Former Lab Members

Grant Bennett
Undergraduate

Grant is a third year undergraduate student from Boulder, Colorado. He is majoring in biomedical engineering, along with a minor in Spanish. As an ulcerative colitis patient, Grant was drawn to microbiome research through a desire to learn more about the role that the microbiome plays in inflammatory bowel diseases. After completing his bioengineering degree, Grant plans to attend medical school and pursue a career as a pediatric gastroenterologist. He is also currently working to found an IBD club/support group for UCLA undergraduate students. In his free time, Grant enjoys skiing, hiking, going to concerts, and watching sports.

Joseph Ebriana
Research Coordinator

Joseph is a recent UCLA graduate who earned his bachelor of science degree in anthropology. He originally attended UCSD for his undergraduate studies, but subsequently transferred to UCLA upon being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2015. Inspired by his diagnosis, Joseph immersed himself in the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) world by interning for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, volunteering as a counselor for the CCF’s Camp Oasis, and joining Dr. Jacobs’s Laboratory researching the effect of stress on brain-gut-microbiome interactions in both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis patients. He plans to use these experiences as the basis for his book, “How to Love Life with Crohn’s,” aimed at empowering children and young adults afflicted with IBD. In his free time, Joseph also works with the homeless as part of a student club he co-founded while at UCLA called the Homeless Help Project. He also enjoys playing basketball, piano, and is currently training for NBC’s hit show, America Ninja Warrior.

Reza Farshchi
Research Coordinator

Originally from Tehran, Iran, Reza immigrated to the U.S. in his early teens and grew up in Santa Monica, CA. Reza graduated summa cum laude with both departmental and college honors from UCLA with a BA in philosophy in 2013. As an undergrad, he took an active role in various leadership positions and was president of Alpha Gamma Honor Society and Iranian Student Club, among others. Reza finds the brain-gut-microbiome interactions and its key role in gastrointestinal, emotional and behavioral disorders fascinating and as the research coordinator for multiple on-going projects at Dr. Jacobs’s Laboratory, he hopes to help in seeking a better understanding of the brain-gut-microbiome relationship. He enjoys reading, exercising, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering during his free time. He plans to attend medical school in the near future.

Edward Galfayan
Research Coordinator

Edward is a fourth-year biology major at UCLA. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and his interests include watching and participating in basketball, soccer, and water polo. Edward has had extensive experience aiding medical professionals and patients while volunteering at his local hospital, skills which he now applies to his research in the Jacobs laboratory. As a research coordinator, his role is to recruit patients with colon cancer prior to surgery and collect specimens for microbiome analysis as well as relevant clinical data. His study will investigate how surgery and chemotherapy affect the microbiome and how the microbiome influences the response to treatment. The effects of the gut microbiome on the human body and important diseases such as cancer are new and exciting areas of study, which is what drew Edward to this project.  

Meg Hauer
Technician

Meg is a third year undergraduate student from Tucson, Arizona. She is currently studying human biology and society. She became excited about microbiome research after taking Intro to Society and Genetics. Her research in the Jacobs Laboratory focuses on the effect of inflammatory bowel disease associated microbial states on colitis and ileitis in humanized germ-free mice. At UCLA, she is involved in the Society and Genetics Undergraduate Organization, Bruins for Ronald McDonald House, and is a founder of the club, Love Your Melon. Meg is also the vice president of Academic Excellence for her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Nancy Huang, PhD
Post Doctoral Fellow

Dr. Huang completed her undergraduate studies in computer science at the University of Oregon. After receiving a master's in biotechnology (bioinformatics track) from the University of Pennsylvania, she joined the IT industry as a researcher and developer to implement algorithms for virus and spam detection in emails. The knowledge and experience she gained in the industry inspired her to pursue further studies in the field, and led her to obtain a PhD degree in computer science from the National Taiwan University. Dr. Huang's research interest is in devising machine learning algorithms to solve biological puzzles. She is especially fascinated by contrast pattern mining and its applications. Her current project involves utilizing computational models to analyze microbiome and metabolomics data. 

Ben Kashanchi
Undergraduate

Ben is a fourth year undergraduate psychobiology major. Born and raised in Newport Beach, he chose to attend UCLA because of its beautiful campus, fantastic dining halls, and invaluable educational opportunities in the life sciences. His interest in the human body, particularly the digestive system, motivated him to join the Jacobs Laboratory, where he has been learning more about the role of the gut microbiome in the development of gastrointestinal diseases. In his free time, Ben loves to go to the beach, exercise, and talk about the NBA. After graduation, he hopes to attend medical school.

Carolina Koletic, MD
Researcher

Dr. Koletic earned her bachelors of science degree in anthropology at UCLA and her medical doctorate degree at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine. Since college her passion has been to help children manage chronic disease so that they may fulfill their potential as adults. She is an active volunteer since 2007 at Camp Conrad Chinnock, a youth type-1 diabetes camp where she conducted her undergraduate honors thesis studying the socialization of youth with type-1 diabetes. After graduating from college, she worked as a diabetes therapy associate at Medtronic helping patients gain access to insulin pump therapy. During medical school, she pursued her clinical interests in pediatric gastroenterology and endocrinology through clerkships in pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric endocrinology, and pediatric surgery at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego as well as in pediatric endocrinology at Children's Hospital of Orange County. For her graduating thesis in medical school, she authored a literature review on the extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease in children. She has joined Dr. Jacob's Laboratory to study the role of the microbiome in gastrointestinal as well as endocrine disorders.

Derek Li
Undergraduate

Derek is a sophomore majoring in microbiology, immunology, molecular genetics (MIMG). He is from Guilford, CT - a quiet town off New Haven, CT. He chose to attend UCLA not only because of the weather, but also because of the many research opportunities and the strong life science programs UCLA offered. Derek joined Dr. Jacob's Laboratory to learn more about the human microbiome and how certain bacteria can cause inflammatory bowel disease. His current project focuses on R-type bacteriocin therapy for IBD. Besides research, Derek volunteers for several on-campus organizations such as Bruin Shelter and Habitat for Humanity. He plans to go to medical school in the future.

Shumin Li
Undergraduate

Shumin is a senior majoring in veterinary medicine at Jilin University, China. She is a visiting student in Dr. Jacobs' lab through the CSST (Cross-disciplinary Scholars in Science and Technology) program this summer. She’s always fascinated with the microbiome world, an interdisciplinary area. Her previous research focused on how the gut microbiota influence susceptibility of diary cows to developing mastitis. She is now investigating in the Jacobs Lab whether dysbiosis of the gut microbiome precedes the development of IBD using family cohorts affected by IBD. Besides the wet lab work, she has also been very excited about using bioinformatic tools to decipher 16S ribosomal RNA sequence data. She appreciates this learning opportunity and enjoys the process of challenging herself to develop as a scientist.

Lanna Pathman
Undergraduate

Lanna is a fourth year undergraduate student from Los Angeles, California. She is currently studying psychobiology and pursuing a career in medicine, particularly in the field of pediatrics. Lanna became interested in digestive diseases research after learning about the increasing importance of the microbiome and its role in human health and disease. Her research in the Jacobs Laboratory focuses on collecting microbiome samples, performing DNA extraction, creating histology slides, and processing human samples. At UCLA, Lanna is on the committee for mentorship, an organization that pairs UCLA students with youth from North Hollywood. She also served as the vice president of community service for her sorority, Kappa Delta. In her free time, Lanna enjoys yoga, exploring LA, spending time with friends and family, and working as a summer camp counselor.