PEOPLE:

James Ferrell. James Ferrell was born in Gary Indiana and raised in Chicago and Pittsburgh. He was an undergraduate at Williams College, where he majored in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, and graduated in 1976. For his undergraduate thesis he worked with David A. Park on nonlinear dynamics and chaos in the Hénon-Heiles model of stars in an axisymmetrical galactic potential. After graduating he came west to Stanford for medical school and graduate school. His did his Ph.D. thesis in Chemistry with Wray H. Huestis, working on cell shape control and phosphoinositide metabolism in human erythrocytes. He received his Ph.D. in 1984 and his M.D. in 1986. He then moved to UC Berkeley for postdoctoral studies with G. Steven Martin on tyrosine-specific protein phosphorylation in human platelets, mammalian cell lines, and Xenopus laevis oocytes, eggs, and embryos.

He began his independent career in the Dept. of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1990. He moved to the Dept. of Pharmacology at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1992. The Department ultimately became the Dept. of Chemical and Systems Biology, which he chaired from its inception in 2006 until 2011. Currently he is Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology, Professor of Biochemistry, and Co-Director (with Tobias Meyer) of the Stanford Center for Systems Biology.

Graham Anderson. Graham Anderson was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and grew up in Evergreen, Colorado. He went to college at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York where he studied Computational Biology, dabbled in Mechanical Engineering, and modeled electron transport reactions in plant photosynthesis with Tom Owens.

After two years of wandering throughout California, he came to Stanford where he now studies the timing and spatial organization of embryonic cell divisions in the frog. At home, he likes to build synthetic biochemical systems in his kitchen and serve them to guests.

Xianrui Cheng. Xianrui Cheng was born and raised in Hunan, a south-central Chinese province located on the path of Chang Jiang, the third longest river in the world. He then moved north to attend Tianjin University, earning a bachelor's degree in Bioengineering in 2005. He came to the US in 2006 to pursue a Ph.D. in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at Duke University, working with physicist Joshua Socolar and developmental biologist David McClay on the systems biology of sea urchin embryonic development (details here and here). His interest in systems biology led him to the Ferrell lab, where he is carrying out his postdoctoral research on the spatial propagation of apoptosis using Xenopus laevis egg extracts and oocytes. In his spare time he dabbles in gymnastics, photography, cooking and music.

Lendert Gelens. Lendert Gelens was born in Zoersel, Belgium, in 1983. He received a master's degree in electrotechnical engineering (major Photonics), and in physics, both at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, in 2006. Later, in 2010, he received a joint Ph.D. degree at the VUB (Applied Physics group - APHY), Belgium, and at the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB, IFISC institute), Spain, on the subject of nonlinear dynamics in photonic systems, studying generic models for semiconductor ring lasers and dissipative solitons. During this period he also spent about half a year working in the physics department of the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He received the Barco-FWO award for his master's thesis work, and he was awarded a fellowship of the Research-Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen), the Alcatel-Lucent Bell – FWO award, and the IEEE Photonics Society award for his Ph.D. work.

Afterwards, he obtained a postdoctoral support from the FWO-Vlaanderen, from the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF), and from the European Union in the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA). He is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Ferrell lab at the department of Chemical and Systems Biology of Stanford University, USA, where he aims at better understanding the spatial and temporal coordination of the early cell cycle in Xenopus laevis embryos. He has contributed more than 30 journal publications to the fields of physics, photonics, and biology (details here).

Sang Hoon Ha. Sang Hoon Ha is from Seoul in Korea. He received his B.S. degree (1999) in Microbiology from Inje University in Korea. He then moved to the Pohang University of Science and Technology for his graduate studies. He worked in the lab of Dr. Sung Ho Ryu and received his M.S. degree in 2002 and Ph.D. in 2006. His graduate research was centered on the mechanism of cell growth control with strong applications of proteomics in the field of signal transduction, focusing on the regulation of mTOR complex. After working in a bio-venture company as an alternative to military service, he shifted fields once more to systems biology. Having studied the molecular mechanisms of how cells make decisions in response to multiple signals (details here), he became more interested in the emergent properties of molecular networks at the system level, and so he joined the Ferrell lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2010. His research focuses on ultrasensitivity, which is a building block of signal transduction. He is particularly interested in identifying novel sources of ultrasensitivity and their application to longstanding biological questionsin signal transduction and cell cycle regulation. He has combined theory with quantitative experimentation and sythetic biology approaches.

