People

Principal Investigator: Dion Dickman

B.A. Washington University, 1995-1999

Ph.D. Harvard University, 2000-2005

Postdoctoral Fellow UCSF, 2006-2011

Dion was born in Hawaii (in the same hospital as Barak Obama) on Valentine’s Day (a true romantic), and has lived in Hawaii, Santa Barbara, Washington State, Nebraska, St. Louis, Boston, and San Francisco, before finally planting roots in Southern California. Besides research and teaching, he enjoys spending time with family and following his other passions (reading spy thrillers, the New York Times, snowboarding, and following the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Boston Red Sox, USC Trojans of course!).

Postdoctoral Fellow: Wenpei Ma

Ph.D. Yunnan University, 2004-2007

Postdoctoral Fellow USC, 2008-2012

Wenpei was born and raised in Sichuan, China. In 2007, she received her Ph.D. degree in Neurobiology from Yunnan University and Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 2008 to 2012, I was a postdoctoral fellow at Health Campus of USC. My research was focused on neural circuits and synaptic function using in vivo and in vitro electrophysiological techniques and behavioral approaches in rodents. I am very excited to have the chance to switch to fly study. I like reading novels, cooking and hanging out with my family.

Postdoctoral Fellow: Joyce Wondolowski

B.S. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1997-2001

Ph.D. Oregon Health & Science University, 2003-2009

Postdoctoral Fellow UCLA, 2010-2012

Born in Kansas, raised in North Carolina (go Heels!), Joyce has also lived in Portland, OR and Washington DC. She has spent her entire research career using electrophysiological techniques to study circuit and synaptic function. While she has worked only with rodents before joining the Dickman lab, she is very excited about the tools and advantages that Drosophila research provides. In her spare time, Joyce likes to run, swim, hike, and cook. She loved paddling outrigger canoe and dragon boat along the Willamette River in Portland when she was in grad school and was quite disappointed the first time she saw the LA River.

Graduate Student: Xun Chen

B.S. in biological science, Beijing Normal University, 2006-2010

Xun Chen is born in a small town in Chongqing, China. While growing up, he had many different kinds of animals for pets: chicken, pigeon, dog, tadpoles, dragon fly larva, spider, many different kinds of fish, many disoriented birds that needs help...The encounters with those wonderful creatures lead to his decision to study biology in college. Today, he is trying to discover genes involved in synaptic homeostasis at Drosophila NMJ using a variety of techniques such as molecular biology, biochemistry and electrophysiology. He likes people, places and things, except for roller coasters, he wishes he will never find himself on a roller coaster again!

Graduate Student: Beril Kiragasi

B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University, Turkey, 2007-2012

Beril was born and raised in Edirne, Turkey and lived in Istanbul (the most beautiful city in the world!) during her high school and undergraduate years. She was interested in sensory neurobiology in her undergrad where she studied olfaction and sensation of temperature using flies as a model system (flies rock! ) Now she is studying synaptic plasticity and synapse morphology at fly neuromuscular junction. In her free time, Beril likes to read books, dance, enjoy beaches in LA and watch her favourite Turkish TV series, Leyla and Mecnun.

Graduate Student: Koto Kikuma

B.A. in Psychology, Middlebury College, 2007

B.S. in Neuroscience, University of Michigan, 2012

Koto is from Tokyo, Japan. She was originally interested in psychology and studied stereotypes of fathers who take parental leave in Middlebury College, VT. She then worked as a marketing consultant in Tokyo, where she was exposed to “neuromarketing” before she decided to shift gears and study synapses (why not?). Prior to USC, she worked at the Umemori lab in the University of Michigan, studying synaptic formation with molecular biology techniques. At the Dickman lab, she is studying synaptic homeostasis at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions using electrophysiology. In her free time, she likes to bike, study Chinese, and watch Bollywood movies.

