Julian Lui

Julian Lui is a staff scientist with SGD. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006 and joined his current group after receiving his doctoral degree. In the past 15 years, Dr. Lui has focused on translational research in the following areas: 1) genetics of childhood growth disorders; 2) epigenetics and molecular mechanisms of childhood overgrowth; 3) developing novel therapeutics by growth plate targeting or drug delivery; 4) nutritional regulation of growth and childhood stunting. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed original research article, reviews, and book chapters in the field. Check the full list of bibliography.

Wei Wang

Wei Wang is a biologist and lab manager with SGD. Her contributions to the research include maintaining the transgenic mouse colonies and managing the laboratory operations. She holds an M.S. from McGill University and has more than 20 years of working experience in molecular and cell biology laboratories.

J. Lesley Brown is a staff scientist with SGD. She received her Ph.D. in Glasgow, Scotland, in the lab of David Sherratt. She moved to NIH as a postdoc in the lab of Carl Wu, identifying transcription factors involved in the regulation of the Drosophila segmentation gene fushi tarazu. She then transitioned to a staff scientist with Judith Kassis at NICHD. There, she studied various aspects of Polycomb group (PcG) regulation during Drosophila development with emphasis on identifying DNA binding proteins involved in the recruitment of Polycomb Group proteins (PcG) to polycomb response elements (PREs). Most recently, she studied the composition of DNA binding and PcG proteins that bind to PREs in the active and repressed transcriptional states at the invected/engrailed locus and identified differences in chromatin looping in the two states. She moved to the current lab in spring of 2023 and is now applying her interests in transcriptional regulation and epigenetics to growth plate development.

Krishma Tailor

Krishma Tailor is a scientist (Cavalry-NIH-CRADA) with SGD. Her current research work focuses on the development and optimization of growth plate-targeted therapy that can potentially improve treatment for skeletal growth disorders in children. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Howard University, where she demonstrated differential hypermethylation of RASAL2 in prostate tissues and tumor suppressor role for RASAL2 in human prostate cancer cells. Dr. Tailor joined Dr. Michael Cashel lab, NIH after finishing her Ph.D. in biochemistry at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. Her research interest was similar at both these places; she studied global regulation of gene expression by (p)ppGpp.

Kirtal Hansdah, Ph.D.

Kirtal Hansdah is a postdoctoral fellow with SGD. He received his Ph.D. in human/medical genetics at the Institute of Life Sciences, Utkal University Bhubaneswar, India, in 2021. During his doctoral thesis, his research focused on the genetic and molecular mechanisms of bone homeostasis, specifically pathways involved and the associated/linked genes in otosclerosis. From 2021 to 2023, he worked as a research assistant in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, for the diagnosis of breast and lung cancer. Now, as a postdoctoral fellow, he joined SGD in 2023, where his prime focus is on genetic and molecular mechanisms of childhood growth disorders and the effects of caloric restriction on growth plate development. Dr. Hansdah’s long-term goal is to discover the therapeutic scopes of complex growth disorders resulting in short or tall stature.

Isabelle Hannula

Isabelle Hannula is a postbaccalaureate fellow with SGD. She recently graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an A.B. in chemistry. She has previously conducted ALS and immunology research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and worked in an organic chemistry lab at Washington University in St. Louis. She is excited to expand her research to exploring potential therapeutics for growth disorders. She plans to attend medical school next fall.

Arun Rama-Krishnan

Arun Rama-Krishnan is a postbaccalaureate fellow with SGD. He recently graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in neuroscience and behavioral biology. His research experiences in pediatric nephrology, health equity, and glioblastoma therapeutics have inspired him to pursue developmental research. He aims to become a physician-scientist exploring the connections between preventative medicine, nutrition, and disease development. Outside of academics, he enjoys running, hiking, and traveling.