People
David Prober, Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering
David Prober performed his graduate work in Bruce Edgar's lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he studied mechanisms that regulate cell growth and the cell cycle in the Drosophila wing. For his postdoctoral studies, David joined Alex Schier's lab at the Skirball Institute and Harvard University. Together with Jason Rihel, David developed genetic, molecular and behavioral methods to study mechanisms that regulate sleep using zebrafish. David's work has been recognized by an NIH Pathway to Independence Award, a Sleep Research Society Young Investigator Award, an NINDS R35 Research Program Award, and awards from the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr., Rita Allen, and Brain and Behavioral Research Foundations. David grew up in Winnipeg, perhaps best known as the target of derogatory comments (sadly, usually true) on The Simpsons, and does not miss the Canadian winter.
Grigorios Oikonomou, Staff Scientist
Grigorios Oikonomou got his B.S. in Biology from the University of Athens in Greece. He then joined the lab of Shai Shaham at Rockefeller University, where he studied the role of glia in sensory organ morphogenesis. In the Prober lab he has been investigating the role of major neurotransmitters in sleep regulation. He is the recipient of a Della Martin Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award. When he is not loading videotracker plates or optimizing his matlab scripts, he likes to travel, hike and read. He is very proud of his tzatziki protocol.
Ulrich Herget, Postdoctoral Fellow
Ulrich Herget majored in neurobiology at the LMU Munich and then joined Soojin Ryu's group at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, where he worked on the stress regulation system of larval zebrafish. The German Society for Endocrinology awarded him their dissertation award for his work at the MPI. Switching from stress to sleep, he is investigating sleep/wake-regulating circuits and their interactions in the Prober lab with a Research Fellowship of the German Research Foundation. He is also a ballroom dancer and hard-core Trekkie.
Jin Xu, Postdoctoral Fellow
Jin Xu received his B.S. in Biotechnology from Sichuan University in China. He then joined Chong Shin’s lab at Georgia Institute of Technology, where he studied mechanisms that underlie pancreatic progenitor cell fate specification and insulin cell regeneration. In the Prober lab Jin is investigating the functions of novel candidate autism-risk genes. When not staring at his lonely fish, Jin spends a decent amount of time on food and sleep. If there’s time left, he does kickboxing to blow off steam, goes to live theaters to get inspired, and paints when feeling moody.
Altyn Rymbek, Neurobiology Graduate Student
Altyn Rymbek is a Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) Ph.D. fellow in the Prober Lab. She was born and raised in Kazakhstan where she received her B.Sc. Degree in Computer Science from Nazarbayev University. She also studied Biology and Neuroscience throughout her undergraduate studies with a passion for combining knowledge across disciplines to study the nervous system. In the Prober lab, Altyn studies how neuromodulators and neuropeptides regulate sleep in larval zebrafish. Her project involves whole-brain imaging of neuromodulator and neuropeptide dynamics using light-sheet microscopy, calcium imaging, and analysis of these dynamic whole-brain datasets. When not in the lab, Altyn plays violin, goes to the gym and spoils her two cats, Ella and Max. She trained Ella to walk on a harness every morning.
Desiderio Ascencio, Computation and Neural Systems Graduate Student
Desiderio Ascencio received his B.S. in Cognitive Science with a concentration in artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, and a minor in Computer Science, from the University of California Santa Cruz (go slugs!). He is interested in modeling neural network processes of natural phenomena to better understand information flow through neurons. Desi’s undergraduate studies in James Ackman’s lab involved studying developmental functional neural activity using wide-field calcium imaging. Now, he is a CNS PhD student co-advised by Matt Thomson and David Prober, where he is utilizing whole-brain calcium imaging and computational tools to generate and test models of functional neural activity in the context of sleep. When he isn’t looking at brains, Desi enjoys playing and watching soccer, going to Afters ice cream, and talking about his hometown Palmdale.
Jasmine Emtage, Biology Graduate Student
Jasmine Emtage received her B.S. in neuroscience from UCLA. As a biology Ph.D. student in the Prober lab she is investigating the role of novel sleep regulating genes, and is also developing a method for trans-synaptic labeling and regulation of gene expression. When she’s not in lab you can find her taking long walks around Caltech’s small campus, swimming, or baking.
Marina Lecoeuche, Biology Graduate Student
Marina Lecoeuche got her B.S. degree in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied evolutionary biology, paleoanthropology, and vertebrate biomechanics. In the Prober lab, she’s interested in studying arousal threshold in larval zebrafish using whole brain imaging. When she’s not in the lab, Marina enjoys surfing, rock climbing, birding, and collecting houseplants at a dangerously unsustainable rate.