Graduate Student: Hui Yang

B.S. Peking University, 2007-2012

Hui Yang was born in XI'an, Shaanxi, China (the city with Terra Cotta Warriors!!) and took undergraduate in Peking University with major Electrical Engineering for the first year and Life Science for the rest time). Then he joined Lei Liu's lab in Peking University and worked around neuronal necrosis with both Drosophila and rat neuron culture. During the summer of 2011, he did an internship in Erik Jogensen's lab (HHMI) in the Univerisity of Utah and learned PALM imaging and genetics of C.elegans. He has a lot of hobbies, such as piano, filming, StarcraftII, skiing, road trip, board games and so on.

Lab Alumni

Brian P. Leung

Former Lab Technician

Currently a graduate student at USC

Drexel University 2011 | Chemistry B.S., Biology minor

Xundong Wu

Former Post Doctoral Fellow

Current location: UCLA

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Andrew An

Andrew is a sophomore at USC studying biological sciences with a pre-medical emphasis and a business administration minor. Though he was born here in Los Angeles, he spent his high school years on Guam. His hobbies include sleeping, cooking, snowboarding, and hanging out with friends.

Michelle Chee

Michelle is a Southern California native who is delighted to be a part of this research lab! In addition to her recent fascination with anything and everything related to research (including some remarkably non-interesting things such as latex gloves and pipet tips), Michelle has a variety of other interests. Her other involvements on campus include the Oriana Choir, where she sings second soprano, and the Ultimate Frisbee team, where she helps make up cheers (a very official and important position).

Morgan Cheeks

Morgan is a California native, who spent the six years preceding her time at USC in a small town in rural Ohio. She is double majoring in Biology and Philosophy and wishes to pursue and M.D./Ph.D. after her undergraduate years. In her free time, Morgan enjoys reliving her years as a gymnast, training with USC's Club Triathlon team, and being an active member in the USC Helenes.

Joshua Dreyzen

Joshua Dreyzen, who hails from Portland, Oregon, is a Junior in USC's Neuroscience program. He is on the pre-med track, and hopes to become a neurosurgeon someday. When he's not busy with school or research, Josh enjoys playing the violin, snowboarding, pick-up sports, hanging out with friends, and the occasional game of chess.

Sun Yung Kim

SunYung is studying Biological Sciences and hopes to achieve her dream of becoming a neurosurgeon someday. She is especially interested in neurology and the science behind neuropsychiatric diseases. She was born and raised in South Korea before coming to Wisconsin to spend her high school years. She loves living and studying in California and enjoys going to the beach more than anything. When she is not busy with school, she likes cooking for her boyfriend, going to church, and reading through fashion blogs.

Harris Nickowitz

Harris Nickowitz is a senior majoring in Neuroscience. Originally from New York, he has spent most of his life living in Southern California. Harris hopes to pursue his dream of becoming a physician after completing his undergraduate education. Aside from his studies and research, Harris' interests include reading graphic novels, listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with his friends and family.

Jeremy Paluch

Jeremy is a junior studying Biological Sciences, with a minor in Philosophy. He is a Southern California resident, living in San Diego all of his life until coming to USC. He hopes to pursue either an M.D. or a Ph.D. in his graduate years, but hasn't made up his mind yet. Outside of pursuing research and intensive studies, he enjoys working out, bodysurfing, skiing, and being an active member of his fraternity, Kappa Sigma.

Donna Phantran

Donna is studying Human Biology with a minor in accounting and early admission into USC's School of Pharmacy. She was born in Orange, California but has lived most of her life in the Southbay area. As a Gates Millennium Scholar, Donna enjoys giving back to the community and encouraging the younger generation to pursue higher education. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and spending time with her family!

Andrew Tung

Andrew is currently a freshman undergraduate at USC studying biochemistry. He was born in Michigan, and recently moved to Illinois. Andrew hopes to pursue a MD-PhD after his undergraduate years, and he is especially interested in research fields including cancer, disease, stem cell research, and of course, neuroscience. Besides science, Andrew is also an avid pianist and has won competitions locally, nationally, and internationally. His pianism has brought him all over the United States, as well as Europe, and he has had the opportunity to perform on radio and television.

Sebastian Lin

Brian Leung

Steve Pennell

Syed Qadri