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Miles F. Wilkinson, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor, Principal Investigator
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Kun Tan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Kun obtained his Ph.D. from China Agricultural University in 2016 and subsequently joined Dr. Miles Wilkinson’s laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow. He was promoted to Assistant Project Scientist in 2021 and then to Assistant Professor in 2023. Kun’s research has spanned a variety of projects, including stem cell biology and developmental biology. His work primarily focuses on the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that influence key developmental decisions.
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Rakakumar Anbazhagen, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Raj obtained his Ph.D. from University of Hyderabad in 2015. He performed his postdoctoral studies at the NIH and subsequently joined Dr. Wilkinson’s lab in 2023 as an Assistant Project Scientist/ Staff Research Associate. His current research projects are focused on (i) the role of the nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD) pathway in spermatogenesis, (ii) molecular mechanisms that drive the generation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), and (iii) developing a non-invasive diagnostic assay that detects spermatogenic defects (provisional patent recently approved).
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Yuna Ha, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Yuna did her undergraduate and PhD studies in South Korea, where she developed a strong interest in human biology and disease. She joined Dr. Wilkinson’s laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in early 2022, with a research focus on the devastating disease cystic fibrosis (CF). She is developing and perfecting RNA-based approaches to treat CF, including (i) a microRNA-based adjacent therapy for all CF patients and (ii) inhibiting the nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD) pathway (a long-term interest of the Wilkinson lab) to treat patients with nonsense mutations in the causative gene.
y2ha@health.ucsd.edu -
Chiara Capponi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Chiara earned her Ph.D. from La Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, and soon after joined Dr. Miles Wilkinson's laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow. She is particularly interested in male fertility and reproductive biology. In Dr. Wilkinson's lab, her research focuses on the characterization and function of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), with a particular emphasis on human SSCs.
ccapponi@health.ucsd.edu -
Sai Sahithya Chamarthy
SRA
Sahithya did her undergraduate studies at the Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, where she worked on Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide nanoparticles and their theragnostic applications. She did her Master's degree in the Wilkinson laboratory (through the CIRM program involving both CSUSI and USCD) on a study elucidating the inner workings of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). At present, she is working in the Wilkinson laboratory on a project defining the genetic changes that drove the evolution of the human brain.
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Nandita Rangu
MS Student
Nandita Rangu was born in North Carolina and grew up in Orange County, California. She is currently a Master's student at UCSD, where she is double majoring in neurobiology and human developmental sciences. She just joined the Wilkinson laboratory, where she will soon identify a project to focus on. In her free time, she loves experimenting with cooking new foods, exploring San Diego with her friends, and working out.
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Libby Searson
Undergraduate Student
Libby is from Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a 4th-year undergraduate student majoring in Human Biology at UCSD. She recently began assisting with a project that involves spermatogenesis and male infertility. She enjoys baking and creating art in her free time.
esearson@ucsd.edu -
Seongmin Jang
PhD Student
Seongmin is a Ph.D. Student with Dr. Junho Choe (at Hanyang University) who joined Dr. Wilkinson’s laboratory in 2025 as part of a visiting scholar program to further his studies. Seongmin’s research focus is on RNA modifications and their roles in cancer biology.
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Jenna Cecil
Undergraduate Student
Jenna is a 3rd-year UCSD undergraduate student from Sacramento, California who is majoring in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. She is working on a novel therapy—involving modulation of microRNAs and the RNA turnover pathway NMD—to treat the devastating disease cystic fibrosis. She enjoys hiking and sewing in her free time.
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Junho Choe, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Visiting Scholar
Junho is an Associate Professor in the Department of Life Science at Hanyang University (Seoul, South Korea) who joined Dr. Wilkinson’s laboratory as a Visiting Scholar in 2025. Junho is focused on post-transcriptional gene regulation through RNA modifications, including the most abundant modified nucleotide in mammalian organisms - m6A. He is also working on the development of mRNA vaccines that rely on RNA modifications. In Dr. Wilkinson’s lab, Junho aims to conduct research on disease-related mechanisms influenced by the RNA turnover pathway NMD.
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Beate Illek, Ph.D.
Electrophysiologist
Beate is an electrophysiologist specializing in the study of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease affecting ion transport in epithelial cells. Her research focuses on preclinical studies utilizing patient-derived cell models to evaluate and develop innovative therapeutic approaches targeting defective CFTR channel function.