Author: Thor Theunissen

Rosa is a postbaccalaureate researcher in the Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, and Regenerative Medicine research program and joined the Theunissen lab in August 2024. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2021 with a degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Biomedical Engineering. She worked as a Research Technician in Dr. Andrew Duncan’s lab at the University of Pittsburgh, focusing on characterizing cellular regeneration and gene expression in chronic liver disease development. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing tennis, and bullet journaling.

Dr. Rowan Karvas has accepted a tenure-track faculty position at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, effective September 1, 2024. During her postdoctoral training in the Theunissen lab, Dr. Karvas pioneered the derivation of 3D trophoblast organoid and blastoid models from naive human pluripotent stem cells. In her independent lab, which will be based in the CU Division of Reproductive Sciences, Dr. Karvas will apply these in vitro model systems to investigate various aspects of human placental development, with the long-term goal of improving women’s and children’s health. We thank Dr. Karvas for her contributions to the lab over the past four years and wish her all the best in the next phase of her career!

We recently welcomed two new graduate students to our lab:

Peiheng Liu is a member of the Molecular Cell Biology (MCB) Program and joined the Theunissen lab in June 2024. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2023 with a degree in Animal Sciences and Genetics. While at UW Madison, she was an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Wei Guo’s lab, studying the function of the RBM20 RS domain in Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Additionally, she completed a summer internship in Dr. Songhai Shi’s lab at Tsinghua University, focusing on mitochondrial expression in radial glia progenitors during embryonic brain development. Intrigued by stem cell research during her first year at WashU, Peiheng decided to pursue her Ph.D. in the Theunissen lab. In her spare time, she cares for two schnauzers and three cats and enjoys playing guitar.

Serene Mattis is a Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering. She graduated from the University of Miami in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted research in the Neural Interfaces Laboratory under Dr. Abishek Prasad, focusing on optimizing and automating data analysis methods to enhance understanding of the foreign body response to microelectrode array implantation. This experience was pivotal in her decision to pursue a Ph.D. at WashU. Serene’s passion for women’s health engineering was sparked by a course titled “Engineering for Women’s Health.” She joined the Theunissen lab in August 2024, where she aims to bridge the gap between biology and engineering by developing new tools for studying placental development. Outside of the lab, Serene enjoys reading, watching anime, and baking.