Jonathan P. Jacobs, MD, PhD
Director, Microbiome Core, UCLA Microbiome Center
Principal Investigator

Dr. Jacobs is a gastroenterologist and scientist studying the role of intestinal microbes in digestive diseases. He graduated magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard University with an AB in biochemistry. He subsequently received his MD from Harvard Medical School, graduating magna cum laude in a special field. During college and medical school, he trained in an immunology laboratory studying rheumatoid arthritis with funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Stanford University then joined UCLA to pursue gastroenterology training in the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) program. He was awarded a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pathology for his IBD microbiome research under the mentorship of Jonathan Braun and afterwards joined the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Division of Digestive Diseases faculty. He co-founded the UCLA Microbiome Center in 2015 and now directs the Microbiome Core, which provides a comprehensive suite of microbiome-related services to support microbiome research by the UCLA scientific community. His research has been published in a wide range of scientific journals including Gastroenterology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Microbiome, Gut Microbes, and Scientific Reports. Ongoing projects in his laboratory employ animal models and multi’omics analysis of patient cohorts to define the role of microbes and their products in IBD, obesity, colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and other diseases..

Venu Lagishetty, PhD
Manager, Microbiome Core, UCLA Microbiome Center
Project Scientist

Dr. Lagishetty received his undergraduate (1994-1997) and master's (1998-2000) degrees at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. He received his PhD degree (biochemistry) in 2007 from the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India. He started his postdoctoral research at UCLA with Dr. Martin Hewison in 2007. His research explored the effects of vitamin D-insufficiency on immune function in mice and its impact on models of inflammatory bowel disease. He then joined Dr. Jonathan Braun's lab at UCLA as a research associate studying the intestinal microbiome. Currently, Dr. Lagishetty is an assistant project scientist in the Jacobs Lab studying the impact of local microbial communities on chronic mucosal inflammatory disease. He takes an active role in management of the UCLA Microbiome Core, which performs 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of human and animal samples. He is responsible for development of an integrated approach to study microbial ecology in the gut using metagenomics, metaproteomics, and metabolomics. Dr. Lagishetty has published over 29 papers in peer reviewed journals and has one issued patent. 

Tien Dong, MD
Gastroenterology Fellow

Dr. Dong is a current gastroenterology fellow and PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology at UCLA through the STAR program. He did his undergraduate training at Stanford and his medical school and residency training in internal medicine at the University of Chicago. While there, he investigated the role of the microbiome in the development of colon cancer under the mentorship of Dr. Eugene Chang. After arriving at UCLA for his GI fellowship, he joined the Jacobs Laboratory. His primary scientific interest is in the role of the gut microbiome in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic disorder. He is currently involved in several translational research projects investigating the role of the microbiome in hepatocellular carcinoma, microbial signaling after bariatric surgery, microbial profiles associated with liver fibrosis, and mechanisms of weight loss on a high protein diet. His role in the Microbiome Core involves analyzing 16s rRNA data using various established and novel methods including alpha and beta diversity analysis, differential taxa abundance in multivariate models, random forest classifiers, and metabolomic integration.

Nerea Arias, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar

Dr. Arias is a native of Bilbao, Spain. She received her BSc in biology from the Alcalá de Henares University, Spain, in 2012 and her MSc in microbiology from the University of Basque Country, Spain, in 2014. She then completed a PhD on immunology and microbiology from AZTI (a food research foundation) and the University of Basque Country, Spain, in 2018. Her PhD thesis was titled, "Exploring new frontiers in host-microbiome interactions using zebrafish." She studied the interactions between the microbiota and immune system in zebrafish fed a high-fat diet, and also tried to establish a humanized model of gnotobiotic zebrafish. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Arias worked in IATA-CSIS in Valencia, Spain, as a postdoctoral fellow on a project titled, "Metamorphosis." It involved use of zebrafish to test the effect of an insect protein supplement on microbiota and innate immunity. Dr. Arias has joined the Jacobs Laboratory to continue her training in the microbiome field. She will be involved in projects using human microbiota samples and gnotobiotic mice to further understand inflammatory bowel disease. 

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.

Candace Chang
Graduate Student

Candace is a PhD student in the Molecular Toxicology Program under the joint mentorship of Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Jesus Araujo. In 2017, She completed her BS at UCLA in environmental science with a concentration in environmental health. She then volunteered at the UCI School of Medicine in the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory, where she participated in a cardiovascular project exploring the oxidative effects of particulate matter in ApoE -/- mice. This involved monitoring inhalation exposures and managing data from instruments such condensation particle counter and photometric ozone analyzer, as well as examining lungs for inflammatory cytokine expression and arteries for atherosclerotic plaque formation. Candace joined the Jacobs Laboratory to study the exciting, dynamic relationship that the gut microbiome has with the environment and its role in the etiology of IBD. Her dissertation project will encompass microbiome research of various mouse models to elucidate mechanisms by which inhaled ultra fine particles may cause intestinal inflammation.

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.

Will Katzka
Technician

Will earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at The University of Chicago. Following graduation, Will worked as a laboratory technician under Dr. Stephanie Dulawa for The University of Chicago and later the University of California, San Diego. His research, while in the Dulawa Lab, focused on epistatic modifiers of the BTBD3 gene and its role in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Will first learned about the microbiome while researching the effects of the gut-brain axis on psychiatric disorders, then decided to focus specifically on the microbiome upon arriving at UCLA. Since joining the Jacobs Laboratory, Will has primarily worked with the Microbiome Core and also contributes to research involving transgenic animal models and co-cultures of microbes with epithelial/immune cells in order to gain a greater understanding of inflammatory bowel disease. 

Kang Lee, MD, PhD
Visiting Scientist

Dr. Lee is a visiting scientist from Hanyang University, Korea. He received his MD from Hanyang University in 1999, completed residency training in internal medicine in 2008, completed gastroenterology fellowship training in 2010, and received a PhD in internal medicine from Hanyang University in 2011. Afterwards, he has worked as an associate professor of medicine with clinical and research interests in inflammatory bowel disease, functional GI disorders, and endoscopic diagnosis/treatment of early gastrointestinal malignancies. He has confronted many challenges in managing IBD which have motivated him to pursue research to improve the quality of life of his IBD patients. To that end, he has joined the Jacobs Laboratory to study the association between intestinal bacteria/fungi and clinical outcomes in IBD and identify novel predictive biomarkers that could be used to guide treatment decisions for IBD patients..

Fengting Liang
Undergraduate

Fengting is a third year UCLA student from Thousand Oaks, California, who is currently pursuing a degree in physiological sciences. She has enjoyed learning about how the microbiome can affect health and various diseases, and is thankful for the opportunity to improve her laboratory skills while doing so. Fengting's responsibilities in the Jacobs Lab range from extracting, amplifying, and purifying DNA from mouse or human samples, as well as preparing tissue slides for histological analysis. In her free time, Fengting dances in Synthesis Dance Theater at UCLA, enjoys spending time with friends, and loves to explore all the food and activities LA has to offer.

Kayti Luu
Research Coordinator

Kayti is a second year life sciences major at UCLA. Originally from Singapore and raised in Orange County, Kayti enjoys having the best of both cultures. She frequently travels back and forth between Southern California beaches and Singapore - often visiting tropical locales along the way - to mix in with both lifestyles. Her love for food and interest in how diet affects health motivated her to research the digestive diseases. She is currently studying the use of bacteriophages to target potentially pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli in inflammatory bowel disease. She is passionate about science and particularly enjoys working closely alongside her labmates to perform experiments as a team. An avid tennis player, Kayti enjoys participating in outdoor physical activities.