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People
 | | Name: | Chuck Murry | | Additional Info: | |
| Description:
Chuck Murry is a native of North Dakota and did his undergraduate work in
chemistry at Bismarck Junior College and the University of North Dakota. He
obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Duke University in 1989 and 1988, respectively.
His PhD thesis, done with Drs. Keith Reimer and Bob Jennings, focused on mechanisms
of cell injury during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, and included the first
description of the phenomenon of ischemic preconditioning.
In 1989 he moved to Seattle for residency training in Anatomical Pathology at the
University of Washington. In 1991 he began subspecialty clinical training in
diagnostic cardiovascular pathology, and also began postdoctoral training in
the laboratory of Dr. Steve Schwartz, where he worked on the molecular basis
for monoclonality in human atherosclerosis. While in the Schwartz lab, Murry
became interested in strategies to induce myocardial infarcts to heal by muscle
regeneration, which led to his current work in myocardial infarct repair.
Murry is currently a Professor of Pathology and Director of the Center for
Cardiovascular Biology and Co-Director of the UW's newly formed Institute for
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. In addition to running his research laboratory,
he practices diagnostic cardiovascular pathology and is extensively involved in
teaching medical students, graduate students and Pathology residents.
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Ron Hanson was born and raised near Longview in southwest Washington. He did his
undergraduate and graduate work in chemistry at the University of Washington.
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Veronica was born and raised in Russia where she majored in both Visual Arts and English at
the St. Petersburg's University. At the age of twenty, she left Russia for the United States
where she turned her attention to the study of botany and biology. She received her M.S.
degree from the University of Texas at El Paso from the lab of Dr. Joanne Tonz Ellzey.
Veronica joined the Murry lab in 1998 after teaching biology at El Paso Community College,
working in a respiratory physiology lab at the University of California with Dr. Odille
Mathiew-Costello, and working in vascular research labs at the University of Washington with
Drs. Volkhard Lindner and Brad Berk.
Veronica's interests in research are centered on visualization of tissue processes, and teaching
the technology to members of the lab and scientific community at large. She is proficient in all
aspects of histology, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorenscence and microscopy; from
electron microscopy to confocal microscopy. Many Murry lab publications are graced by images
obtained by Veronica and she is forever searching for a picture that tells the whole story.
When not in the lab, Veronica can be found ballroom dancing in Seattle, hiking or skiing in the
mountains of the beautiful state of Washington, working in the native plant nursery of the
Washington Native Plant Society, battling invasive plant species along Thornton Creek,
or designing native plant gardens for her friends and family.
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 | | Name: | Hans Reinecke | | Additional Info: | |
| Description:
Everything you have always wanted to know about Hans and more can be found on his personal website listed above.
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Lil Pabon comes from the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and became interested in biological research as
an undergraduate at Florida State University. Under the guidance of Dr. Lloyd Epstein she characterized the structural requirements
of a self-cleaving hammerhead domain encoded within a small cellular RNA found in salamanders. As a graduate student with
Dr. David Bader at Vanderbilt University, she studied the molecular control of early cardiac development. She joined the laboratory
of Dr. Stephen Schwartz at the University of Washington as a post-doctoral fellow and her research efforts focused on the regulation
of G- protein coupled receptor signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells. She joined the Murry laboratory in 2004 and is utilizing her
background in molecular biology and cardiovascular development to explore molecular mechanisms that are relevant to the field of cardiac
injury and repair.
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 | | Description:
Elina Minami is a native of Tokyo, Japan and lived in most regions of the
United States until her family finally settled down in Los Angeles, CA.
She completed her undergraduate studies in biology at UCLA and moved back East to
Washington, DC to obtain her MD degree at the George Washington University School
of Medicine in 1995. Eventually, she moved back to the West Coast for her internal
medicine internship and residency training at Oregon Health Sciences University
where she was Chief Medical Resident from 1998 to 1999.
Elina has always been interested in the mechanism of the heart. As a result,
she pursued a field in cardiology and moved to Seattle to train as a fellow in
cardiology at the University of Washington and completed her training in 2003.
During her fellowship, she wanted to explore basic research that would allow her
to understand how the myocardium remodels after infarction and to investigate
various reparative methods. This interest led her to join Dr. Charles Murry’s lab.
Her clinical interests are in the area of heart failure and cardiac transplantation.
She is currently Acting Assistant Instructor in the Division of Cardiology.
In addition to her work, she tries to keep a balanced life with various activities
which include yoga, meditation, reading, gourmet cooking, wine and sake tasting,
Argentine tango and salsa dancing, hiking, running, and traveling. Most importantly,
she enjoys all forms of music and playing the piano. She is recently exploring the
complex world of jazz improvisation.
