MEMBERS

XIAO ZHAO, MD

Principle Investigator

Xiao is a new physician-scientist in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University. She received her B.A in Biology from New York University and obtained her MD training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was also a HHMI Medical Research Fellow. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training in Yale New Haven Hospital and served as a chief resident before joining the University of Pennsylvania for Gastroenterology Fellowship. Xiao subsequently completed her post-doctoral research training in Dr. Michael Pack's laboratory, where she utilized genetic and pharmacological approaches in complementary model systems to study the pathogenesis underlying cholestatic liver diseases and develop novel therapies. In 2020, she joined the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University and the Columbia Center for Human Development as an assistant professor to start her independent research career. In addition to her love of science and medicine, Xiao is a huge Harry Potter fan and enjoys reading and movies in her spare time.

ANABEL MARTINEZ, PHD

Lab Manager/Staff assistant

Anabel is a versatile, enthusiastic Uruguayan scientist with research experience in both academics and industry and a strong background in molecular biology. She obtained her PhD in Aquaculture and Biology from UNESP-Brazil and the University of Würzburg, studying the regulatory pathways involved sex determination in aquatic species. She is a creative, highly self-motivated, organized individual who enjoys multi-tasking and teaching.

SHANG-HSIN (JASON) WU, PHD

Post-doctoral Research Scientist

Shang-Hsin (Jason) received his B.S. in Medical Technology from National Taiwan University (NTU) and his M.S in Microbiology and Immunology from National Yang-Ming University. He earned his Ph.D in Clinical Medicine at the National Taiwan University under the guidance of Prof. Mei-Hwei Chang and Prof. Huey-Ling Chen’s. His doctoral studies focused on studying cholestatic liver diseases, with particular emphasis on BSEP-associated cholestasis. He discovered a novel BSEP-interacting protein and dissected its biological functions on the post-Golgi sorting of BSEP through both mouse and in vitro models. He also discovered a cytoskeleton linker protein, mutations of which may lead to aberrant BSEP targeting and result in familial cholestasis. In addition to research, he also really enjoys teaching and had been a teaching assistant in multiple instutitions. In his spare time , Shang-Hsin enjoys reading, classical music and exercises. He has been a dragon-boat team member in Taiwan and joined five races!