Min Jee Jang, PhD
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Affiliated Faculty, Neuroscience Program
Affiliated Faculty, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Dr. Min Jee Jang received her BS, MS and PhD in Bio and Brain Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), South Korea. After her short postdoctoral fellowship at Korea University College Medicine in South Korea, she moved to USA and received postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Viviana Gradinaru at California Institute of Technology as a Caltech BBE Divisional Fellow and NARSAD Young Investigator. In January 2024, she will start her new position as an Assistant Professor at UIUC BIOE.
Min has been fascinated by the fundamental question: “How does the network of individual components gives rise to complex functions?”. Her initial research interests were involved in Brain-on-a-Chip technologies, with the aim of designing and implementing simplified neural circuit models in a dish. She invented many cell patterning techniques to control neuronal growth and developed computational tools for quantitative analysis of large-scale calcium imaging data. After joining Caltech, she expanded her research into in vivo and tool development, including tissue clearing, viral vector engineering and spatial transcriptomics, and developed high-throughput in situ assays for engineered viral vectors for cell-type targeted gene delivery and therapy. With a broad range of experience and expertise, she is now pursuing a comprehensive understanding of the brain at the genetic level and the development of innovative technologies to access and manipulate genetic components in vivo for human health and disease.
Seunghwan Lee
Postdoc
Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences
Seunghwan received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Korea University. His previous research focused on developing genetically encoded molecular switches utilizing optogenetics and chemo genetics. Currently, he is working on developing Virus-like particle (VLP)-based platforms for drug delivery.
Haoyu Li
Graduate Student
Bioengineering @ UIUC
Haoyu received BS in Materials Science and Engineering, from UIUC and MS in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. Haoyu has previously worked with biomaterial-based gene delivery and immunoengineering. His current research interests are in the area of vector engineering and targeted gene delivery and therapy. In his life, he is a basketball lover and a fan of the Lakers team.
Aparna Chauhan
Graduate Student
Bioengineering @ UIUC
Aparna holds a bachelor’s in biotech from Delhi Technological University. She completed her M.Tech in Biomedical Engineering at IIT Bombay, applying bioinformatics to study brain disorders and contributing to BrainProt, a brain proteome resource. She also developed a novel peptide scoring strategy to improve targeted MS-based detection of brain disease biomarkers. Currently a PhD student, her work focuses on designing synthetic enhancers for the mouse brain and building robust strategies for brain-specific gene delivery using both computational and experimental approaches. In her free time, she enjoys reading mystery novels.
Ari Belotserkovsky
Graduate Student
Bioengineering @ UIUC
Ari obtained an Honours BSc degree in Neuroscience & Immunology from the University of Toronto. There, Ari further pursued an MSc degree in Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, where he developed a preclinical AAV-based gene knockout therapy as an intervention for genetic prion diseases. Currently, as a doctoral candidate, Ari’s research focuses on engineering regulatory elements (enhancer-promoters and miRNA target sites) to drive brain region-specific AAV transgene expression.
Longwei Zhang
Graduate Student
Bioengineering @ UIUC
Longwei Zhang joined the lab after earning his B.S. in Biology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and an M.S. in Bioinformatics from Georgetown University.
He previously worked on drug combination strategies for glioblastoma (GBM), exploring synergistic treatments and mechanisms of resistance. His current research explores Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV)–based approaches to address the inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity of GBM, with the goal of developing more effective and potentially curative therapies. Beyond research, Longwei is a keen fan of soccer and tennis and enjoys photography in his free time.
Sasha Skatchkov
Graduate Student
Neuroscience @ UIUC
Sasha received a BS in Chemistry and Psychology from UIUC, a Masters of Teaching Chemistry from UIUC, and is now pursuing her Neuroscience PhD also at UIUC. Currently, as a neuroscience graduate researcher, Sasha is working on seeing how gene expression changes in response to different neuronal activity patterns by utilizing various AAV constructs and transcriptomics techniques. Outside of research, Sasha enjoys long walks around campus, badminton, and watching movies and TV; she recommends everyone to watch Ted Lasso!
Maddie Lawson
Undergraduate Student
Material Science and Engineering @ UIUC
Maddie is interested in developing biomaterials and tools that may be used in real world human healthcare. Maddie is also interested in developing my skills by conducting research with neurodegenerative diseases in Dr. Jang’s lab.
Abdullah Choudhry
Undergraduate Student
Bioengineering @ UIUC
Abdullah is a junior with an interest in therapeutics. He is looking forward to learning more about genetics and genetic engineering, and developing his technical skills by working within the Jang Lab.
Nora Holmes
Undergraduate Student
Neural Engineering @ UIUC
Nora is in the first year of her undergraduate degree in Neural Engineering. She is very passionate about computational neuroscience and gene therapy. As a newcomer to research she is incredibly excited to be embarking on her research journey in the Jang Lab.
Grace Lu
Undergraduate Student
CS @ UIUC
Grace is a freshman studying Computer Science with a strong passion for bioinformatics and multiomics. She is eager to develop and apply computational tools to advance genetic engineering and is particularly interested in exploring how deep learning can contribute to the treatment of neurological diseases.
Jessica Lee
Undergraduate Student
Brain and Cognitive Science @ UIUC
Jessica Lee is a freshman at UIUC. She is interested in neurodegenerative disease and exploring interventions like genetic engineering that could be applied in daily healthcare practices. Jessica has previous research experience investigating the effects of ketamine on neural dynamics, which has deepened her understanding of brain activity. She looks forward to furthering her research experience and contributing to advancements in the field of neuroscience in Dr. Jang’s Lab.
ALUMNI
Namjun Cho (UG Researcher) | Bilal Karim (UG Researcher) | Tanvika Boyineni (UG Researcher)