Our Team

Qingfei Jiang, PhD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Qingfei (Fay) Jiang is a cancer stem cell biologist who studies the process of DNA and RNA editing in normal and cancer stem cells. She is interested in how these enzymes control cellular processes and gene regulation in specific cell types, and if we can utilize this understanding to better treat cancer patients. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Regenerative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Jiang received her Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Southern California, where she worked on DNA damage repair and translation synthesis. She later joined University of California, San Diego in 2010 as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Catriona Jamieson’s lab. She conducted research on the role of inflammation-driven A-to-I RNA editing in leukemia stem cell generation. She has also received multiple prestigious awards, including NCI K22 Career Development Award, Hartwell Individual Biomedical Research Award, Curebound Discovery Award, Leukemia Research Fundation Award, and ASH Bridges Award.

Maria Rivera, MSc

Lab Manager

Maria Rivera (MSc) is a Cancer Research Associate and the lab manager in Dr. Jiang’s lab. Maria grew up in Ensenada, Mexico, she attended the Autonomous University of Baja California for a bachelor degree in Bioengineering, and the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education at Ensenada for a Master of Science degree in Life Sciences with focus in Biomedicine and Bionanotechnology. Here, she worked with Karla Juarez and investigated the Synergistic antitumor effect of silver nanoparticles and antineoplastic drugs in breast cancer cell lines. A couple years later, Maria trained her cell culture and bioassay techniques at BioLegend, San Diego. In 2021, Maria joined Dr. Jiang’s lab to investigate cancer stem cell biology in pediatric cancer. She has expertise in 3D organoid culture and CRISPR-directed gene editing using patient samples.

Sonali Joshi, MSc

Staff Research Assistant

Sonali Joshi (MSc) is a Cancer Research Associate in Dr. Jiang's Lab. She attended UCSD for a Master of Engineering degree in Bioengineering and Oregon State University for a bachelor's degree in Bioengineering. She currently performs in vitro studies using cell culture, lentivirus transduction, western blot, qPCR, and immunofluorescent staining to determine the role of RNA binding proteins in T-ALL leukemia. Outside of work she enjoys crocheting and going to the beach.

Isabella Huang, BS

Staff Research Assistant

Isabella Hoang is a Staff Researcher with a BS in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. She currently conducts in vitro and in vivo experiments as the vivarium lead. In her free time, Bella enjoys going to the beach, hiking, and reading.

Lucy Liu

BS/MS Student

Lucy Liu is a BS/MS student who majored in general biology. Her project centers on the role of RNA binding proteins in regulation double-stranded RNA sensing pathway and how to target this signaling pathway in pediatric leukemia. In her free time she enjoys reading, ice skating, and going out to eat.

Kristine Lim

BS/MS Student

Kristine Lim is a contiguous BS/MS student under the School of Biological Sciences at UCSD. She currently does research in Dr. Qingfei Jiang's lab and hopes to pursue a career in the field of biopharmaceutical research. In her free time, she likes to play tennis and spend time with her parrot.