Kyoung-mi Park succesfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “Rapid Induction of Blastoid-Competent Naïve Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Their Application to Investigate BAF Complex Function During Early Lineage Specification” on Monday, 13, July 2026.
Kyoung will be leaving the lab shortly and taking up a postdoc position at NIH. Congratulations Dr. Park and good luck in your new endeavors!
Here are a few more pics from her thesis defense:
We received a visit from Dr. Ragnheidur “Heida” Gudjonsdottir from Professor Karuna Sampath‘s lab at the University of Warwick. Heida studies regulators of extraembryonic development in zebrafish and is examining their functional conservation using human trophoblast models in collaboration with our lab.
Heida presented on her exciting preliminary studies in the Sampath Lab and we enjoyed a St. Louis burger together:
Coco Bland is assisting Brittany Meyer in studying the biology of trophoblast stem cells. Coco is currently a sophomore at John Burroughs School, where she is on the junior varsity tennis and soccer teams. She is an editor and writer for the school yearbook and newspaper. Coco is also an active member in National Charity League (NCL), volunteering over 50 hours and serving as the current president. She also works as an assistant religious school teacher. Coco hopes to continue building skills as a technician that will support her goal of pursuing a career in the medical field. Outside of the lab and school, Coco loves to dance and play with her three goldendoodles!
Olivia Zhang is an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During her first year, she worked in the Klechevsky Lab, where she developed foundational experimental skills and explored immunology. She later joined the Theunissen Lab in her sophomore year to pursue her interests in stem cell research and blastoid models. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, photography, and playing badminton.
Welcome Coco and Olivia!
We’re pleased to announce the arrival of our new postdoc, Dr. Regan Scott, from the Michael J. Soares lab at Kansas University Medical Center. Regan received her B.S. from Kansas State University and M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Kansas City University. During her graduate studies with Professor Soares, Regan studied placental development with a focus on trophoblast stem cell differentiation to the invasive lineage. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2025, she joined the Theunissen lab to continue advancing the field of stem cell and developmental biology. Regan is a strong advocate for scientific research and reproductive health, and in her spare time she enjoys baking, doing puzzles, being outdoors, and spending time with family, friends, and her pets.
Regan, welcome to the team!
Thor was interviewed by e184, a new regenerative medicine company based in Portland, OR, to share reflections on his scientific journey, our lab’s recent work, and why embryo models continue to inspire him.
Please check out the interview on e184’s Substack: https://e184.substack.com/p/lab-spotlight-theunissen
Theunissen Lab 