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James arrived in the Murry lab from the central coast of California, via Salt Lake City, armed with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology. His interest in the heart and heart repair was
cultivated while working in the Clinical Cardiology Department at the University of Utah Medical
Center as an undergrad. James' interest now is stimulated by working on the basic science aspect.
In his spare time, James currently enjoys Anglophilia, travel, Northwest seafood, college and pro
sports, outdoor activities, literature, newspapers and current events, and volunteering in the
community.
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 | | Description:
Prabha joined the Murry Lab in Sept 2004. Dr. Sampath is a native of India,
where she received her BS and MS from Bangalore University. She worked for several years as a teacher in India,
but in 1999 decided to seek PhD training in biomedical research. She received her PhD in regulatory biology with specialization in molecular medicine from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2003.
Prabha worked with Dr. Paul Fox at the Cleveland Clinic, in the Department of Cell Biology.
In Dr. Fox’s lab, Prabha studied a complex problem that has eluded molecular biologists for
decades: how do cells decide which among their many mRNAs to translate into protein?
Prabha took fundamental observations and uncovered the molecular mechanism responsible. Her
work has been widely recognized for its elegant design and technical sophistication, evidenced
by multiple student awards and its recent publication in Cell.
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Tomo Osugi was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. He graduated from Hiroshima University,
School of Medicine. After obtaining his MD degree in 1993, Tomo moved back to Osaka and
started clinical training of internal medicine at Osaka University Hospital. After completing
his training there, Tomo entered Osaka University, Graduate School of Medicine and received
his PhD in 2002.
Tomo worked as a physician for two years in Japan. His interest in regenerative medicine and
the opportunity for postdoctoral training in Dr. Murry's lab brought him to Seattle in 2004.
Tomo currently studies cardiac differentiation of mouse and human embryonic stem cells.
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 | | Description:
Sarah was born, raised and completed her studies in France where, in 2001, she obtained her PharmD degree
at the University of Burgundy. Because of her interest in research, Sarah completed a Master
of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology in Paris, then pursued her interest in the relationship
between the arrhythmia and the intramyocardial stem cell transplantation as a doctoral candidate.
Sarah received her Ph.D. in December 2006, following which, her growing interest in exploring
the potential of stem cells to repair the myocardium led her to Seattle and Dr. Murry's laboratory
in early 2007.
Of course, as a French woman, Sarah loves good food and good wine. Since she's been in Seattle, Sarah's
discovered that the Northwest has good wine too! She has also been experiencing the Great Northwest
by sailing, skiing and hiking.
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 | | Description:
Prior to arriving in Seattle, Jonathan was on a four year unpaid
vacation in the City of Baltimore, where he completed a Bachelors in
Science in the fields of Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science
(double degree) at the Johns Hopkins University. Leaving the delights of
suburban Detroit behind, he fulfilled an important geographic diversity
requirement for the University (not being from New Jersey or New York)
and was widely recognized as being among the less cruel and more helpful
individuals. Throughout his undergraduate education, he secretly enjoyed
the history, political science and sociology courses much more than the
engineering course work.
Resolutely uncertain of a career in clinical medicine, during his
sophomore year, Jonathan completed a course in field emergency medical
care and joined the campus emergency response unit. To his great
surprise, he didn’t vomit upon his shoes, was of moderate help to the
first patient and actually rather enjoyed the experience. After a few
more memorable calls, including a particularly storied experience
involving vomit, tide, bubbles, partial nudity and a near plunge out of
a third floor window, Jonathan was sold on a career in medicine.
Jonathan first visited the Pacific Northwest over the Summer of 1995,
climbed to the top of Mt. Rainier, and experienced the Pacific Ocean for
the first time on the Olympic Coast. Now, as a card carrying member of
the City of Seattle, he regularly goes hiking or nordic skiing, once a
week if it can be managed. Jonathan commutes to work each day by
bicycle, and has only been hit by a car twice.
Jonathan’s research interests include transplant immunology, stem cell
biology, the epigenetics of differentiation and gene transfer into
mammalian cells.
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| | Name: | Kelly Stevens | | Additional Info: | |
| Description: Kelly is originally from New Richmond, Wisconsin. She received a B.S. in Biomedical
Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where whe worked with Dr. Weiyuan
John Kao to study host response to gelatin-based hydrogels and interpenetrating networks.
Prior to moving to Seattle, she worked in the Stent Research and Development and Applied Research
groups of Boston Scientific. There she developed a chemical process to remove laser dross and oxides
from stainless stell cardiac stents and generated device concepts to treat the pathophysiological
changes in the failing heart. At Boston Scientific, Kelly became interested in the use of cell
therapy to treat infarcted myocardium. She moved to Seattle in 2003 to work with Dr. Murry, where
she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of
Washington.
