Researchers

Full-time Lab Members

 

Stephanie Hachey, M.S., Ph.D. 
Post Doctoral Scholar
shachey@uci.edu

Stephanie joined the Hughes lab as a Ph.D. student in 2014. She received her B.S. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, her M.S. in Biomedical and Translational Science from the University of California, Irvine and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from UCI in 2019. Stephanie has validated the vascularized micro-tumor (VMT) developed in the Hughes lab and has adapted the system for personalized medicine applications. Stephanie’s main research interest is in precision medicine, with a focus on facilitating the translation of basic research findings to clinical practice.

Sebastian Piombo, B.S.
MSTP Student
spiombo@uci.edu

Sebastian Piombo is a graduate phase student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at University of California, Irvine and joined the Hughes lab in September 2017. Prior to entering the MSTP at UCI, Sebastian graduated from New York University with a B.S. in Chemistry. Sebastian is a collaborator who works with the Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center, utilizing the novel VMO platform developed in the Hughes lab to determine the effects of physical activity on atherosclerosis pathogenesis in children.

William Van Trigt, M.S.
Ph.D. Student
william.vantrigt@uci.edu

William joined the Hughes lab as a PhD graduate student in June of 2019. He received his B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from the University of California, Davis and his M.S. in Biotechnology from California State University, Channel Islands. He also worked in industry studying cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases prior to his arrival at UCI. In the Hughes lab, William is working on the Port Wine Birthmark (PWB) angiogenesis project to develop PWB models using the vascularized micro-organ (VMO) platform. 

Makena Ewald, B.S.
Ph.D. Student
mewald@uci.edu

Makena Ewald joined the Hughes Lab as a graduate student in June 2019. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. She previously worked on the Port Wine Birthmark angiogenesis project and looks forward to developing a microphysiological system (MPS) disease model for glioblastoma.

Christopher Hatch, B.S.
BME Ph.D. Student
cjhatch@uci.edu

Christopher Hatch joined the Hughes Lab as a Ph.D. graduate student in March of 2020. He received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He is currently utilizing omics data from the various VMO models to study the development of tissue-specific vasculature.

Daniel Kim, B.S.
Lab Assistant III/Lab Manager
ddk013@uci.edu

Daniel received his B.S. in General Biology from University of California, San Diego. He joined the Hughes lab in September 2022 and manages the isolation and validation of primary EPC’s to support the lab’s body-on-a-chip research.  

 

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