Principal Investigator
Julie Law
Associate Professor
Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory
Hearst Foundation Developmental Chair
Postdoctoral Fellows
En Li
Postdoctoral Fellow
Originally from China, En obtained her PhD from China Agricultural University in 2020, where her research focused on the roles of nucleosome organization and three-dimensional chromatin structure in maize growth and development. Following her PhD, She pursued two post-doctoral positions: one investigating the domestication of the Jasmonate pathway in tomatoes at the Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and another studying RNA modification in Arabidopsis at the University of Chicago. In September 2023, She joined Julie Law’s lab at Salk Institute to further her research journey. Her main points of interest are: 1) the molecular mechanisms of RNA-directed DNA methylation establishment, and 2) how chromatin modifications influence DNA repair.
Laura Martins
Postdoctoral Fellow
Fuxi Wang
Postdoctoral Fellow
Fuxi Wang received her PhD from University of Maryland – College Park in 2022. Her thesis work focused on understanding how the cell cycle is integrated into plant meristem development in Arabidopsis Thaliana. She worked on characterization of the TSO1 regulatory pathway in the shoot apical meristem and the root apical meristem using both genetic tools and single cell RNA sequencing. As a postdoctoral fellow in Julie Law’s lab, she will be exploring the roles of chromatin modifications in mediating tissue-specific patterns of DNA methylation using both genetic and genomic approaches.
Guanghui Xu
Postdoctoral Fellow
Bioinformatics
THERESA PAPIKIAN
BIOINFORMATICS ANALYST I
Theresa received her Bachelor of Science degree in Computational and Systems Biology with a concentration in Neurosystems from UCLA. Theresa’s thesis work in Dr. Matteo Pellegrini’s lab focused on whole genome DNA methylation analysis methods using bisulfite sequencing and how methylation levels correlate with age. She joined Dr. Julie Law’s lab in 2023 where she is interested in analyzing genomics data to understand the mechanisms that regulate gene expression and suberin synthesis. Theresa is also a tennis player.
Matt Simenc
BIOINFORMATICS ANALYST II
Research Assistants
Majken Horton
Research Assistant I
Majken Horton received her Bachelors of Science in Genetics and Genomics and a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s studies at the University of California, Davis in 2022. She completed an honors thesis on the evolution of sexual dimorphism in Drosophila species but later shifted to plant biology to study Verticillium dahlia infections in Mentha sp (mint). She remains interested in plant biology and the effects of climate change on agricultural crops. She joined the Law lab as a part of the Harnessing Plants Initiative (HPI) and is excited to contribute to the team! She spends her free time reading a wide variety of books, drinking tea, and creating stained glass windows.
JACK HUANG
Research Assistant I
Jack received his Bachelor of Science in Physiology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He worked as a research assistant in Dr. Scott Hodges’s lab during his undergraduate studies, mainly studying the genetic basis of alpine-adapted traits, including amphistomaty and dwarfism, in Aquilegia jonesii. Additionally, he worked on an independent project with Dr. Susan Mazer to investigate the relationship between phenological change and climate change using digital herbarium specimens. He also worked as a horticultural intern in the UCSB greenhouse facilitating the daily housekeeping of the teaching and research collection. Jack joined the Law lab in 2024 as a Research Assistant I. He is currently working with Dr. Laura Martins to understand how CLSY genes are involved in the RNA-directed DNA Methylation (RdDM) Pathway, and with Dr. Fuxi Wang to explore how chromatin features shape DNA methylation patterns in Arabidopsis.
Tulio Magana
Research Assistant I
PALOMA MALDONADO
Research Assistant II
Paloma received her Bachelor of Science through a joint program between CEU San Pablo University in Madrid, Spain, and the University of California, San Diego. Her bachelor’s thesis focused on characterizing the West Nile Virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. She moved to San Diego during her last year of undergraduate where she joined Jose Pruneda-Paz’s Cell and Developmental Biology lab, standardizing a method to increase CRISPR/Cas9 homologous recombination efficiency, using Arabidopsis Thaliana as a model. Paloma joined the Law lab as part of the Harnessing Plants Initiative (HPI), contributing to the development of different strategies for carbon sequestration in plants. For this, she uses confocal microscopy and sequencing techniques such as DAPseq, among others. She is also helping in the efforts of translating these traits into crop plants. In her free time, she’s out skateboarding, convincing herself that she will learn how to surf, and trying not to break any more bones.
Lab Technicians
Kristen Werner
Lab Technician
Kristen Werner received her Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of Vermont in 2021. Due to her long-time interest in environmental issues, Kristen spent her first two years at UVM living in the Sustainability learning community where she became familiar with the local ecology through hands-on outdoor classes and worked with her peers to incorporate sustainable practices, like composting, into everyday dorm life. Kristen went on to participate in undergraduate research under evolutionary biologist Dr. Laura J. May-Collado in 2021, using auditory data from Puerto Rico to study how climate change has affected the physiology and vocalizations of the Coquí frog. Kristen joined the Law Lab as a Lab Tech in 2022 to provide support for the projects and research efforts of the lab.
Student Trainees
RONGJUN HAN
Student Trainee
Rongjun Han is an undergraduate student majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology at UCSD. Before moving to San Diego, he was working on investigating the symbiotic interaction between bacteria and seagrass in Dr. Jonathan Eisen Lab at UC Davis. For 2023 summer, he joined Dr. Chao Wang’s lab at Jinan University in China to study protein structures in chicken muscle. In October 2023, Rongjun joined the Law lab as a student trainee. He is working with Dr. Fuxi Wang on studying the chromatin modification in mediating tissue-specific DNA methylation patterns.
Solomon Huang
Student Trainee
Solomon Huang is an undergraduate student at UCSD, majoring in Neurobiology and set to graduate in 2025. Alongside his studies, he has a keen interest in epigenetics. In April 2023, Solomon joined the lab as a volunteer, working under the mentorship of Dr. Laura Martins. His current research investigates the role of CLSY proteins in the RNA-directed DNA Methylation (RdDM) pathway, the latter of which is involved in establishing de novo DNA methylation throughout the Arabidopsis thaliana genome.
Nidhi Noronha
Student Trainee
MALLEEKA SUY
Student Trainee
Malleeka Suy is an undergraduate at UCSD majoring in Human Biology and double minoring in Bioethics and History. Before joining the Law Lab, she was involved in research at the Chen Lab at UCSD, where she investigated 3D bioprinting of engineered gene delivery scaffolds using hydrogels. Here, a passion for research blossomed, and Malleeka joined the Law Lab as a volunteer under the mentorship of Dr. Fuxi Wang in May 2024. She is currently investigating the targeting of RNA-directed DNA methylation in Arabidopsis.