In the Murry laboratory, Kelly has been working to develop methods to control the size of human
embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte intracardiac grafts. Specifically, she is developing
novel technologies to 1) control graft cell proliferation after implantation, and 2) improve cell
seeding efficiency and survival through use of engineered cardiac tissue. Kelly is very
interested in utilizing tools in cellular and molecular biology, nano/microscale engineering,
and biomaterials science to advance stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. She plans to
pursue a career in academic research.
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 | | Description:
Steve was born and raised in Boonville, Missouri. He attended the University of Missouri
where he received his B.S. in Biochemistry and Ph.D. in Physiology. In August of 2006, he joined
the Department of Bioengineering as a Senior Fellow in Michael Regnier's lab and is a collaborator
with the Murry lab studying cardiac repair.
Steve's professional interests are primarily in the regulation of cardiac contraction, changes that
occur under pathophysiological conditions, and how specific mechanisms can be targeted to improve/restore
cardiac function. His personal interestes include reading, sports, friends, and his wife (but not in
that order!).
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 | | Description:
Sharon Paige was born in San Francisco but the word on the street is that she grew up in Rochester, NY.
In high school, Sharon became interested in a career in medicine while volunteering in emergency
medical services. She attended the University of Rochester and earned degrees in Cell/Developmental
Biology and Political Science.
During her undergraduate years, Sharon worked with Dr. M. Kerry O'Banion studying the role of cyclooxygenase-2
in neuroinflammation. She quickly fell in love with the laboratory environment and decided to pursue a
career as an MD/PhD despite her prior insistence that she would not follow in her father's footsteps.
Sharon's fascination with both stem cells and heart development led her to the Murry lab where she will
pursue a PhD in Pathology.
Outside of her studies, Sharon enjoys playing clarinet and tenor saxophone, croquet, politics, and anything
involving pirates. She is also the proud owner of two beautiful tabby cats, Violet and Dash.
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 | | Description:
Sarah Dupras was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. In 2006, she pretty much finished
her undergraduate degree in Public Health at the University of Washington.
Sarah has worked in the Murry lab since 2002 when she began as a student helper. In 2006 Sarah
became a technician concentrating most of her time in surgery/physiology; but she also dabbles
in histology.
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 | | Description:
Kira was born in Pusan, South Korea. She was adopted and raised in Poulsbo, Washington
from the time she was 11 months old. Kira attended Seattle University where she minored in
Chemistry and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 2006.
While an undergrad, Kira took a course in biomedical ethics which picqued her interest in
stem cell based therapies. As a result she sought out the Murry lab in which to complete her
senior capstone project. After graduating Kira was happy to accept a position in the lab as
a Research Technician.
When not running experiments, Kira enjoys activities such as soccer, rock climbing, running,
hiking, traveling, cooking, and experience new foods, wine, and just plain relaxing.
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 | | Description:
Born and raised in the Portland area, Mark came to Seattle to attend the University of Washington.
As an undergraduate, he completed his bioengineering senior capstone project in the Murry lab
with the assistance of Tom Robey. This work focused on a high-throughput assay for measuring
graft size.
In January, Mark began working in the Murry lab as a research tech. When not in the lab, he likes
to spend his free time hiking, rock climbing and driving on twisty roads.
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 | | Description:
Nina was born in Houston, Texas, moved briefly with her family to Taiwan for a few months,
and then settled in Japan where she lived in Tokyo for two years. At the age of four, Nina
packed up once again and traveled to the island near the equator known as Singapore. After
five years of fond memories, delicious food (and wishing that she could chew gum), her family
finally made it to Washington's beautiful Mercer Island in 1997. As is the case with most
nine-year-olds, she was not happy about leaving her childhood friends and moving to a new
country. But, in hindsight, she thinks it was a terrific idea to stick with her family because
there is nowhere that she'd rather be than in Seattle as a proud Husky!
As an undergraduate at the UW, Nina is leaning toward a major in neurobiology and possibly
a major in English as well. In her off-hours, Nina enjoys listening to music, playing
tennis and frisbee, traveling, hiking, camping, microscopes and beating stem cells.
And, speaking of beating stem cells, Nina has been a student helper in the Murry lab since August
2006. Soon she will be starting a research project under the tutelage of Sarah Fernandes for
the summer of 2007.
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 | | Description:
Nathaniel Tulloch is an MD/PhD student currently rotating in the Murry lab. He is interested
in regeneration of cardiac tissue and infarct repair with implanted cardiomyocytes.
Nate graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Biology, and spent time working
with Sharon Long on bacterial symbiosis and with Barbara Block on Bluefin Tuna tracking and
physiology. He moved to Seattle from San Francisco, where he had also worked with Rajabrata Sarkar on smooth
muscle responses to nitric oxide and tissue remodeling in the setting of deep tissue ischemia.
Nate has well-developed passions for sailing, camping, hiking and soccer. He grew up in Houston,
Texas, but is getting used to taking his moisture via Seattle rain rather than Houston humidity.
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