Throughout his graduate and postdoctoral periods, he has participated in many frutiful and rewarding collaborations. In his free time, he likes to have fun with his family and to play tennis with friends here in the Bay Area.

Julia Kamenz. Julia Kamenz grew up in Berlin, but then left the city in 2003 to study Biochemistry in the picturesque town of Tuebingen. For her Diploma thesis she spend a year in Frank Uhlmann’s lab at the London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK, where she investigated the functional importance of the ATPase cycle of the two SMC subunits of the Condensin complex in budding yeast. In 2009 she joined Silke Hauf’s group at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society as a Ph.D. student. There she became interested in how events during the metaphase to anaphase transition are coordinated in time in order to ensure faithful segregation of sister chromatids. She received a fellowship of the Boehringer Ingelheim Funds for this project and defended her PhD thesis in February 2015 with highest honors. In March 2015 she started in the Ferrell lab, where she continues to investigate the determinants of temporal order during mitotic exit using experimental and computational approaches. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys being outdoors, whether it is skiing in the winter or hiking, biking or sailing during the long Californian summer.

Tek Hyung Lee. Tek Hyung Lee was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. He attended Seoul National University and received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering in 2005. In 2006 he came to the US for graduate school at MIT. He trained in the laboratory of Narendra Maheshri, where he explored the role of transcription factor decoy sites in generating transcriptional thresholds and ultrasensitivity. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2012 and came to Stanford in 2013 to carry out postdoctoral studies in the Ferrell lab. He has focused on the evolution and functional role of enolase phosphorylation and Raf-1 phosphorylation, and on quantitative aspects of DNA checkpoint responses. His hobbies include taking care of his baby son Daniel.

Sarah Trosin. Sarah Trosin attended the University of California, San Diego and received her B.S. in Biochemistry and Chemistry in 2008 with a minor in Management Science. While in San Diego, she worked as an undergraduate researcher in John Johnson’s lab at the Scripps Research Institute, before she went on to work at UCSD as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Thomas Hermann. She then spent several years working at Pfizer, working as a group member of the Oncology and Diabetes Research Teams in Biochemical Pharmacology. She went on to pursue graduate studies at Stanford, where she received a George D. Smith Stanford Graduate Fellowship. She is also a SPARK Scholar, working on developing a repurposed approved drug identified through computational screening to treat Chagas Disease, a neglected tropical disease. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Ferrell Lab in the Chemical and Systems Biology Program, and her research focuses on the role and regulation of cyclin A2 in the cell cycle.

DOG:

Scout. At about 4 months of age Scout was found wandering on Page Mill Road in Los Altos Hills and was taken in by Palo Alto Animal Services. JF saw her profile online while lecturing in Buenos Aires, and adopted her on the way home from the airport.

Scout's lab responsibilities include psychological counseling and shedding. She enjoys snoozing on the couch in Jim's office, and likes nothing more than visiting with all her Stanford friends every day.

Scout is a good doggie. She is a friend to all and a sister to every other dog.

 

ALUMNI:

