People

Ester J. Kwon is an Associate professor of Bioengineering at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Kwon earned her B.S. in Bioengineering and B.A. in Molecular & Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. She went on to earn her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in Bioengineering with Suzie H. Pun, where she engineered polymeric nanoparticles that were grafted with peptides to give them biological function for the delivery of therapeutic nucleic acid into the central nervous system. Her postdoctoral research was completed in the laboratory of Sangeeta N. Bhatia at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There, she engineered several nanomaterial scaffolds for application to cancer, bacterial infections, and traumatic brain injury. Her lab in the Bioengineering Department at UCSD engineers nanoscale tools, diagnostics, and treatments for diseases of the central nervous system. In order to fulfill these goals, Dr. Kwon is motivated to create an inclusive research environment through the individualized mentorship of trainees and outreach to young scientists. Dr. Kwon is a recipient of the pre- and post-doctoral NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, the 2018 NIH Director’s New Innovator award, and a 2021 NSF CAREER Award.

Sangwoo is interested in researching targeted-therapeutic RNA delivery systems for the treatment of traumatic brain injury and diseases of the brain. In his spare time, he enjoys working out and hanging out with friends.

Rebecca is pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UCSD. She is interested in leveraging nanomedicine and tissue engineering to treat traumatic brain injury and other neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system.

Marianne Madias is pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at UCSD. She is interested in using nanomaterials to develop innovative technologies for the treatment and diagnosis of diseases affecting the nervous system.

Jason Wu is pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at UCSD. He is interested in using nanomaterials for targeted therapeutic delivery to treat neurodegenerative diseases and to modulate the immune response after traumatic brain injury. In his spare time he enjoys Latin dancing and longboard surfing with his friends.

Katelyn Miyasaki is pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at UCSD. She is interested in developing nanomaterials for targeted drug delivery in order to increase specificity and efficacy of drug action and reduce off-target effects. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing badminton and writing fanfiction.

Yazmin is pursuing a Ph.D in Bioengineering at UCSD. She is interested in developing nanoformulations for targeted delivery of therapeutics to treat traumatic brain injury and brain infections. In her free time, she enjoys reading, trying new food, and exploring San Diego with friends.

Akash is a Master's Student in the Bioengineering department at UCSD. He is interested in using nanomaterials to develop therapeutics for neurological diseases and understand those diseases using computational systems. He obtained his B.S. in Bioengineering from UCSD. Outside of the lab, he enjoys reading, trying different cuisines and activities with friends.

Simar is a Master's thesis student in the Department of Bioengineering at UCSD. She is interested in using nanomaterials that target the brain to diagnose and treat complications that unfold post traumatic brain injury. She loves spending her free time catching sunsets and reading by the ocean.

Woojung is a visiting Ph.D. student from Prof. Jinmyoung Joo's group at Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology. She is interested in developing nanoparticles for neurodegenerative diseases and loves playing instruments.

Nick is a bioengineering undergraduate student at UCSD. Planning on pursuing a graduate degree, he is interested in researching how to improve the treatment of damaged or diseased nervous systems and helping those who have been disabled at a young age.

Bernice is a bioengineering undergraduate student at UCSD. She is interested in developing nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery and plans to go to graduate school to further her studies. Outside of school, she enjoys making jewelry, watching Broadway musicals, and exploring different parts of San Diego.

Olivia is a visiting student from Drexel University where she is pursuing a BS/MS in Biomedical Engineering. During the past two years, Olivia worked on targeted allogeneic cell therapies for the treatment of blood and solid-tumor cancers at Century Therapeutics in Philadelphia, PA. After graduation, Olivia plans to continue her education towards a Ph.D. degree in an area of research that supports a career in drug discovery.

• Nicholas Mininni - Summer REU 2018. Currently an undergraduate at North Carolina State University.
• Alexander Yan - Undergraduate researcher 2018-2020. Currently a NSF GRFP PhD student at the University of Washington.
• Joseph Rich - Summer REU 2019. Currently a NSF GRFP PhD student at Duke University.
• Jae Lee - 5-year BS/MS program 2020. Currently working at Cue Health Inc.
• Katherine North - UCSD Bioengineering MS thesis student 2020-2021. Currently working at Maze Therapeutics.
• Hope Leng - Undergraduate researcher 2019-2021. Currently a NSF GRFP PhD student at Stanford University.
• Alan Hurtado - Undergraduate researcher 2019-2021. Currently a PhD student at Vanderbilt University.
• Bolarin Lawrence - Undergraduate researcher 2020-2022. Currently working at Pfizer.
• Lauren Waggoner, Ph.D. - Graduate student 2018-2022. Currently at Nitto Biopharma.
• Julia Kudryashev, Ph.D. - Graduate student 2018-2022. Currently at QuidelOrtho.
• Sophia Warlof - Undergraduate researcher 2020-2023. Currently a PhD student at UCSD.