Liang Ma, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Department of Pharmacology at UT Health San Antonio, earned his PhD degree in Human Genetics from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in the laboratory of Dr. Yong-Gang Yao. As a graduate student, Dr. Ma’s research focused on identifying genomic variants associated with increased schizophrenia risk using a large, independent, homogenous Han Chinese cohort. He evaluated Han Chinese GWASs, CREB1 signal pathways, and a mitochondria gene NDUFS7.
He performed his postdoctoral work at the Lieber Institute at Johns Hopkins medical campus under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Weinberger and Dr. Joel Kleinman, where he identified SNX19 by incorporating multi-omics data generated from 495 postmortem brains. Then, he moved to Stanford University in the laboratory of Dr. Sundari Chetty, where he determined CYP2D6.
Luis Aguirre is a Research Associate focusing on brain omics data analysis at the Ma lab. He received his master’s degree in Bioinformatics and his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso. His master projects revolve around advancing our understanding of rotifer phylogeny, where he developed a Python pipeline to automate the genome assembly process and developed a GenBank sequence retriever tool that facilitates rotifer phylogeny studies.
Felix Borrego is an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at San Antonio, majoring in Biology with a minor in Computer Science. Mr. Borrego is excited to be part of Dr. Ma’s lab where he will have the opportunity to apply his skills and delve into neuroscience research. With an emerging interest in bioinformatics, he is passionate about the fusion of biology and technology. He is eager to use this research experience to broaden his horizons and explore how the integration of bioinformatics and neuroscience can unlock new possibilities to prepare him for future challenges he may encounter in his professional journey.
David Bradley is a medical student in the Long School of Medicine at UT Health Science Center San Antonio. He is interested in applying computational techniques toward biomedical research, and is excited to join Dr. Ma’s lab where he hopes to leverage his background in software development and data analysis to contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. David holds a B.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and spent several years working as a software engineer prior to entering medical school.
Qichan Hu, M.D., Ph.D. – Postdoc in Stem Cell Biology.
Dr. Hu earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of North Texas in July 2024, focusing on 3D tissue culture techniques and manipulations. Her research experience also includes rat brain histology. Before starting her Ph.D., she worked as a research associate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hu received her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine and a master’s degree in pathology from Kunming Medical University. She completed her fellowship training and served as a surgical pathologist at Kunming General Hospital. As a former pathologist, Dr. Hu has extensive experience in human tissue pathology analysis. She has published over twenty papers, with six as first author, in the fields of pathology, animal models, tissue engineering, and bioactive materials.
Kunling Wu – internship student
Kunling is a high schooler at Keystone School in San Antonio. Ever since she was young, she has held a strong passion for STEM, especially biomedicine, and is constantly trying to improve in the field through experience and research. She is taking advanced courses at school and is an active competitor in regional and international science fairs. Kunling aspires to create something that will benefit society and is eager to further her learning journey at the Ma Lab. Kunling is a young artist, below are several of her selected art pieces.
Arts from Kunling Wu
Muhammad Sohail Khan, PhD – visiting scientist
Dr. M. Sohail Khan obtained his DVM degree from Sindh Agriculture University, Pakistan, earning his Ph.D. from Gyeongsang National University, South Korea. Sohail’s research is focused on exploring novel signaling pathways and developing therapeutic strategies for the treatment of incurable neurodegenerative diseases causally linked to protein misfolding, such as Alzheimer’s disease. When outside the lab/work, Sohail enjoys spending time with his family.
Arham Salman, B.S. – Biostatistician
Arham Salman is a first-year M.S. Student in Biostatistics and Data Science at the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston. He received his bachelor’s in public health from the University of Texas at Austin with a goal of reducing healthcare disparities among marginalized populations. His research interests include Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and its interactions with Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) medication along with Machine Learning. He is excited to leverage his passion for Neuroscience Research at the Ma Lab, where he hopes to utilize his statistical skills.
Aparna Tampi – Medical student
Aparna Tampi is a medical student at the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin with a major in neuroscience and minor in sociology. Her fascination with the intricate mechanisms of the brain motivated her to pursue neuroscience research in college, and she is excited to delve further into her passion for neuroscience and computational biology by being part of Dr. Ma’s lab. Outside of lab work and her medical school commitments, Aparna enjoys cooking, dancing, and exploring local hiking trails.
Alumni
Christopher Reyes received Bachelor’s degree in Medical Humanities with a minor in Biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. With an interest in genomic biology and regenerative medicine, Christopher is excited about the prospect of merging these passions in the burgeoning research environment of Dr. Ma’s laboratory. They look forward to the opportunity to contribute to our understanding of genetics and cellular biology, and to grow as a young researcher.
Robert Diaz is a graduate student in his final semester of his second master’s degree in Bioinformatics at University of Texas at El Paso. He received his first master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from the Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and his Undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from University of Texas at San Antonio. With a passion for biology and computational techniques, he is eager to merge his experience in biology and bioinformatics to help progress the work of Dr. Ma’s lab in neuroscience. He is excited about using his previous knowledge and applying it to real-world scenarios as well as having the opportunity to gain experience and knowledge from the lab of Dr. Ma.
Huanhuan Zhao received a master’s degree in Bioinformatics from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Bachelor’s degree from Central China Normal University. She likes hiking, traveling, and cooking. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
