MEET THE LAB
Carrie Partch (CV)
Principal Investigator
Email Address: cpartch@ucsc.edu
Superpower: Prolific consumption of caffeinated beverages
I graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics, where I worked with Aziz Sancar to study the molecular basis of circadian rhythmicity. I went to the 'dark side' for my postdoctoral fellowship, training in biophysical techniques including solution NMR spectroscopy at UT Southwestern Medical Center. I worked with Kevin Gardner to identify novel structural regulatory motifs on the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor, HIF, and with Joe Takahashi, to study the related bHLH-PAS transcription factor that drives circadian rhythmicity, CLOCK:BMAL1. In our lab, we strive to address these questions: How do animals measure time and use it to control biology on a daily basis?
Isabella Aldama
Undergraduate research assistant | NIH MARC Program
Superpower: Precognition––I am good at predicting things that will happen and acting accordingly!
Priya Crosby
EMBO Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Email address: prcrosby@ucsc.edu
Superpower: I have an encyclopedic knowledge of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
I graduated from St. Catharine's College, Cambridge in 2013 with a BA in Natural Sciences (Pharmacology). I subsequently completed my PhD - entitled 'Metabolic regulation of circadian timekeeping' - at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, also in Cambridge, under the supervision of Dr. John O'Neill. Having decided that there were far too many interesting questions in circadian biology to stop quite yet, I joined the Partch Lab in 2018.
Alfred Freeberg
Undergraduate research assistant
Superpower: Orchestrating elaborate venmo payments
Ray Harold
Graduate student
Superpower: Whipping floppy protein tails into line
I graduated from the University of Montevallo with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry.
Jon Philpott
Graduate student
Superpower: Woodworking / carpentry
I finished my undergraduate degree up in beautiful northern California, where I studied biochemistry and applied statistics at Humboldt State University. I joined the Partch lab because I am fascinated by how structural biology and biochemistry can inform our understanding of emergent phenomena such as circadian rhythms.
David Segal
Undergraduate research assistant
Superpower: I can dig myself holes regardless if the terrain be earth or social atmospheres
Diksha Sharma
Graduate student
Superpower: A passion for PAS domains!
Becca Spangler
Joint graduate student with Jordan Ward's lab
Superpower: Making it all look so easy...
I graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Biology. In 2019, I joined the Partch lab to study the similarities between different biological time-keeping mechanisms.
Jeff Swan
Graduate student
Superpower: Kinetics, kinetics and more kinetics!
B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University
M.S. Chemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder
My scientific career up to this point has focused primarily on structural kinetics and the enzymology of phosphoryl transfer. In the Partch lab, I am interested in understanding how the coordination of these processes is transduced into biological rhythmicity. To this end, I will be studying a (relatively) simplified circadian clock derived from cyanobacteria.
Megan Torgrimson
Graduate student
Superpower: Bringing order to chaos
Daniel Wruck
Undergraduate research assistant
Superpower: Meticulously curating Spotify playlists
Noelle Yaitanes
Undergraduate research assistant
Superpower: If you name it, I'll bake it
Former lab members
Dr. Gian Carlo Parico (HHMI Gilliam Fellow); Genentech Postdoctoral Program
Crystal Garcia (NIH MARC Scholar), B.S. UCSC; Research Associate, Genista Biosciences
David Cardenas (NIH ACCESS Scholar), Hartnell College
Adriana Gracia (UC LEADS Scholar), B.S. UCSC
Andrea Ramos Coronado (IMSD Scholar), B.S. UCSC
Moriah Godes, B.S. UCSC
Dr. Jenny Fribourgh, Research Scientist, Unnatural Products
Maria Ayala Hernandez (STEM Dreamers Scholar), B.S. UCSC; UC Davis Graduate Program
Diana Etwaru, B.S. UCSC; UCSF Graduate Program
Joseph Palacios (IMSD Scholar), B.S. UCSC; UCSD Graduate Program
Taylor Holt, B.S. UCSC
Britney Hernandez, B.S. UCSC; UCSC Chemical Screening Center
Dr. Sabrina Hunt; Research Scientist, Codexis, Inc.
Lauren Yee, B.S. UCSC
Dr. Efrain Ceh Pavia; Research Scientist, Planet Pharma/Grifols Diagnostics Solutions
Ivette Perez, B.S. UCSC (IMSD Scholar); Vanderbilt University Graduate Program / NSF Predoctoral Fellow
Kiernan Kringen, B.S. UCSC; Manufacturing Associate, BioMarin
Ali Yousefi, B.S. UCSC
Courtney Dailley, B.S. UCSC; University of Utah Graduate Program
Leslee Nguyen, B.S. UCSC; Stanford University Graduate Program
Priyanka Panchal (NIH ACCESS Scholar), B.S. UC Davis
Dr. Alicia Michael, Ph.D. UCSC; EMBO and HFSP Postdoctoral Fellow, Lab of Nico Thomä (FMI, Basel, Switzerland)
Divya Ramani, B.S. UCSC
Riley Mahn, B.S. UCSC
Dr. Hande Asimgil; Research Scientist, LMU Munich
Dr. Chelsea Gustafson, Ph.D UCSC; Professor, Dept. of Natural Sciences, South Puget Sound Comm. College
Niki Goularte, B.S. UCSC; Stanford University Dept. of Structural Biology Ph.D. program / NSF Predoctoral Fellow
Kyle Franks, B.S. UCSC; Inside Sales Representative, Thermo Fisher
Jansen Luu, B.S. UCSC; Manufacturing Associate, Biomarin
Ashley Kern, M.S. UCSC; Scientist, Wellnext
Chris Ahlbach, B.S. UCSC; M.D. program, UCSF Medical School
Marisol Sanchez (NIH ACCESS Scholar), UC Davis undergraduate
Nicole Parsley, B.S. UCSC; UNC Dept. of Chemistry Ph.D. program
Colby Sandate, B.S. UCSC; Ph.D, Scripps Research Institute (NSF Predoctoral Fellow); Postdoctoral Fellow, Nico Thomä (FMI)
Michael Sanchez (NIH ACCESS Scholar), B.S. UCSC
Dr. Stacy Harvey; Scientist, Ontera Biosciences
Jaclyn Schmitt, M.S., Cabrillo College, Adjunct Lecturer
Patrick Sammons, B.S. UCSC; M.D. program, USC Medical School
Hema Kopalle, B.A. UCSC; Neuroscience graduate program, UCSD
Kathy Huang, B.S. UCSC
Mariah Heller (NIH ACCESS Scholar), B.S. UC Davis
Kevin Hagy, B.S. UCSC; UCSC Dept. of MCD Biology Ph.D. program
Matthew Chung, B.S., UCSC; Research Assistant, Stanford University School of Medicine
Paul Wang, B.S., UCSC; Research Assistant, UCSF Center for Aging and Memory
Jessica Macias (NIH MARC Scholar), B.S. UCSC; CSUMB Dept. of Marine Science M.S. Program; SACNAS Administration