berkeley.edu
Emma completed her Ph.D. work at the Rockefeller University under the guidance of Howard Hang, where she studied the effects of lipidation on immune protein function. In the Hurley lab, her work focuses on how autophagy receptors promote selective cargo uptake. When not in lab, Emma enjoys hiking, skiing, reading, and hanging out with her dog.

Zhicheng Cui
zhicheng.cui {at} berkeley.edu
Zhicheng(Chen) received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University under the guidance of Junjie Zhang. He used cryoEM to study ssRNA phage and translational regulation of Mycobaterium tuberculosis. In the Hurley lab, he focuses on the lysosomal biogenesis and lysosome mitochondria crosstalk. Outside the lab, he enjoys spending time with his family and biking.
Project Scientist

Xuefeng Ren
snowren [at] berkeley.edu
Undergraduates

Chenxi Ou
co3154 [at] berkeley.edu
Chenxi is an undergrad in MCB, who is generally interested in aging science and still exploring his path. Aside from biology, he enjoys fencing and casual gaming.

Albert Tran
albert.tran.100 [at] berkeley.edu
Albert is an undergraduate majoring in Public Health, Data Science (emphasis in Economics), and MCB (emphasis in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology). He has an interest in lysosomal regulation, biomedical engineering, and data optimization. Outside of academics, Albert enjoys participating in student organizations involving dance, consulting, and volunteering.

Eshika Aggarwal
eshika09 [at] berkeley.edu
Eshika is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Molecular and Cell Biology and Data Science. She’s been very interested in neurodegenerative diseases and their neurological presentation over time. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants around Berkeley, practicing piano, and reading.

Owen Ong
owenjovianong [at] berkeley.edu
Owen is an undergrad in MCB, interested in structural biology. He joins the Hurley Lab to learn more about research and to explore his path. Outside of the lab, he enjoys coding, playing video games, and skateboarding.
Alumni
Chunmei Chang – Assistant Professor, Institute of Metabolism and Integrative Biology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Ming-Yuan Su – Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Xiaoshan Shi – Professor, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Simon Fromm – Cryo-EM Specialist, EMBL Heidelberg
Thomas Flower – Senior Scientist, Galapagos
Mark Remec Pavlin – Postdoc, Fitzpatrick Lab, Columbia University
Lindsey Young – Postdoc, Villa Lab, UCSD
Nicholas Tjahjono – Graduate Student, Rice University Materials Science and NanoEngineering Program, Yakobson Lab
Hersh Bhargava – Graduate Student, UCSF Biophysics Program, El-Samad and Lim Labs
Jamie Shiah – Former Undergraduate Researcher
Johannes Schöneberg – Assistant Professor, UCSD
Felix Goerdeler – Ph.D Student, Berlin, Germany
Kyle Morris – Senior Scientist, Electron Bioimaging Centre, Diamond Light Source, UK
kyleImorris.com
Goran Stjepanovic – Group Leader, University of Hong Kong
Ursula Schulze-Gahmen – Staff Research Scientist, Gladstone Institute
Mary Lin – Science Writer, Path AI
Eli Il-Hyung Lee – Assistant Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montclair State University
leei AT montclair DOT edu
Lars-Anders Carlson – Assistant Professor, Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, Sweden
lars-anders.carlson AT umu DOT se
Shiqian Qi – Professor, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University
qishiqian AT scu DOT edu DOT cn
Qingtao Shen – Assistant Professor, ShanghaiTech University
shenqt AT shanghaitech DOT edu DOT cn
Robin Stanley – Senior Investigator, NIEHS Intramural Program
stanleyre AT niddk DOT nih DOT gov
Michael Ragusa – Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College
michael.j.ragusa AT dartmouth DOT edu
Thomas Leonard – Group Leader, Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Vienna, Austria
thomas.leonard AT mfpl DOT ac DOT at
Evzen Boura – Group Leader, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences
of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic
evzen.boura AT gmail DOT com
Young Jun Im – Professor, Biochemistry Section, College of Pharmacy, Chonnam National University
imyoungjun AT chonnam DOT ac DOT kr
Dong Yang – University Researcher, China
Hyung Ho Lee – Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University
lee.hyungho AT gmail DOT com
Aitor Hierro – Group Leader, Structural Biology Unit, CIC BIOGUNE Ed. 800, Parque Tecnológico de Vizcaya
ahierro AT cicbiogune DOT es
Sangho Lee – Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan (“SKK”) University
sangholee AT skku DOT edu
Gali Prag – Principal Investigator, Dept. of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel
prag AT post DOT tau DOT ac DOT il
Gregory J. Miller – Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
millergj AT cua DOT edu
Raymond Trievel – Associate Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
rtrievel AT umich DOT edu
Saurav Misra – Scientist, Ventria Bioscience
smisra AT ventria DOT com
Gongyi Zhang – Professor, National Jewish Medical and Reseach Center, Denver, CO
zhangg AT njc DOT org
Bei Yang – Research Associate Professor, Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, Shanghai, China
Do Jin Kim – Denali Therapeutics, Inc.
Sulochanadevi Baskaran – Denali Therapeutics, Inc.
Chris Davies – Senior Research Associate, Genentech
daviesc6 AT gene DOT com
Yeon-Gil Kim – Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, 7 Kyungbuk 790-784, Republic of Korea
Adriana Rojas Cardona – Platform Manager, Building 800, PARQUE TECNOLÓGICO DE BIZKAIA, Spain
arojas AT cicbiogune DOT es
Daniel Kloer – Domain Head R&D, Syngenta
Yosuke Tsujishita – Director, Izumi Hospital, Izumi Institute of Health Science, Okinawa, Japan
Jaewon Kim – Scientist, Industry, US
Michael Kostelansky – Director, Business Assessment, Oncology, Pfizer
Darrell E. Hurt – Computational Biology Section Head, Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch (BCBB), OCICB/OSMO/OD/NIAID/NIH
darrellh AT niaid DOT nih DOT gov
Christine Jao – Genentech
Bertram Canagarajah – Staff Scientist, NIH
bertram AT helix DOT nih DOT gov
David Murray – Wellcome Trust and Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellow, School of Life Sciences, Dundee, Scotland
Thomas Wollert – Researcher, Europe