Name	Position and Approx. Vintage	Current Position
Christoph Bagowski	Postdoc, 1999-2002	Head of Molecular Genetics, Pränatal-Medizin München, Germany
Alex Bazarov	Postdoc, 1999-2002	Director of Cell Engineering, CHO Plus
Ramesh Bhatt	Grad student, 1993-2000	Executive Director, Rigel Pharmaceuticals
David Byron	Tech, 1999-2001	Family Practice Physician, Tuscon AZ
Jeremy Chang	Grad student, 2007-2013	Postdoc, Krogan lab, UCSF
Tzu-Chi Chen	Visiting grad student, 2013-2014	Postdoc, Huang lab, National Yang-Ming University
Yoon Sup Choi	Visiting grad student, 2007-2008	Res. Asst. Professor, Seoul National University Hospital
Szu-yi (Sam) Chou	Grad student, 1991-1997	President and CEO, Viogene-Biotek
Delquin Gong	Grad student, 2002-2008	Development Scientist, Bio-Rad
Sherril Green	Fellow, 1997-2002	Professor and Chair of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine
Tom Guadagno	Postdoc, 1995-1999	Science Teacher, Newton County Day School
Dave Hendrickson	Grad student, 2002-2009	Postdoc, Rinn lab, Harvard/Broad Institute
Kuang-Ming Hsiao	Grad student, 1991-1992	Professor, Life Science, National Chung Cheng University
Chi-Ying Frederick Huang	Postdoc, 1994-1998	Professor and Chair, Inst. of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, National Yang-Ming University
Narae Hwang	Visiting grad student, 2003	Medical Intern, Seoul Korea
Sun Young Kim	Postdoc, 2002-2010	Scientist, Igenica Inc.
Chung Han Lee	Undergrad, 1998-2001	Postdoc, Hsieh lab, MSKCC
Thomas Leung	Undergrad, 1997-1998	Asst. Professor of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania
Xuedong Liu	Sabbatical visitor, 2009-2010	Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder
Eric Machleder	Grad student, 1996-1998	Software Architect, Walmart Global eCommerce
Alisa Moskaleva	Grad student, 2010-2015	Field Application Scientist, Molecular Devices
Jason Myers	Grad student, 1999-2005	Chief Scientific Officer, Enzymatics
Michele Nelson	Grad student, 1996-1998	Research Program Officer Associate, University of Michigan, Grand Rapids
Sam Pearlman	Grad student, 2005-2012	Senior Software Engineer, TeselaGen Biotechnology
Eva Petschnigg	Undergrad and visiting medical student	Physician, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, MA
Joe Pomerening	Postdoc, 2000-2006	AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, U.S. Department of Energy
Andy Poon	Grad student, 2004-2012	Systems Data Analyst, Rakuten
Diana Ríos-Cardona	Grad student, 2003-2009	Agriculture Specialist, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Michal Ronen	Postdoc, 2003-2005	Algorithms Team Leader, Oridion, Jerusalem, Israel
Marsha Rosner	Sabbatical visitor, 2009-2010	Charles B. Huggins Professor and Chair, Ben May Dept. for Cancer Research, University of Chicago
Mauro Ruffy	Undergrad, 1995-1996	ENT Physician, San Jose Medical Group
Silvia Santos	Postdoc, 2008-2013	Asst. Professor, Imperial College London
Zach Serber	Postdoc, 2003-2007	Founder, Zymergen, Inc.
Shian-Jiun Shih	Postdoc, 1991-1993	Section Head, Translational Medicine Research Center, Merck Sharp & Dohme
Mike Sohaskey	Grad student, 1993-2000	Co-Founder, Chief Racing Officer, RaceRaves LLC
Nikki Trunnell	Grad student, 2003-2010	Therapy Area Director, Oncology Resource Group
Tony Tsai	Grad student, 2007-2013	Postdoc, Megason lab, Harvard Medical School
Jeff Ubersax	Postdoc, 2004-2008	Vice President of Research and Development, Amyris Biotechnologies
Sarah Walter	Grad student, 1993-2000	Senior Director, Preclinical Development and Scientific Affairs, Labrys Biologics, Inc.
Joanne Westendorf	Postdoc, 1997-2001	CPA, Patent Agent
Xiao Min Wang (Schebye)	Postdoc, 1997-2001	Shanghai ChemPartner Co. Ltd.
Polly Wong	Grad student, 1993-1999	Director of Regulatory Affairs, Genentech Inc.
Jinger Xie	Tech, 1993-1994	Scientist, Bayer Health Care
Wen Xiong	Postdoc, 1999-2003	Investigator III, Novartis, Shanghai
Qiong Yang	Postdoc, 2008-2013	Asst. Professor of Biophysics, University of Michigan
John Yoon	Undergrad and tech, 1997-2001	Neuroradiologist, Cottage Center for Advanced Imaging, Santa Barbara CA
Jianbo Yue	Postdoc, 2000-2006	Assoc. Prof. of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong