Summary

Ryan is a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Program (BMS) at UCSD. He received his B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan in 2013 working in the laboratory of Dr. Anuj Kumar investigating kinase signaling pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in response to cellular and metabolic stress, and in the laboratory of Dr. Michael King studying nature of the human vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) in tracking visual stimuli. Ryan worked for two years as an Intramural Research Training Award postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. Working in the lab of Dr. Shalini Oberdeorffer where he studied how dynamic DNA methylation state regulates co-transcriptional pre-mRNA alternative splicing in CD4+ T lymphocytes. Here, Ryan developed a strong interest in RNA metabolism in cellular development and function, leading him to join the lab of Dr. Gene Yeo in 2016 for his thesis work.

In his graduate studies, Ryan is interested in using genetic and genomic techniques to investigate the roles of post-transcriptional modifications and mRNA processing pathways in the context of neuronal function and development. To that end, his work investigates the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration using human stem cell technologies. Ryan has been a member of the Genetics Training Program at UCSD, and is financially supported by the ARCS Foundation Scholarship and a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31) through the NINDS.

When not in lab, Ryan enjoys exercising, spending time outdoors, cooking, and playing music.

Education

B.S. Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Michigan 2013

Contact

rmarina at ucsd.edu