Work That Matters

Dr. Joy Gibson is researching how to optimize the use of antibiotics and other strategies to manage infections in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Program Specialist Chelsea Okoro’s passion for health equity was inspired by her family members and has led her to her current role recruiting patients for clinical research studies.

Associate Research Specialist Jennifer Alvarez’s interest in neuroscience and lab work led her to CHLA, where she is investigating the effects of maternal immune activation on the fetal brain.

Postdoctoral Fellow Jonatan Ottino Gonzalez, PhD, is investigating the components in breast milk that contribute to effects on children’s cognitive development.

PhD Student Victoria Wang is researching the development of the pancreas to refine techniques for stem cell-derived beta cell generation to treat diabetes patients.

Postdoctoral Fellow Mohammadreza Kasravi uses a model of the filtration barrier in the human kidney to investigate the mechanisms behind various kidney diseases.

IRB Reliance Administrator Liz Stefani shifted from a career in banking to working in independent review boards and now manages reliance agreements and reviews study applications at CHLA.

Data Scientist Melody Li brought her love of data science and coding to CHLA, where she analyzes health care data to offer valuable insights to providers and researchers.

Dr. Tsai’s research centers on studying genetic and epigenetic events that cause pediatric brain tumors, as well as identifying oncogenes that can be knocked out to kill cancer cells.

Senior Program Manager Casey Covarrubias discusses the services offered through the program, which supports junior researchers with their NIH grant applications.