Rushika Perera, Ph.D. | Rushika.Perera@ucsf.edu Assistant Professor in Medicine Department of Anatomy Department of Pathology Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Rushika grew up in Australia and received her PhD degree from the University of Melbourne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research studying EGFR signaling in Glioblastoma. She conducted studies at Yale University in the laboratories of Derek Toomre and Pietro De Camilli in the department of Cell Biology. Here she used live cell microscopy techniques to determine the topography and dynamics of endocytic vesicular trafficking. She later completed postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center/Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Nabeel Bardeesy where she uncovered mechanisms for increased lysosome biogenesis and function in pancreatic cancer.
       
     
Anthony Venida | Anthony.Venida@ucsf.edu Graduate student (BMS program) NSF predoctoral fellow Anthony hails from the east coast and grew up in Maryland where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the biological sciences and music. After graduating, he worked at the NIH as a post-baccalaureate fellow in the lab of Michael Lenardo to better understand the signal transduction pathways that regulate human T-lymphocytes. He is currently interested in identifying mechanisms used by pancreatic cancer cells to avoid immune clearance. In his spare time, he absolutely loves carrying around Tupperware to steal free food from seminars, eating copious amounts of food because he runs and bikes too much, and will gladly finish your leftovers.
       
     
Suprit Gupta | suprit.gupta@ucsf.edu Postdoctoral Fellow Suprit is originally from India where he received his Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha in May 2017 working with Dr. Maneesh Jain on the role of Endothelin in the pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment with an overarching goal to improve the delivery and efficacy of current therapies. In his spare time, Suprit enjoys watching movies, traveling, exploring the city and playing cricket.
       
     
Zeynep Cakir | zeynep.cakir@ucsf.edu Postdoctoral Fellow Zeynep is originally from Turkey. She pursued her Masters in Molecular Biology and Genetics in Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, studying the roles of ceramide metabolizing genes on resveratrol induced apoptosis in leukemia. She then completed her PhD studies in Frank Edlich’s lab in the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Freiburg, Germany, dissected the regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax and Bak proteins and mitochondrial function. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, windsurfing, jogging and cooking.
       
     
Julian Yano | Julian.Yano@ucsf.edu Research Specialist Julian completed his Bachelor’s in Biology at Columbia University while conducting research in Lars Dietrich’s lab studying community behavior in biofilms as an Amgen Scholar. Julian also completed a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Caltech in Mitch Guttman’s lab, where he interrogated the functional pathways of long non-coding RNAs. In his free time, Julian enjoys reading, running, cooking, and exploring the city.
       
     
Denna Kwang | HtetHtwe.Htwe@ucsf.edu Research Specialist Denna received her Bachelor’s in Microbial Biology at University of California, Berkeley. While studying at Cal, she conducted research in the Kerfled Lab studying the pentamer structures of bacterial microcompartment shell. After graduation, she worked at Novartis before joining the Perera lab. In her free time, Denna enjoys yoga, swimming, hanging out with friends, and watching cat videos.
       
     
Jairo Barreto Associate Specialist (Joint with Solomon and Stachler labs) Jairo is a graduated MD with over 10years of experience working with transgenic mouse cancer models in lung, pancreas, skin, breast and brain. In his free time Jairo really enjoys taking care of his tropical fish tanks and walking his dog Max.
       
     
Thomas Ituarte | Thomas.Ituarte@ucsf.edu Research Volunteer Tom received his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has a decade of experience working as an R&D engineer. He is interested in using computational skills developed during his career as an engineer towards investigating differential protein expression levels during cancer progression. In his free time, Tom plays the drums in a local band and climbs mountains.
       
     
Rushika Perera, Ph.D. | Rushika.Perera@ucsf.edu Assistant Professor in Medicine Department of Anatomy Department of Pathology Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Rushika grew up in Australia and received her PhD degree from the University of Melbourne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research studying EGFR signaling in Glioblastoma. She conducted studies at Yale University in the laboratories of Derek Toomre and Pietro De Camilli in the department of Cell Biology. Here she used live cell microscopy techniques to determine the topography and dynamics of endocytic vesicular trafficking. She later completed postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center/Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Nabeel Bardeesy where she uncovered mechanisms for increased lysosome biogenesis and function in pancreatic cancer.
       
     
+

Rushika Perera, Ph.D. | Rushika.Perera@ucsf.edu
Assistant Professor in Medicine
Department of Anatomy
Department of Pathology
Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Rushika grew up in Australia and received her PhD degree from the University of Melbourne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research studying EGFR signaling in Glioblastoma. She conducted studies at Yale University in the laboratories of Derek Toomre and Pietro De Camilli in the department of Cell Biology. Here she used live cell microscopy techniques to determine the topography and dynamics of endocytic vesicular trafficking. She later completed postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center/Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Nabeel Bardeesy where she uncovered mechanisms for increased lysosome biogenesis and function in pancreatic cancer.

Anthony Venida | Anthony.Venida@ucsf.edu Graduate student (BMS program) NSF predoctoral fellow Anthony hails from the east coast and grew up in Maryland where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the biological sciences and music. After graduating, he worked at the NIH as a post-baccalaureate fellow in the lab of Michael Lenardo to better understand the signal transduction pathways that regulate human T-lymphocytes. He is currently interested in identifying mechanisms used by pancreatic cancer cells to avoid immune clearance. In his spare time, he absolutely loves carrying around Tupperware to steal free food from seminars, eating copious amounts of food because he runs and bikes too much, and will gladly finish your leftovers.
       
