Current Lab Members
Joshua Robinson, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Center for Reproductive Sciences and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at UCSF. In addition, he currently serves as the Director of the Center to Advance Toxicology and Chemical Hazard Assessment (CATCHA). His background includes a MS and PhD in Toxicology (University of Washington) and postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands and UCSF.
Lin Li, MD, PhD is a Postdoctoral Fellow (since 2023) in Dr. Robinson’s Lab. She received her MD and PhD in maternal-fetal medicine from Sun Yat-sen University in China. Her research focuses on the effects of infectious agents and environmental chemical exposures on human pregnancy. She is currently investigating the impact of retinoids, azoles, and other chemicals on early organogenesis using a whole rat embryo culture model and single cell and spatial transcriptomics.
Julia do Amaral Gomes, PhD is a Postdoctoral Fellow (since 2024) with expertise in genetics, molecular biology, teratogenesis, and epidemiology of birth defects. Her background includes a PhD and MS in Genetics and Molecular Biology by the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and 4+ years experience working a technical consultant for the Ministry of Health of Brazil by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). Her research currently focuses on screening of environmental pollutants for neurodevelopmental toxicity using human stem cell models and rat whole embryonic culture model, the identification and characterization of genes important in human birth defects utilizing in silico and omic approaches.
Jessica Chen is a Staff Research Associate in Dr. Robinson’s Lab since 2022. She earned her doctorate in medicine from Nanjing Medical University in China. She is also a former graduate of the CIRM Biotechnology Program at City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Jessica currently supports several projects, including in vitro environmental chemical screening and development of methods to identify molecular targets important for human developmental neurotoxicity.
Amanda Gutierrez graduated from California State University-Chico. She joined Dr. Robinson’s Lab in 2023. As a Staff Research Associate, she provides both wet-lab and computational support to multiple projects investigating the effects of environmental chemical exposures on human pregnancy.
Emilia Basilio, MD, MPH joined Dr. Robinson’s Lab as a Clinical Fellow in 2021, where her research focused on how environmental exposures affect placental function and pregnancy outcomes. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UCSF, with research interests in environmental exposures during pregnancy, including wildfire smoke.
Tobbi Ng is a CIRM Intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab since August 2026 and a biotechnology student at City College of San Francisco (CCSF). She supports projects focused on in vitro environmental chemical screening and SOP development.
Liliana Rivera was a URI student in Dr. Robinson’s Lab in Summer 2026 and is a current volunteer. A rising sophomore at UC Berkeley pursuing a BA in Neuroscience, she is contributing to a project profiling extraembryonic membranes in a rat whole-embryo culture model.
Vaidehi Chauhan is a Visiting Scholar in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2024-26) and a medical student at University College London (UCL). Her interests include obstetrics and gynecology, women’s health, and the intersection of environmental exposures and reproductive health.
Sirirak Buarpung, DVM, PhD, is the Lab Manager in the Robinson Lab. She has been a member of the lab since 2018. Dr. Buarpung earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and PhD in Animal Reproduction, as well as completed her postdoctoral training, at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Prior to moving to the United States in 2016, she also gained two years of experience working in a fertility clinic in Thailand. In her current role, she supports and coordinates all ongoing research projects within the lab.
Former members
Miguel Padilla Gomez was a CIRM Intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab from 2025-26. He supported research to identify environmental chemicals that may contribute to endometriosis using a stromal fibroblast differentiation model. Miguel earned his B.S. in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley and will pursue a master’s degree in stem cell biology at SFSU in Fall 2026
Varnika Dhandapani is a former undergraduate researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2025) and a UC Berkeley graduate in Molecular Environmental Biology. She contributed to environmental health research while gaining experience in cell culture and molecular techniques.
Shea Stubblefield is a former CHORI/SSRP research intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2025-26) and a current undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying biology.
Mengjing Wang, PhD is a former postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2023-25). His research integrated computational modeling, molecular docking, and in vitro approaches to investigate the biological effects and molecular targets of environmental chemicals. He is currently a faculty member at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Trisha Sengupta is a former undergraduate researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2024-26) and a graduate of UC Berkeley, where she majored in Public Health and Data Science. In the Robinson Lab, she gained experience in developmental toxicology and environmental health, studying how environmental chemical exposures may impact human pregnancy and reproduction. Trisha also completed her undergraduate honors thesis in the Robinson Lab and is pursuing a career in medicine at the intersection of environment and human health.
Yoichi Fernandez was a former research intern (CCSF Biotechnology Program, 2024).
Matthew Shear, MD is a former Clinical Fellow in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Medical Genetics in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2023-26). He received his MD from the University of Vermont and completed his residency in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF. He is currently a practicing clinician.
Bryan Ramirez joined the Robinson Lab in 2023 during his second year as a medical student at UCSF and is expected to graduate with his MD in 2026. His interests include maternal and fetal health and improving care for underserved and underrepresented communities
Jacob Perez is a former undergraduate researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2023–2024) and a UC Berkeley graduate in Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology. He plans to pursue medical school.
