meet our team
Maurizio Chioccioli PhD (he/him), Assistant Professor
Mau is an Assistant Professor in Genetics and Comparative Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. His research focus is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern tissue regeneration and repair in the lung, and how these pathways are hijacked in disease. His experience and expertise span multiple areas from biophysics and live-imaging microscopy to molecular biology, genetics, and human respiratory diseases. Mau is from Arezzo, Tuscany, city of Piero Della Francesca, S.S. Arezzo and the Giostra del Saracino (he is proudly supporting the “Quartiere di Porta Crucifera”). He obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Florence in Tuscany, before going on to obtain his PhD from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland in Australia. He then performed his postdoctoral studies at the Cavendish Laboratory, Physics of Medicine Institute at Cambridge University where he worked on the biophysical basis of dynamic ciliary beating in respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia. He was recruited into the lab of Naftali Kaminski at Yale School of Medicine in 2018 where he focused primarily on establishing new techniques and approaches to investigate lung remodeling and repair. He was appointed Assistant Professor in Genetics and Comparative Medicine in September 2023.
Miyoung earned the Doctor of Philosophy in molecular biology from Korea University with a cancer research background in in vivo imaging system of human cancer cells, which is expected to monitoring one of the well-known therapeutic targets, such as EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor as utilizing the ligand-specific trafficking probes. She has published several peer-reviewed articles targeting and monitoring EGFR functioning in cancer cells and her postdoctoral work at Yale has included preparing preliminary data and manuscripts for identifying biomarkers on the EGFR-related human rare diseases in stomach. Her time at the UC San Diego Center for Epigenomics gave her the opportunity to discover the critical molecular mechanisms and chromatin changing involved in human diseases, such as type II diabetes and heart failure, to identify novel therapeutic targets using MERFISH (Multiplexed Error Robust Fluorescence in situ Hybridization) techniques for spatial genomics. Her research interests are in spatial genomics and epigenetic regulation to uncover the cell fate transitioning and genetic heterogeneity in human diseases.
Miyoung Shin PhD, Associate Research Scientist
Jamison Leid PhD (he/him), Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Jamison completed his Ph.D. in developmental biology in Kory Lavine’s laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. His thesis focused on identifying a metabolic derangement phenotype underlying the progression of TAFopathy - a developmental syndrome caused by pathological variants in the TATA Binding Protein Associated Factor protein family that is characterized by intellectual disability, craniofacial deformaties, and congenital heart defects. He has a wide range of published works from his postbaccalaureate research fellowships working on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Dilated Cardiomyopathy, and immune cell functions in the context of cardiac injury and cardiogenesis. His most notable works include his first author publication in Circulation Research on the role of embryonic macrophages in remodeling the coronary plexus, and his first author publication in OpenBio identifying a secondary role for general transcription factors in regulating metabolic programming during zebrafish embryonic development. His research interests are in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying in situ organ regeneration, with a secondary interest in understanding how innate immune cell populations can help coordinate these events
Martino Salani BSc, Postgraduate Research Associate
Martino obtained his Bachelor degree in Biological Sciences at Università degli Studi di Firenze in September 2023. His dissertation focused on the evaluation of hERG1 potassium channel expression in breast cancer. During his undergraduate studies, Martino took part in the six-month Erasmus exchange program at Universidade do Porto in Portugal with a focus on biochemistry and biology. During his high school studies he took part in an additional training program in Biomedicine and also obtained an upper level certificate for Clarinet from the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. Besides studying, Martino volunteered in ESN Florentia as a communication and events manager, and worked as a tutor in scientific subjects for domestic and international students in Florence.
Zachary B. Saracino BSc, Postgraduate Research Associate
Zach obtained his B.S. in biochemistry and music minor May 2022 and M.S. in molecular and cell biology the following May with a pre-med concentration. During his college studies, Zach conducted multidisciplinary research in the Goodman, Bandaranayake, and Hanlon labs on characterization of levitated microparticles in a linear Paul trap, purification and characterization of LDH for lab development, and characterization of Drosophila GPCRs during development, respectively. Aside from studies, Zach was co-president of the MMA Club, timpanist in the QU Symphony, and a CAS student council representative. He also worked as an undergrad/grad biochem peer fellow, chem study table mentor, and work-study and pillar leader/mentor for the Quinnipiac University Honors program.
Zixin Wang BMed, Postgraduate Research Associate
Zixin earned her Bachelor of Medicine in Clinical Medicine from Medical College of Nanchang University in China. During her undergraduate studies, Zixin participated in Immune Action in Infection and Cancer Programme in Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. She won the second and third prize in the 18th & 17th Challenge Cup National Undergraduate Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition as Project Leader & First Author. During her postgraduate studies, Zixin has participated in lab training and published article about the molecular mechanism of regulation and development of DICS as first author. Her article about the mechanism and treatments of cell death in heatstroke is being submitted and she is as first author. Her research interests are focused on cellular mechanisms in regeneration and the potential treatment in associated disease.
Overall view of the Mission Operations Control Room in the Mission Control Center, bldg 30, during the lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. NASA