Wilson Liao, MD (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Liao is Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the UCSF Department of Dermatology. Dr. Liao received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Harvard College, his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and completed his dermatology residency at UCSF. He serves as the Director of the UCSF Psoriasis and Skin Treatment Center and Chair of the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee. The Liao laboratory studies genetics and molecular pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and hidradenitis suppurativa. The lab employs bioinformatic and computational approaches to analyze large-scale genetic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, microbiomic, and proteomic datasets. Dr. Liao has contributed to the identification of over thirty novel psoriasis susceptibility genes, including deletion of the late cornified envelope genes LCE3B/C, common variants in UBE2L3 and LILRB2, copy number changes in KIR and NKG2C, and rare variants in IFIH1 and CARD14. The lab has also characterized the skin and gut microbiome in psoriasis and used single-cell RNA-seq to identify novel psoriatic immune cell populations and biomarkers. The Liao lab has published its work in journals such as Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, Science, PLoS Genetics, American Journal of Human Genetics, PNAS, and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Gian Carlo Baldonado, BS
Gian Carlo is an Agent of Change SF BUILD Merck fellow and a master’s student in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at San Francisco State University. At SF State, he is engaged in projects leveraging machine learning for educational and computational biology research, including drug resistance prediction of E. coli and cultural capital theme identification in student-reflective journals. Previously, Gian earned a B.S. in Computer Science and a Minor in Asian American Studies from SF State. In the Liao lab, Gian focuses on leveraging bioinformatics and machine learning to study psoriasis and atopic dermatitis patients using exposome data. In his free time, Gian is learning French and wants to learn how to play tennis. He enjoys movies, Duolingo, Formula 1, and strolling down Valencia Street in the city.
Audrey Bui, BS
Audrey is a rising 2nd-year medical student at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree at St. Bonaventure University in New York where she received multiple awards for her research with the biochemistry department on alternative splicing and immunology in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the Liao lab, she has focused on investigating genetic drug targets for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis as well as exploring the genetic risk scores of psoriatic patients. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, baking, and Pilates – which is much needed after enjoying the products of her culinary efforts.
Miranda Chen, BS
Miranda is a first-year medical student at UCSF who is originally from the Bay Area and received her undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley. In the Liao Lab, she is conducting research to study genetic biomarkers of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis as well as predictors of quality of life and mental health outcomes in psoriasis patients. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, running, cultivating her houseplants, and walking around the city to explore new restaurants and coffee shops!
Jenny Fang, MD, MS
Jenny is a research specialist who received her MD and MS degrees from Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai. She previously worked on the pathogenesis and therapeutic treatment of pulmonary diseases, mainly focused on pneumonia, acute lung injury and ARDS. In her free time, Jenny enjoys hiking, traveling, and learning folk dance.
Alina Feng, BS
Alina is a first-year medical student at UCSF originally from the Bay Area. She received her B.S. In Cell and Molecular Biology from Duke University. Currently, her project aims to understand the factors that contribute to multibiologic failures in psoriasis. Her interests also lie in clinical trial and scientific translation. In her spare time, she enjoys going on long runs, playing golf, and captaining her pickleball team in the UCSF IM league.
Radhika Gupta, BS
Radhika is a fourth-year medical student at Penn, originally from New Jersey. She received her B.A. in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School. Her clinical and research interests lie in autoimmune and inflammatory skin diseases, the use of generative AI in dermatology, and ways to improve trainee education. In her spare time, she enjoys running, doing reformer Pilates, playing Catan, traveling, checking out the best coffee shops in every city, and spending time with family and friends.
Sugandh Kumar, PhD
Sugandh comes from the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), India where he worked on miRNAs-based biomarker development of Head and Neck Cancer. Currently, he is focusing on the development of skin disease biomarkers based on multi-omics data such as scRNA Seq, CITE Seq, and SNPs using machine learning with deep learning. In his spare time, he likes to explore the city as well as play table tennis and billiards.
Ernesto Llamado, BA, Lab Operations
Ernesto received a communications degree from San Francisco State University. He was formerly in the entertainment business and worked with artists such as N.W.A, Ice Cube, and Seal. Currently, he runs the day-to-day operations for the UCSF Dermatology labs at the Mt. Zion campus. In his spare time, this native San Franciscan likes to climb the hills of SF on his bike and is still trying to learn the fundamentals of golf after 20 years of playing the sport.
Parsa Mokhtar, BS
Parsa is a first-year medical student at UCSF, who received his BS in Psychobiology from UCLA and his MPH in Epidemiology from the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. At the Liao Lab, he is focused on studying geospatial environmental and social factors that contribute to psoriasis severity and psoriatic arthritis. In his free time, he enjoys trying new food with friends, ceramics, hiking, going to concerts, and going to the gym.
Faye Orcales, BS
Faye received her undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University (SFSU) where she majored in Cell and Molecular Biology. At SFSU, she used machine learning to conduct research on the fitness costs of the hepatitis C virus and antibiotic resistance in E. coli. In the Liao lab, she is studying the complex pathogenesis of hidradenitis suppurativa using spatial transcriptomics and proteomics. In her free time, she loves to explore the diverse restaurants San Francisco has to offer. She also enjoys playing tennis and video games.
Jonathan Suh
Jonathan is currently an undergraduate from the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Molecular Environmental Biology with an emphasis on Human Health. In the Liao lab, he assists in the purification of DNA samples. In his free time, Jonathan enjoys playing basketball, volleyball, and going surfing.
Ashley Yates, PA
Ashley is a Clinical Research Physician Assistant in the UCSF Department of Dermatology. She received a Master's degree in Physician Assistant Studies from Midwestern University in Arizona. Ashley collects de-identified saliva samples from hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) patients in hopes of better understanding if genetics play a role in predisposing to HS. She also runs a multi-institutional HS registry seeking to better characterize HS from both clinical and biological perspectives. In her spare time, she enjoys playing golf, tennis, and going backpacking.