News

Congratulations!! 

  • Congratulations!! Our associate specialist Dr. Hira Rizwi was awarded the clinical fellow CIRM Training Grant!! (07/2024)
  • Dr. Katie Hinchee-Rodriguez has transitioned into the Dermatology Residency program at UC Irvine. Best of luck Katie!! (07/2024)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes Dr. Hira Rizwi, our new Associate Specialist, to the Lab!! Welcome Hira!! (05/2024)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes Swara Limbekar, our new Biotechnology Master’s student, and Emily Pham, our new undergraduate 199 student ,to the lab! Welcome guys! (04/2024)
  • Congratulations!! Noel Salvatore, our graduate student, won the SID travel grant!! (03/2024)
  • Congratulations!! Dr. Jessica Shiu, won the 2024 Skin of Color Society Career Development Award!! (03/2024)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our new medical specialist, Dr. Hira Rizwi, to the lab! (01/2024)
  • Congratulations!! Karen Xiao, our graduate student, successfully advanced to Ph.D. candidacy! (12/2023)
  • Dr. Jessica Shiu, Dr. Ganesan, and collaborators published a paper titled “Non-invasive Imaging Techniques for Monitoring Cellular Response to Treatment in Stable Vitiligo” in Journal of Investigative Dermatology (JID)! (11/2023)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our undergraduate Bio 199 student Vance Ku to the lab! (08/2023)
  • Dr. Ganesan and Dr. Shiu’s recent work on vitiligo was featured in the UCI news article titled “UCI lab offers new skin disorder treatment“. Read more about it here! (06/2023) 
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes the following summer students Britney Nguyen (Medical student) and Hailey Nguyen (high school student) to the lab! (06/2023)
  • Dr. Linh Voung, Dr. Ganesan and collaborators published a paper titled “Design, Synthesis, In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization of CDC42 GTPase Interaction Inhibitors for the Treatment of Cancer” in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry!
  • Congratulations!! Our post-doc Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Hinchee-Rodriguez got matched to Dermatology Residency at UC Irvine School of Medicine!! (03/2023)
  • Congratulations!! Dr. Jessica Shiu received her physician scientist K08 award!! (03/2023)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our undergraduate Bio 199 student Rachel Pham to the lab! (01/2023)
  • Congratulations!! Our post-doc Kathryn (Katie) Hinchee-Rodriguez was awarded the clinical fellow CIRM Training Grant!! (09/2022)

Where CIRM Funding Goes | California's Stem Cell Agency

  • Congratulations!! Dr. Ganesan got appointed the Associate Dean for physician-scientist development at School of Medicine! (09/2022)
  • Congratulations!! Our grad student Karen Xiao won the “People’s Choice Poster Award” at the NCI Junior Investigator annual meeting! (08/2022)

  • The Ganesan lab welcomes Kathryn (Katie) Hinchee-Rodriguez as our new post-doc and clinical specialist, to the lab! (07/2022)
  • Dr. Ganesan and Dr. Shiu’s recent work on vitiligo was featured in the UCI news article titled “New UCI-led study reveals characteristics of stable Vitiligo skin disease”. Read more here! (06/2022)

  • The Ganesan lab welcomes the following summer students: Aarav Grover, Jayden Lee (Valencia High School), and Toubby Chau (Northwestern)! (06/2022)
  • Dr. Jessica Shiu, Dr. Jessica Flesher, Dr. Pezhman Mobasher, Dr. Ganesan, and collaborators published a paper titled “Multimodal analyses of vitiligo skin identifies tissue characteristics of stable disease” in JCI Insights! (06/2022)

  • Congrats to Noel Salvador who finished his Master’s degree in Biotechnology and will continue in our lab as a Ph.D. student! (06/2022)

  • Dr. Ganesan and our recent work in CDC42 was featured in the UCI news article titled “Melanoma researcher covers all the bases”. Read more about it here! (06/2022)
  • Dr. Anastasia Chahine has transitioned into the Internal Medicine Residency program at UC Irvine. Sahil Telang has transitioned into a Medical Student at USC. Best of luck guys! (05/2022)
  • Sohail and Linh’s recent work on Cdc42 was featured in a UCI article titled “New molecule holds promise for potential cancer and rare disease therapies”. Read the article here! (04/2022)

