Team — Arbab lab

Mandana Arbab, PhD

Manda Arbab is the Lodish Family Assistant Professor and faculty member of the Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Manda received her PhD in Regenerative Medicine at the Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research and Utrecht University in The Netherlands where she worked on induced pluripotent stem cell modeling of motor neuron diseases and advancing CRISPR technologies. She went on to complete an NWO Rubicon postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in the lab of Prof. David Liu where she developed a high-throughput genome-integrated platform to measure the activity of CRISPR tools at synthetic loci in mammalian cells. These data elucidated how target sequence features, DNA repair pathways, and genome editor characteristics affect genome editing outcomes, and enabled predictive modeling of genome editing outcomes to facilitate precision genome editing strategy design. She has applied these insights to develop in vivo genome editing therapeutics to cure and treat genetic neurological disorders in cells and animal models of human disease. She and her team continue to pursue their goal of developing novel genome editing therapeutics and translating these drugs from bench to bedside. In 2021, Manda was awarded a Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Curriculum vitae

Current group members

Alanna Kirschner

Role Research Assistant
Education I received my B.S. from Bates College, where I majored in Biochemistry and minored in Religious Studies.
Research Interests While in undergrad, I developed an interest in the biochemistry of the nervous system and the perturbations that underlie neurodegenerative diseases.
Hobbies Fantasy novels, pencil sketching, and trying new restaurants.
Currently watching Succession
James Chacharone

Role Research Assistant
Education B.S. in Chemistry from Wake Forest University
Research interests I spent my undergraduate career working on mutating amino acids of radical SAM enzymes in the vitamin B1 synthesis pathway. I look forward to applying my knowledge of chemistry towards neurodegenerative diseases.
Fun fact I am red/green colorblind.
Favorite quote Do today what others won’t so tomorrow you can do what others can’t.
Gabrielle Saulnier

Role Program Coordinator
Education I completed my undergraduate degree in Health Promotion at Radford University, where I focused on public health and healthcare administration.
Hobbies Exploring Boston and taking french lessons.
Kwangjun Lee

Role Postdoctoral fellow
Education Ph.D. Biomedical Science, Florida State University
Research interests I have created mutant cell and mouse models by CRISPR-mediated homology-directed repair to investigate functional short sequence motifs in circadian clock genes. My goal is to broaden my expertise in genome editing therapeutics, aiming to cure and treat genetic disorders in cell and animal models of human diseases.
Hobbies I am a passionate sports fan. Currently, I enjoy playing tennis and golf. Additionally, I enjoy spending time at the gym and swimming to stay active and fit.
Fun fact In 2022, I made a hole-in-one, we believed that it brings good fortune for three years! It is still valid!!
Jung Hyun Yoo

Role Rotation Student, Program in Neuroscience
Education. University of California, Berkeley (BA in Molecular and Cell Biology, Neurobiology emphasis)
Research interests Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration, understanding what makes certain neuronal subtypes more susceptible to degeneration.
Hobbies Playing the recorder, photography, going to concerts (baroque & classical music), Checking out restaurants and cafes
Fun fact I joined the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra in Fall 2023 and gave a concert with them. Prior to joining Harvard for a PhD, I spent 6 years playing baroque music with the University Baroque Ensemble at UC Berkeley.