Our Members

Current Members

Karl Willert, PhD

Principal Investigator
kwillert@health.ucsd.edu

Karl received his Ph.D. from UCSF, did his post-doctoral research at Stanford, and joined UCSD as Assistant Professor in 2008. He is currently a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Christina C. N. Wu, PhD

Project Scientist
c5wu@health.ucsd.edu

Naycari De Luna

Lab Manager
n1deluna@health.ucsd.edu

Neha Balaji

Master’s Student
nebalaji@health.ucsd.edu

Neha is a Master’s student in the Department of Bioengineering, UCSD and is from Bengaluru, India.  She is currently working on developing a Lipid Nanoparticle based drug delivery system targeting FZD7 overexpression in cancer cells to deliver cancer therapeutics in a site-specific manner.  Outside of research, she enjoys running, hiking, and breaking down movies and TV shows.

Erin D. Jeffs

CIRM Master’s Student
ejeffs@calpoly.edu

Erin is currently earning her graduate degree through Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo’s Regenerative Medicine Program and is thrilled to have her work at the Willert Lab be a part of her studies.  Her research is focused on the role of FZD7 as both a cancer stem cell marker and therapeutic target for mammary tumors.  Erin’s work involves both in vitro mammary organoid studies as well as in vivo cell transplantation studies in a murine model.  When not in lab, Erin enjoys playing video games, hiking, and rock climbing.

Sakshi Pradhan

Master’s Student
spradhan3408@sdsu.edu

Nathaniel Kenner

Staff Research Associate

Nathaniel is currently working on his Bachelor’s of Biological Sciences at California State University San Marcos. He is with the Willert Lab as a CIRM Intern through the CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research Program. His research is focused on generating a novel Wnt mimetic using C. diff Toxin B. Outside of the lab, Nathaniel enjoys disc golf and being a husband and father.

Hailey Rowe

Staff Research Associate

Rylee Start

Staff Research Associate
rstart@ucsd.edu

Rylee completed his Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California – San Diego. He joined the Willert lab in March 2021 as an undergraduate student and he has since joined the lab as a Staff Research Associate. He has been working on protein purification and studying chromosome mis-segregation. In his free time, Rylee enjoys biking, cooking, and exploring San Diego.

Ashley Key

CIRM Undergraduate Student
key.ashley.r@gmail.com

Ashely is a visiting undergraduate from the CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research Internship Program.  Her research focuses on exploring FZD7 as an exosomal biomarker for early and non-invasive cancer detection in vitro in ovarian cancer cell lines and in vivo in murine mammary cancer models.  Her own experiences as a stage 3 cancer survivor ignited her interest in research and drives her passion behind her work.  Outside of the lab, Ashley loves playing tabletop games, spending quality time with her husband, dog, and cat, strength training, and learning how to play bass guitar.

Meghana Krishnan

Undergraduate Student
mkrishnan@ucsd.edu