  • Dr. Sohail Jahid, Dr. Linh Voung, Chi-fen Chen, Dr. Ganesan and collaborators published a paper titled “Structure-based design of CDC42 effector interaction inhibitors for the treatment of cancer” in Cell Reports! (04/2022)

  • Congratulations!! Our grad student Karen Xiao was awarded the pre-doctoral CIRM Training Grant!! (01/2022)
  • Congratulations!! Dr. Jessica Shiu won the School of Medicine Outstanding Early-Career Faculty Research Award!! (11/2021)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes Anastasia Chahine, our new clinical specialist, and Noel Salvador, our new Biotechnology Master’s student, to the Lab! We also welcome our old friend Sahil Telang (former high school student) returning as a Research Associate! (07/2021)
  • Sohail Jahid transitioned into her new position as a Scientist at AVITA Medical. Pezhman Mobasher has transitioned into his Internal Medicine Residency program at the Saint Agnes Medical Center. Good luck guys! (06/2021)
  • Dr. Pechman Mobasher, Dr. Jessica Shiu, and Dr. Ganesan published a paper titled “Comparing the Efficacy of 2 Different Harvesting Techniques for Melanocyte Keratinocyte Transplantation in Vitiligo”. (05/2021)

  • Congratulations!! Dr. Jessica Shiu received a KL-2 scholar award from ICTS!! (07/2020)
  • Karen(Hui) Xiao, our graduate student from the MCSB program, has joined the lab! (07/2020)
  • Jessica Flesher transitioned into her new position as a Research Fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Good luck Jessica! (07/2020)
  • Chi-fen Chen, Dr. Jessica Shiu,  Dr. Ganesan, and our collaborator the Lander Lab at UCI, published a paper in Elife, titled “Dynamics of nevus development implicate cell cooperation in the growth arrest of transformed melanocytes”. (06/2020)
  • Jessica Flesher, our CMB graduate student, has successfully defended her dissertation titled “Using In Vivo Models to Understand Melanogenesis”. Congratulations Dr. Flesher!! (06/15/2020)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our new lab manager and Research Associate, Terry Nguyen, to the lab! (05/2020)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our new post-doc, Linh Vuong, to the lab! (02/2020)
  • Jessica Flesher was featured in a recent article which emphasizes the importance of MITF in pigment diseases. Read the article here. (9/3/2019)
  • Jessica Flesher was awarded the 2018 Gazzaniga Family Medical Research Award for her impressive research accomplishments, her leadership and volunteerism in the area of cancer awareness, her enthusiasm for discovery, and her scientific promise. (11/2018)
  • Marc C. Liggins, Jessica L. Flesher, Sohail Jahid, Priya Vasudeva, Victoria Eby, Shunsuke Takasuga, Junko Sasaki, Takehiko Sasaki, Raymond E. Boissy, and Anand  Ganesan published an article title “PIKfyve regulates melanosome biogenesis” in PLOS Genetics. (3/27/2018)
  • Sohail Jahid transitioned into her new position at the Center for Complex Biological Systems at UCI (2/1/18)
  • This year the Ganesan lab had the honor of winning Banana Dog (Brian Griffin-Family Guy) for our one of a kind citrus dish at the department holiday party. (12/15/17)
  • Rolando Ruiz, Sohail Jahid, Francisco Espitia, Priya Vasudeva, Chi-Fen Chen, Dr. Ganesan, and collaborators published an article titled “The RhoJ-BAD Signaling Network: An Achilles Heel for BRAF Mutant Melanomas” in PLOS Genetics. (7/26/17)
  • Rolando Ruiz was voted “Best Graduate Student Presenter” by his peers in the department of Biological Chemistry. (7/7/17)
  • Rolando Ruiz has moved on to a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Arthur Lander at UCI. Best of Luck! (7/1/17)
  • Madeline McCanne from Orange County School of the Arts joined the Ganesan lab as a Summer student. (6/23/17)
  • Congratulations!! Jessica Flesher, a graduate student, successfully advanced to Ph.D. candidacy (6/7/17)
  • Rolando Ruiz for successfully defended his dissertation titled “Melanoma growth is regulated by the RhoJ GTPase!” (6/2/17)
  • Fantastic News!! Priya Vasudeva was accepted to Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medical School and will begin in the Fall’17. (5/22/17)