     
+

Anthony Venida | Anthony.Venida@ucsf.edu
Graduate student (BMS program)
NSF predoctoral fellow

Anthony hails from the east coast and grew up in Maryland where he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the biological sciences and music. After graduating, he worked at the NIH as a post-baccalaureate fellow in the lab of Michael Lenardo to better understand the signal transduction pathways that regulate human T-lymphocytes. He is currently interested in identifying mechanisms used by pancreatic cancer cells to avoid immune clearance. In his spare time, he absolutely loves carrying around Tupperware to steal free food from seminars, eating copious amounts of food because he runs and bikes too much, and will gladly finish your leftovers.

Suprit Gupta | suprit.gupta@ucsf.edu Postdoctoral Fellow Suprit is originally from India where he received his Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha in May 2017 working with Dr. Maneesh Jain on the role of Endothelin in the pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment with an overarching goal to improve the delivery and efficacy of current therapies. In his spare time, Suprit enjoys watching movies, traveling, exploring the city and playing cricket.
       
     
+

Suprit Gupta | suprit.gupta@ucsf.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow

Suprit is originally from India where he received his Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha in May 2017 working with Dr. Maneesh Jain on the role of Endothelin in the pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment with an overarching goal to improve the delivery and efficacy of current therapies. In his spare time, Suprit enjoys watching movies, traveling, exploring the city and playing cricket.

Zeynep Cakir | zeynep.cakir@ucsf.edu Postdoctoral Fellow Zeynep is originally from Turkey. She pursued her Masters in Molecular Biology and Genetics in Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, studying the roles of ceramide metabolizing genes on resveratrol induced apoptosis in leukemia. She then completed her PhD studies in Frank Edlich’s lab in the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Freiburg, Germany, dissected the regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax and Bak proteins and mitochondrial function. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, windsurfing, jogging and cooking.
       
     
+

Zeynep Cakir | zeynep.cakir@ucsf.edu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Zeynep is originally from Turkey. She pursued her Masters in Molecular Biology and Genetics in Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey, studying the roles of ceramide metabolizing genes on resveratrol induced apoptosis in leukemia. She then completed her PhD studies in Frank Edlich’s lab in the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of Freiburg, Germany, dissected the regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax and Bak proteins and mitochondrial function. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, windsurfing, jogging and cooking.

Julian Yano | Julian.Yano@ucsf.edu Research Specialist Julian completed his Bachelor’s in Biology at Columbia University while conducting research in Lars Dietrich’s lab studying community behavior in biofilms as an Amgen Scholar. Julian also completed a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Caltech in Mitch Guttman’s lab, where he interrogated the functional pathways of long non-coding RNAs. In his free time, Julian enjoys reading, running, cooking, and exploring the city.
       
     
+

Julian Yano | Julian.Yano@ucsf.edu

Research Specialist

Julian completed his Bachelor’s in Biology at Columbia University while conducting research in Lars Dietrich’s lab studying community behavior in biofilms as an Amgen Scholar. Julian also completed a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Caltech in Mitch Guttman’s lab, where he interrogated the functional pathways of long non-coding RNAs. In his free time, Julian enjoys reading, running, cooking, and exploring the city.

Denna Kwang | HtetHtwe.Htwe@ucsf.edu Research Specialist Denna received her Bachelor’s in Microbial Biology at University of California, Berkeley. While studying at Cal, she conducted research in the Kerfled Lab studying the pentamer structures of bacterial microcompartment shell. After graduation, she worked at Novartis before joining the Perera lab. In her free time, Denna enjoys yoga, swimming, hanging out with friends, and watching cat videos.
       
     
+

Denna Kwang | HtetHtwe.Htwe@ucsf.edu

Research Specialist

Denna received her Bachelor’s in Microbial Biology at University of California, Berkeley. While studying at Cal, she conducted research in the Kerfled Lab studying the pentamer structures of bacterial microcompartment shell. After graduation, she worked at Novartis before joining the Perera lab. In her free time, Denna enjoys yoga, swimming, hanging out with friends, and watching cat videos.

Jairo Barreto Associate Specialist (Joint with Solomon and Stachler labs) Jairo is a graduated MD with over 10years of experience working with transgenic mouse cancer models in lung, pancreas, skin, breast and brain. In his free time Jairo really enjoys taking care of his tropical fish tanks and walking his dog Max.
       
     
+

Jairo Barreto
Associate Specialist (Joint with Solomon and Stachler labs)

Jairo is a graduated MD with over 10years of experience working with transgenic mouse cancer models in lung, pancreas, skin, breast and brain. In his free time Jairo really enjoys taking care of his tropical fish tanks and walking his dog Max.

Thomas Ituarte | Thomas.Ituarte@ucsf.edu Research Volunteer Tom received his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has a decade of experience working as an R&D engineer. He is interested in using computational skills developed during his career as an engineer towards investigating differential protein expression levels during cancer progression. In his free time, Tom plays the drums in a local band and climbs mountains.
       
     
+

Thomas Ituarte | Thomas.Ituarte@ucsf.edu

Research Volunteer

Tom received his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has a decade of experience working as an R&D engineer. He is interested in using computational skills developed during his career as an engineer towards investigating differential protein expression levels during cancer progression. In his free time, Tom plays the drums in a local band and climbs mountains.