I grew up in Taiwan and studied at Wesleyan University. After graduating, I worked as a research technician at Sloan Kettering Institute, where I studied inflammasomes in the Bachovchin lab. In the Ott lab, I will be working with Ursula to test inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 and HIV virus replication. Some of the activities I enjoy include being outdoors, biking, volleyball and tennis.
Research Area: COVID-19 (SARS COVI-2)
Sun
Hello everyone! I’m Limeng Sun, a new postdoc in the Ott lab. I am from China. I got my PhD from Huazhong Agricultural University.I focused on exploring the interaction mechanism between coronavirus and host factors, I’m also keen to explore unknown functional receptors for pandemic and emerging viruses performed by Crispr/Cas9 library and multi-omics. In the Ott lab, I will focus on research interesting and important phenotypes induced by virus protein depending on the virus protein library. Outside of the lab, I enjoy sports ( kinds of ball games and hiking) with friends , go to concerts and cook for new cuisines.
Rosecrans
My name is Julia and I recently graduated from Mills College with a BA in biology and a concentration in evolution ecology and behavior. I love being in the outdoors with my dog Buddy and I’m excited to be joining the Ott lab as an RA!
Zapatero Belinchon
Francisco (Fran) comes originally from Spain and obtained his PhD in Virology at Hannover Medical School in Germany. His main interests are the dissection of viral entry and host‑pathogen interactions of emerging and re-emerging pathogens using novel proteomics approaches. Outside the lab, he enjoys hiking, camping, playing video games, and tasting a good ol’ brew.
Matsui
Yusuke studied basic HIV research and clinical medicine at Kyoto University, Japan.
He then joined the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan, where he was involved in the outbreak control of infectious diseases with molecular techniques.
At Ott lab, he is working on research to eradicate diseases caused by HIV and SARS-CoV-2 by studying them from the molecular level.
Outside of the lab, he enjoys participating in marathon races around the world.
Chen
Originally from Los Angeles, Irene is a graduate student in UCSF’s BMS program. She is interested in how viruses hijack host transcription during infection.When she isn’t in lab, Irene can be found going off trail in the mountains, eating her way through SF, and taking care of her succulents.
Schulze-Gahmen
Ursula received her P hD in Biochemistry from the University of Heidelberg in Germany and expanded into structural biology during her postdoc years at the Scripps Research Institutes in La Jolla, CA and at UC Berkeley. At Gladstone she is studying viral protein-host interactions including viral proteins from HIV, SARS-Cov-2, and enterovirus. In her free time she likes gardening, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Taha
Taha trained in clinical pharmacy and medicinal chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and developed an interest in virology after completing a fellowship at the CDC. In the Ott lab, he is interested in establishing an HBV infection system to study the molecular mechanisms and viral-host interactions governing disease persistence. In his free time, Taha enjoys spending time with his family, exploring national parks, and playing chess and soccer.
Ott
Institute of Virology
Senior Vice President, Gladstone Institutes
Professor of Medicine, UCSF
Melanie Ott earned her MD degree from University of Frankfurt in Germany and a PhD from the Picower Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in New York. In 1998, she started her own research group at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, in the department headed by tumor virologist and Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen, studying HIV pathogenesis and a new emerging pathogen at the time, hepatitis C virus (HCV).
In 2002, she moved her lab to the Gladstone Institutes, where she continued her work on HIV and HCV, and expanded her research into the host-virus interface in diseases such as Zika, influenza and SARS-CoV-2. She has focused much of her work on the role of reversible protein acetylation in HIV transcription (especially the viral Tat protein), and identifying new molecular targets for treatments and cure, new diagnostics and the potential for pan-viral therapeutics.
Melanie is the Director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology Institute and Senior Vice President of the Gladstone Institutes, and a professor of medicine at University of California – San Francisco. She is a recipient of NIH MERIT and DP1 Avantgarde Awards, an elected member of the Association of American Physicians and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.