  • Dr. Ganesan was awarded a Proof of Product Grant from the office of Applied Innovation at UCI. The project is titled “Small molecule drugs to inhibit growth of early-stage melanomas.” (5/5/17)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jessica Flesher!!! (5/3/17)
  • Rolando Ruiz was awarded the the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship that will begin July 1. (2/10/17)
  • Chi-Fen, Rolando, Priya, Francisco, Dr. Ganesan and collaborators published an article titled “ATR Mutations Promote the Growth of Melanoma Tumors by Modulating the Immune Microenvironment” in Cell Reports. (1/11/17)
  • Jessica Flesher was awarded T32 Training Program in Cancer Biology & Therapeutics through the UCI Cancer Institute. (9/8/16)
  • Congratulations Marc Liggins for successfully defending your dissertation titled “Elucidating the Role of Phosphoinositides in Melanogenesis: PIKfyve Regulates Melanogenic Processes through the Synthesis of PI(3,5)P2 and PI(5)P!” (8/31/16)
  • Rolando Ruiz and Dr. Ganesan were awarded an opportunity award from CCBS to study spatial and temporal distribution melanocytes within nevi (6/30/16)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes the following summer students: Ismar Rodriguez (UCSD), Hannah Mumm (Occidental College), Sahil Telmg (Edison High School), Shyam Chandrasekar (UCSD) (6/27/16)
  • Rolando Ruiz was awarded the inaugural “Stanley Behrens Fellow in Medicine Award” for his strong research background, scientific promise, publication record, academic performance and outside awards. Read the article here. (5/26/16)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jessica Flesher!!! (5/3/16)
  • Rolando Ruiz was awarded the FORD Foundation Dissertation fellowship. (3/29/16)
  • Francisco Espitia is now an American Citizen!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!! (12/23/2015)
  • Elyse published an article in PLoS ONE entitled “Tyrosinase Depletion Prevents the Maturation of Melanosomes in the Mouse Hair Follicle.” (11/20/15)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Francisco Espitia!!! (11/10/15)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Priya Vasudeva!!! (9/18/2015)
  • HAPPPY BIRTHDAY Chi-fen Chen!!! (9/13/2015)
  • Rolando Ruiz was featured on UCI School of Medicine’s Graduate Studies website in an article titled “Seeking an ‘off switch’ for melanoma – ‘Curiosity’ motivates Rolando Ruiz-Vega.” Visit the article here. (9/1/15)
  • Good luck on your future endeavors and may your future bring you much prosperity and happiness. The Ganesan Lab wishes you the best Dr. Elyse Paterson. (8/27/15)
  • Congratulations Elyse Paterson for successfully defending your dissertation titled “Retinoids Modulate MITF: A Novel Mechanism in the Regulation of Melanogenesis!” (8/13/15)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Elyse Paterson!!! (7/8/15)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a new graduate student, Jessica Flesher, to the lab. (7/8/15)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a new high school student, Jair Fabian, from Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove. (6/29/15)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a summer undergraduate from Vanderbilt University and a medical student from Georgetown University, Jennifer Sui and Katerina Yale, respectively.  (5/18/15)
  • Rolando Ruiz was awarded the inaugural “School of Medicine Outstanding Student Fellowship 2015” for his strong research background, scientific promise, numerous publications and outside volunteer and extracurricular activities. (3/23/15)
  • Congratulations! Marc Liggins, a graduate student, successfully advanced to Ph.D. candidacy (12/5/14)
  • Congratulations!! Rolando Ruiz, a graduate student, successfully advanced to Ph.D. candidacy (12/5/14)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Francisco Espitia!!! (11/10/14)
  • Chi-Fen Chen is now an American Citizen!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!! (10/29/2014)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our new postdoctoral fellow, Sohail Jahid (10/1/2014)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a new rotation student, Jessica Flesher, for the fall quarter (9/29/2014)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Priya Vasudeva!!! (9/18/2014)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Marc Liggins!!! (9/16/2014)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Chi-Fen Chen!!! (9/13/2014)
