Chen Lab

Group Members

Principal Investigator

Yvonne Chen
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, Stanford University
- Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
Yvonne earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Caltech. She received postdoctoral training at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and at the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. Yvonne was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows prior to joining UCLA in 2013. Dr. Chen has been a recipient of the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, the ACGT Young Investigator Award in Cell and Gene Therapy for Cancer, the NSF CAREER Award, the Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award, and the Cancer Research Institute’s Lloyd J. Old STAR Award. Yvonne is also the co-director of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, and a Member Researcher in the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
yvonne.chen at ucla dot edu

Project Scientists

Mobina Khericha
- BSc, Biotechnology, Bangalore University, India
- MSc, Molecular Genetics, University of Leicester, UK
- Ph.D., Molecular Genetics, University of Leicester, UK
Mobina K. is an Assistant Project Scientist and the Chen Lab Manager. She comes from labs at University College London and Texas A&M where her work focused on aging using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. In her free time, Mobina K. enjoys traveling, cooking, trying new restaurants and spending time with her daughter.

Graduate Students, Ph.D.

Justin Clubb
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Washington
- Ph.D. Student, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
Justin is a PhD student in the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering department. As an undergraduate at the University of Washington, Justin worked in the lab of Dr. Mary Lidstrom on engineering the metabolism of methanotrophs to increase their productivity and efficiency in converting lipids to biodiesel. After graduation, Justin spent over five years working in the biopharmaceutical industry in the Bay Area of California. In his most recent position, he developed robust processes for antibody-drug-conjugate bioconjugation and purification. Justin is looking forward to working with T cells and developing novel cancer therapeutic technologies. In his free time, Justin likes to spend time outdoors, and travel.
clubbjd at ucla dot edu
Tora Gao
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Washington
- Ph.D. Student, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
Tora is a PhD student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department. As an undergraduate student at the University of Washington, he utilized analytical chromatography and mass spectrometry to investigate the cellular metabolism of microglial cells. Tora is excited to work with T cells and develop novel immunotherapies against cancers in the Chen Lab. In his free time, he enjoys watching soccer (go Chelsea and Sounders!) and exploring nature (like a true Washingtonian).
gaotora at ucla dot edu
Amy Hong
- B.S., Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University
- M.S., Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University
- Ph.D. Student, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
Amy is a PhD student in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. At Northwestern University, she worked on computational model-guided design of synthetic receptors and genetic programs for mammalian cellular engineering in Dr. Josh Leonard’s lab. Amy is excited to expand her knowledge in experimental research and mammalian synthetic biology in the Chen lab. As an Elite Yelper, she is also excited to try out and write reviews of the many restaurants LA has to offer.
ahong0209 at ucla dot edu
Ryan Shih
- B.S., Bioengineering, UC Berkely
- B.S., Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS), UC Berkeley
- M.D. & Ph.D. Student, Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program (MBIDP), UCLA
Ryan is a UCLA-Caltech MSTP student conducting his PhD in the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program (MBIDP). At UC Berkeley, he worked on design of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) in Dr. Kristofer Pister’s lab in the hopes of building small medical microrobots. He also worked on various microfluidic cell-sorting applications in Dr. Luke Lee’s lab as well as PET image-processing under Dr. Mekhail Anwar (at UCSF). He has since shifted focus with interest in leveraging current technologies in cell engineering and synthetic biology to develop next-generation cancer immunotherapies. When not daydreaming about how to build cancer treatments, Ryan likes to play his hangpan, do taiko, bake, go axe/knife throwing, and enjoy the great outdoors.
rshih at ucla dot edu

Research Associates

Melanie Ayala Ceja
- B.S., Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics with a minor in Biomedical Research, UCLA
Melanie is a Staff Research Associate in the Chen Laboratory. Their previous research focused on optimizing the production of neural progenitor cells using NGN2-directed differentiation as well as elucidating the role of IL-17A/F in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. In their free time, Melanie likes to practice the ukulele, explore LA landmarks, and cook.
Caitlin Harris
- B.S., Biological Sciences, CSU Fullerton
- B.A., Psychology, CSU Fullerton
- M.S., Immunology, CSU Fullerton
Caitlin is a Staff Research Associate in the Chen Laboratory. Her previous research focused on characterizing the reactive oxygen species response in Drosophila macrophages. Outside of the lab, Caitlin likes to take care of her house plants, go to the beach, and try new recipes.
Vy (Sunny) Tran
- B.S., Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, UCLA
Sunny is a Staff Research Associate in the Chen Laboratory. Their previous research focused on optimizing the efficiency of photovoltaic cells and distributed Bragg reflectors. Besides working in the lab, Sunny enjoys creating digital art and animations, doing crafts, making stickers, designing nail polish art, and playing video games.