MOURKIOTI
LAB
Research Interests: Improve skeletal and cardiac muscle function
Hometown: Patras, Greece
Non-science activities: I enjoy reading, prefer to relax with yoga, love swimming and playing with my daughter. Traveling and exploring different cultures is a favorite activity.
Birthday: July 22nd
Favorite sentence: A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.
Research Interests: Improve our quality of life meaning to move quickly from “bench-top to bedside."
Hometown: Chester, WV.
Non-science activities: I love the outdoors, hiking and visiting national parks. I am an avid DIY-er and love renovating and fixing old things and even entire homes. I love animals and have an 8 year old beagle named Lou. My favorite “hobby” is yet to come as my wife and I are expecting our first child, a boy, this fall!
Birthday: March 26th
Favorite sentence: Early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Current Lab Members
David Sidibe
Research Specialist A
Email:
dsidibe(AT)upenn(DOT)edu
Research Interests: Muscle stem cell
function and signaling in disease and aging.
Hometown: Shenandoah/Frackville PA.
Non-science activities: I enjoy playing softball, hiking, canoeing, and photographing waterfalls. I also love the winter season (the best). I like to ice skate, even if I’m not very good at it. When I have some free time, I try to get involved in volunteer-type activities and/or fundraising events. Indoors, I like to watch movies or read. I’m also a kid at heart and sometimes even enjoy watching an anime movie. I love trying out restaurants with cuisine that is different from the norm, but I also like a burger every now and again. As for pets, I currently own 3 Betta fish: Cloud, Dusk, and Firecracker. I’m not looking to expand any more, but you just never know what will happen.
Birthday: November 30th
Favorite phrase: What about _______ ?
Has anyone looked into/tried that?
Maryam Sharifi-Sanjani
Postdoctoral Fellow
Email:
msharif(AT)upenn(DOT)edu
Research Interests: Improvement of heart function.
Hometown:Newton, PA.
Non-science activities: My favorite activities are skiing and swimming. Reading poetry and watching TV are my remedies.
Birthday: July 23rd.
Favorite phrase: "Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity." - Albert Einstein.
Alexandra Stanley
DSRB Graduate Student
(co-mentors: Drs. Mourkioti and Shore)
Email:
astanle(AT)upenn(DOT)edu
Research Interests: Muscle stem cell function and signaling in FOP.
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Non-science activities: I love to work out and do anything physical/sports related. My favorites are kickboxing, volleyball, fencing, and hiking the mountains of California. As a true Cali girl, the summer by the beach is my favorite place to be. I’ve already traveled the world a bit, but I want to go to so many more places, especially New Zealand, Antarctica, and Ireland. I’m a huge bookworm and try to read at least one book a month. My favorite genre is mystery/thriller, but I also like science fiction (if the actual science is at least plausible!) I also love to cook and bake, and my husband likes coming up with new crazy things for me to try to make for him. I adore all dogs and can’t wait till we move to a house that has enough room for at least two.
Birthday: December 18th
Favorite sentence: Being nerdy just means being passionate about something.
Nick Oyster
Lab Manager
Email:
oyster(AT)upenn(DOT)edu
Elisia Tichy
Postdoctoral Fellow
Email:
etichy(AT)upenn(DOT)edu
Research Interests: To find and understand molecular pathways underlying abnormal degeneration of the cell, as well as those underlying regeneration.
Hometown: Bethesda, MD
Non-science activities: A typical night when I get back from work involves eating dinner while watching Netflix and surfing the web. Then I like to make some tea and play the bass guitar while I wait for it to cool. On the weekends I like to sleep in and take it slow, while finding some way to be productive during the day. Not being a party animal, I like to spend weekend nights watching tv or a movie with a close group of friends.
Birthday: February, 8th
Favorite sentence: "My real dream is that everybody will see their self-interest tied up with someone else, whether or not they see them, and see that as an opportunity for growing closer together as a culture and as a world". - Majora Carter
Taylor Gardiner
Undergraduate Student
Email:
tayg(AT)nursing(DOT)upenn(DOT)edu
Ranmaru Shimoda
Undergraduate Student
Email:
ranmaru(AT)sas(DOT)upenn
(DOT)edu
Research interest: The mechanisms behind how disorders/diseases affect the human body and how the body adapts to these changes.
Hometown: Palo Alto, CA
Non-Science Activities: I enjoy most activities that allow me to explore and be outside. Some of my favorite things to do are downhill ski, play soccer, and go backpacking. When I'm stuck inside, I love to knit and read; I am always on the hunt for good books!
Birthday: October 29th
Favorite Phrase: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...'til you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." -Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird
Research interest: To understand the mechanism underlying muscle degradation from microgravity environment and/or from genetic disorder.
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Non-Science Activities: Traveling and working out.
Birthday: August, 25th
Favorite Phrase: “No.” –Rosa Park