  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY Elyse Paterson!!! (7/8/2014)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a new high school student, Natalie Chico, from Middle College High School in Santa Ana. (6/30/14)
  • Congratulations, Cameron for receiving his Masters!! (3/7/2014)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes our new postdoctoral fellow, Shawon Debnath. (2/3/14)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a new rotation student, Ankita Shukla, for the winter quarter (12/16/13)
  • Rest in Peace Wipi 1st. Your pigmented fish body will always be remembered. (10/4/13)
  • Sarah has just published a paper from her previous lab at UCSD in Dr. Forbes lab titled “Transportin acts to regulate mitotic assembly events by target binding rather than ran sequestration.” The article is published in Molecular Biology of the Cell. (10/9/13)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes  Sarah Carmona for her fall quarter rotation. Sarah has received a fellowship for her first year through UCI. Congratulations!! (9/23/13)
  • Cameron Shaaban has joined the Ganesan Lab. (9/13/13)
  • Anand Ganesan was awarded an R01 grant from the NIH-NCI. (8/15/13)
  • The Ganesan Lab welcomes a rotation student, Cameron Shaaban, for the summer quarter. (7/19/13)
  • Marc Liggins, a graduate student in the Ganesan Lab, was awarded supplementary funding from the NIH grant awarded to Dr. Ganesan titled “Phosphoinositide signaling regulates melanogenesis.” (7/9/13).
  • Chi-Fen Chen joined our lab as an Associate Specialist. She has worked in the laboratories of Drs. Phang-Lang Chen and Wen-Hwa Lee here at UCI. (7/1/13)
  • Philip Newton, an undergraduate from Santiago Canyon Community College, will be conducting research for the summer. (6/17/13)
  • Elyse Paterson, a fourth year graduate student, won the John Wasmuth Graduate Student Research Seminar Award for her presentation entitled ” 9-cis Retinoic Acid: a Novel Regulator of Melanogenesis” from the department of Biological Chemistry. She was awarded a $200 fellowship!!! (6/12/13)
  • Amy Sun, a medical student at St. Louis University in Missouri, has joined us for the summer as a research intern. (6/6/13)
  • Francisco Espitia joined our lab as a Technical Laboratory Manager. (5/20/13)
  • Johnathan Schilling, an undergraduate in the Ganesan Lab, was accepted to UCI Medical School. (5/13/13)
  • Priya Vasudeva, an undergraduate in the Ganesan Lab, was awarded Excellence in Research for her work titled “The role of haploid insufficiency and loss of ATR in regulation of melanocyte and melanoma.” (5/2/13)
  • Amy Hopkin was appointed a Scientist position at Allergan. (4/5/13)
  • Rolando Ruiz, a second year graduate student, was awarded the NSF-GRFP fellowship and the FORD Foundation fellowship for his project titled “RhoJ and PAK1 Coordinate Melanogenesis and the DNA Damage Response”. (3/29/13)
  • The Ganesan lab welcomes a new rotation student, Cameron Shaaban, for the spring quarter. (4/1/13)
  • Marc Liggins has joined the Ganesan Lab (3/15/13)
  • Elyse, Hsiang, Rubina, and Dr. Anand Ganesan just published an article in Experimental Dermatology entitled “9-cis Retinoic Acid is the ALDH1A1 Product that Stimulates Melanogenesis.” (1/21/13)
  • The Ganesan lab welcomes a new rotation student, Marc Liggins, to the lab. (1/14/12)
  • Hsiang, Amy, Priya and Jonathan published an article entitled “RhoJ Modulates Melanoma Invasion by Altering Actin Cytoskeletal Dynamics” in Pigment Cell and Melanoma research. (12/18/12)
  • Anand Ganesan was awarded an R01 grant from the National Institute of Health. (11/15/12)
  • Congratulations! Elyse Paterson, a graduate student, successfully advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. (10/30/12)
  • Hsiang published in Cancer Research a paper titled “RhoJ and Pak Kinases Regulate Melanoma Chemoresistance by Suppressing Pathways that sense DNA Damage.” (8/20/12)