Yun Chiu, Neurobiology Graduate Student
Yun Chiu's career goal is to become a systems neuroscientist to decipher the neural mechanisms of higher-order cognitive functions and behaviors. Yun was born and raised in Taiwan and received her B.S. in Life Sciences at National Yang-Ming University, where she studied autism related behaviors in mouse models. She then worked as a research technician in Hillel Adesnik's lab at UC Berkeley studying V1 cortex using 2-photon microscopy. Now in the Prober Lab, she is planning to study how specific neuropeptides and neural circuits orchestrate sleep and arousal using light-sheet microscopy and various perturbation techniques. Besides research, she enjoys lifting, photography, and trying out new food and boba spots on the weekends.
Olivia Eliopoulos, Biology Graduate Student
Olivia Eliopoulos received her B.A. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Barnard College. Olivia’s undergraduate research in Alison Pischedda’s lab focused on the evolutionary and genetic causes of mating behavior in Drosophila. As a biology Ph.D. student in the Prober lab, she’s interested in investigating the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway’s role in sleep. You can find her listening to music at the ceramics studio sculpting and glazing new pieces when not amongst the fish in the lab.
Alexis Cho, Neurobiology Graduate Student
Alexis Cho received her B.S. in Computer Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences with a minor in Biology from MIT. She has explored various areas of the life sciences from cancer biology to paleobiology but realized she is most drawn to the biological mysteries of the brain. As an undergraduate, she worked in Ed Boyden’s lab, where she used expansion sequencing to map the spatial transcriptome of the larval zebrafish brain. In the Prober Lab, Alexis is interested in investigating the molecular-level functions of sleep and the mechanisms that promote homeostatic sleep regulation. Outside of lab, she enjoys writing, impromptu movie nights, and exploring new cafés and restaurants.
Cristina Gonzalez, Research Technician
Cristina Gonzalez received her B.S. in Genetics and Genomics from the University of California, Davis. While at UC Davis, Cristina joined the Genomic Variation Laboratory where she researched the capabilities and limitations of environmental DNA detections for monitoring fish biodiversity in Northern California. Outside of the lab, Cristina enjoys reading, trying new coffee shops, and going to concerts as often as she can.
Caressa Wong, Research Technician
Caressa Wong is a technician in the Prober lab fish facility. She is currently an undergraduate student working on a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Outside of the Prober lab, Caressa works in the field studying several bird populations: the Western Snowy Plover, Least Tern, and White-throated Swift. In her spare time she can be found listening to music non-stop and planning remote road trips.
Alex Mack, Fish Facility Manager
Alex Mack manages the Prober lab fish facility. Alex received his B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has over 10 years of experience in fish husbandry, working in public aquariums around southern California. Prior to joining the Prober Lab, Alex was a Quarantine Aquarist at the California Science Center. Alex loves guinea pigs, SCUBA diving and watching soccer
Barbara Orozco, Fish Facility Technician
Barbara Orozco is a technician in the Prober lab fish facility. She received her B.S. degree in marine biology from Humboldt State University. She is currently a master's student at Cal State Fullerton, studying rocky intertidal ecology, focusing on relationships between algae and marine invertebrates. When not frolicking through tidepools, she loves hiking, rock-climbing, cuddling with her cat, and drinking milk tea with boba. Her favorite parts of being in the Prober lab are learning about how aquatic life support systems work and the different types of research that the students and postdocs are doing.
Alumni
Graduate Students
Sophie Miller: Associate, Flagship Pioneering
Andrew Hill, postdoctoral fellow, Fisher lab, UC Berkeley
Christin Montz, technician, McNaughton lab, UC Irvine
Justin Liu: postdoctoral fellow, Calico
Avni Gandhi: Scientist, AstraZeneca
Shijia Chen: Director of Corporate Strategy, Amgen
Cindy Chiu: Medical Writer, Amiculum
Postdoctoral Fellows
Steven Tran: Assistant Professor, CalState Fullerton
Rongwei Zhang: Assistant Professor, Shanghai University
Andrey Andreev: Systems Integration Engineer, Ellison Medical Institute
Chanpreet Singh: Applications Scientist, Molecular Instruments
Daniel Lee: Program Scientist, Schmidt Futures
Eric Mosser: Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Audrey Chen: Associate Professor of Teaching, UC Irvine
Sridhara Chakravarthy: Senior Principal Investigator, Syngene International Limited
Undergraduate Students
Juni Polansky: graduate student at Columbia University
Mufan Wang
Madelyn Gilbert
Suna Li: graduate student at University of Pennsylvania
Misha Yap
Alison Ren
Sohini Khan
Sarah Hou
Young Hong
Joy Chen
Research Staff
Tasha Cammidge: Green Labs Coordinator, Caltech
Brianna Garcia: Genentech
Amina Kinkhabwala: Visiting Assistant Professor, Occidental College
Axel Dominguez
Viveca Sapin
Uyen Pham
Brett Niles
Kenna Molinder
Hannah Hurley
Chris Cook
Daisy Chilin
Jason Schwer