Romane Person is a former visiting scholar in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2022-23), where she conducted research as a master’s student at Université Paris Cité. She is currently a PhD student in environmental toxicology at Université Paris Cité, studying environmental exposures and placental biology.
Sofía Isabella Valenzuela is a former undergraduate researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2022-23) and a graduate of UC Berkeley. She currently works with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative and is pursuing an MPH at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Eric Connelly is a former Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Summer Research Intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2022). He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2025, where he studied Human and Organizational Development and Medicine, Health, and Society. He currently works at Optum in Washington, DC.
Sena Aksel, MD is a former postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2022-24), where he studied environmental impacts on human placental development. He is currently a clinical trainee in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Ascension Health in St. Louis.
Raymond Zhang is a former Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) Summer Research Intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2021-23). He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Biology.
Danielle Gantar, DO is a former visiting research scholar in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2021). She earned her medical degree from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine and is currently a Pediatrics resident at the University of South Florida.
Stephanie Gee, DO is a former visiting research scholar in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2021). She earned her medical degree from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University and is currently completing her residency in Oakland, California.
Miku Ogawa is a former CCSF Biotechnology intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2021). He currently works at Visby Medical.
Xin Guo is a former CCSF Biotechnology research intern in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2020). She is currently a Staff Research Associate in Dr. Susan Fisher’s Lab at UCSF.
Alizah Ali, MD is a former visiting scholar in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2020-21). She earned her MD from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2023 and is currently a Pediatrics resident at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
Ngantu Le worked as a volunteer in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2020) while attending medical school at University of Nevada-Reno. After completing her MD, she is working as a resident at Washington University School of Medicine.
Mosana Abraha is a former volunteer researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2020–2022). She graduated from McMaster University’s Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program and earned her MD from the University of Toronto in 2026. She is currently completing a residency in Anesthesiology at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Rachel Mernoff worked as a researcher (2020-21) as a MD/MPH student at UCSF/Berkeley. She is a clinical fellow at University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Lillian Lau is a former research intern (2020-22). After earning her Master’s degree at John Hopkins University, she is working as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Stanford University.
Sarah Siddiqui is a former research intern (2020-21) and recent graduate from UC Berkeley. She currently works at Meta as a data analyst.
Unurzul Jigmeddagva, PT, DPT, MD is a former CIRM Stem Cell Intern and Staff Research Associate in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2019–2023). She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of Southern California and currently works as a physical therapist at UCSF Health.
Sanah Basrai worked as an undergraduate researcher (2019-22) while completing her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. She is currently a medical student at Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.
Nikita Katukota is a former volunteer researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2019-22). She graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology and subsequently worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator Associate at Stanford School of Medicine. She is currently pursuing her medical degree at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Hao Chen, PhD is a former postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2019-22). During his time in the lab, he co-led projects focused on human developmental toxicology using in vitro and multi-omics approaches. He is currently an Associate Director and Toxicologist at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, where his work focuses on nonclinical safety and toxicology.
Rayyan Aburajab is a former volunteer researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2018-19). After graduating from UC Berkeley and working in biotechnology, she earned her master’s degree from USC. She is currently a PhD student at the Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences at City of Hope
Chinomnso Okorie completed part of her research project in the Robinson Laboratory (2018-19) as part of her Master's Degree program at San Francisco State University. For her project, she investigated the link between heavy metal exposures and preterm birth. She currently works as a Data Analyst at Kaiser Permanente.
Nikita Iyer, MD, MBA is a former undergraduate researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2017-19) and a UC Berkeley graduate. She recently completed her MD/MBA at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
Kenisha Puckett, PhD completed her CIRM master’s research project in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2016-18), studying the impact of flame retardants on human placental development. She earned her PhD in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine from Stanford University, where her doctoral research focused on trophoblast stem cells and human placental development.
Ibrahim “Bibo” Khatib completed his master’s research project in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2016-17) as a CIRM Scholar at San Francisco State University. His research used a human embryonic stem cell model to investigate the effects of environmental exposures on neurodevelopment. He is currently an Associate Scientist at Novo Nordisk Pharmatech in the Bay Area.
Christopher Yan is a former volunteer researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2016-17). He is currently a scientist at Greenstone Biosciences, working in stem cell-based drug discovery.
Jessica Reliford was a UCSF/Kaiser Permanente Undergraduate Research Intern (2016). She is a Clinical Research Coordinator at UCSF.
Monica Eng worked as a summer volunteer with Dr. Robinson (2016). She received a nursing degree at Simmons Nursing College and currently works as a registered nurse with Aya Healthcare.
Emily Hamilton, PhD is a former undergraduate researcher and Staff Research Associate in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2015-16). She earned her PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford University in 2022, where her research focused on noninvasive approaches for early cancer detection. She is currently a Founding Scientist and Assay Development Lead at Resero
Nicomedes Abello was a City College of San Francisco CIRM Intern (2015-16). He currently works as a Senior Scientist at ThermoFisher Scientific in SF.
Helia Seifikar, PhD is a former undergraduate researcher in Dr. Robinson’s Lab (2015). She subsequently earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she studied neural circuits and behavior. She is currently a researcher at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where her work includes predictive modeling to support identification of lead service lines.