About Us

CHRIS

Chris is the catalyst behind our labs creativity and inspiration. He has dedicated his life to discovering new methods to help neonates with respiration and inflammation control. His background in electrophysiology stimulated the current project on using vagal nerve stimulation to prevent neonatal sepsis. Aside from his research brilliance, Chris continues to live his life with compassion and persistence. Projects are always on Chris’ mind. From building guitars and bookshelves, Chris enjoys a unique lifestyle of constantly seeking deeper understanding. His immense book collection ranges in all aspects of his life. You can find books on the outdoors, theology, cooking, the arts, travel and history. Chris takes great pride in creating a safe environment with those around him. This has developed our research team to become a family that has been resilient over the years and continues to grow despite the odds.

VADIM

Vadim is a bright and genuine character. His passion is medicine and healing. The San Diegan has always been focused on healthcare and future breakthroughs in medicine. After quitting nursing school for being too easy, Vadim took on the challenge of medicine degree and has been a standout student. He has published more papers than he has fingers and that's only the beginning. He has volunteered in our lab assisting in Traumatic Brain Injury and Vagal Nerve Stimulation projects. Being so interested in both fields, he now is applying for federal funding to combine these methods for a potential breakthrough in therapeutic medicine. Vadim is the selfless member of the team who makes everyone feel appreciated. His pure heart can be felt by those who talk to him. He lives to serve and it can be seen through his life in school and at home. Our russian friend is always pulling up funny videos on youtube that really allows us to have a laugh from time to time. Something about trader joe's dark chocolate cups got his attention because our high sugar intake can be attributed to his surprise delivery of these addicting treats every time he comes to lab.

JOHN

Expert Math guy, organizational guru, Our coding expert is all about that command line and statistics. John is a shared post-doc who excels in dry lab and staying away from animals. NASA is supporting his project on rats and their effects on gravity and metabolism. Despite electrophysiology being tedious, John is also working on developing a station at NASA in northern california. Johns laugh is unforgettable. He enjoys working out, not applying for grants, and his puppies. His meme game is exceptional.

BRAD

Expert Math guy, organizational guru, Our fellow doctor isn't the typical doctor. Brad is finishing up his fellowship and will be quite the baby saver one day. He jumped into the lab with his project of doing a dose response of vagal nerve stimulation to translate the treatment from lab to bedside. His surgical technique is impeccable and you can usually catch him playing a phone game in between experiments. We find ourselves quite surprised by Brad. Despite being a top-notch doctor, Brad has a quality personality that brings down a lot of day to day conversations in sports, entertainment, and life. His passions include the Nintendo Switch and PS4. Whenever he has the chance to relax, you can be sure he is playing a video game or playing guitar. Brad lives his life in a well balanced way between life and work.

TYLER

Pacific Northwest Homie, Coffee Addict & Cat-Loving Guru Tyler is the pathway guy in the lab. His research project is focused on the expression of miRNAs in inflammation pathways involving Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). This very popular topic of neonatal brain damage is Tyler’s focus for his thesis. There is much need for strict organization and diligent execution for this project and Tyler is the right fit. The mechanical way of thinking has helped him thrive in this project. Time is the limit to his potential but Tyler is paving the way for innovation and deeper understanding. Night owl was only a theory until we met Tyler. His preference for staying up is unmatched by any other human (in lab). There's no surprise when coffee is also mentioned in his bio. Tyler is the quad-shot espresso guy if it involves waking up earlier than 11 am. Despite his choice of sleep cycles, Tyler is interested in a lot of things. You can always see him with headphones listening to some alternative rock music, audible books or even an episode on netflix. On rare occasions you can find him talking to the mice used in experiments but it all comes to show the friendly personality that Tyler brings to the Lab Family. P.S. he didn't want to smile for the picture so this is the best we could get.

LORRAINE

DIY Enthusiast, Book Recommender & Aspiring Foodie Lorraine is the project expert. She thrives off getting new projects and seeing them to fulfillment. Her PhD has had significant road bumps but through it all she was steadfast. Her project entails the use of a synthetic ACTH analog as a therapeutic for Traumatic Brain Injury. This project has created collaborations with a multitude of departments and specialties for her main goal. The playful character of Lorraine makes her project that much more enjoyable. She may seem as an extrovert, but ironically, she is an introvert. Her vivid personality makes everyone feel welcomed. Her hobbies include cuddling with her puppies, baking, and getting excited about new laboratory equipment. Nothing gets in her way when she gets passionate about something. You can usually find her at the beach with a good book whenever she isnt in lab (which is pretty much always).

BILLY

Traveler, Nature Follower & Netflix Binger Billy is the stoic. May come off as reserved but has a brain firing a million ideas at once. His project involves ventilation in a pediatric model. The idea is to test the effects of mechanical and intubated ventilation in its correlation with inflammation and downstream effects. Using various techniques, he is looking at a comparison to shed light on the significance of real life effects of children in our own hospital. Billy enjoys culture. It seems as if hes always traveling and seeing new places. His recent trip to scotland brought a lot of new stories of the hikes, scotch, and food. There's a lot of things billy does, but who knows because we only see him every so often, (more details to come).

JONATHAN

Jonathan is the laboratory manager whose goal is to support all of our wonderful research projects. His main focus is the vagal nerve stimulation along with Brad. Jonathan also helps take care of the little things of logistics and politics. Essentially, he's the protector of all the researchers from the hands of stupidity and setbacks. Jonathan is the little bundle of entropy. He enjoys quality conversations, being a barista, and learning new things. He lives for moral support and constant improvement. Jonathan enjoys science but thrives on being a gooder human.

Arrensee

ABOUT US

OUR TEAM