Core Members

Johnathon Anderson, PhDJohnathon Anderson, PhD

Assistant Professor
Otolaryngology
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Developing stem cell based therapies for inflammatory and neurological diseases
More information about Dr. Anderson

Boaz Arzi, DVM, DAVDC, DEVDCBoaz Arzi, DVM, DAVDC, DEVDC, FF-AVDC-OMFS

Assistant Professor
Surgical and Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Oral and maxillofacial regenerative medicine, tissue engineering (Oral and Maxillofacial Regenerative lab)
More information about Dr. Arzi

Gerhard BauerGerhard Bauer

Associate Adjunct Professor
Hematology and Oncology
Director, Good Manufacturing Laboratory
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Gene and Cellular Therapy (GMP Facility)
More information about Mr. Bauer

Peter Belafsky, MD, PhDPeter Belafsky, MD, PhD

Associate Professor
Otolaryngology
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Novel and minimally invasive treatments for swallowing disorders, transcutaneous electrical stimulation for dysphagia therapy, esophageal and extraesophageal reflux disease, esophageal cancer
More information about Dr. Belafsky

Dori Borjesson, DVM, PhD, DACVPDori Borjesson, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Professor and Chair
Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells
More information about Dr. Borjesson

Satya Dandekar, PhDSatya Dandekar, PhD

Professor and Chair
Microbiology and Immunology
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Molecular pathogenesis of HIV and SIV, Mucosal immunology of host-pathogen interactions and epigenetic regulation of mucosal immune defense in HIV and SIV infections and co-infections
More information about Dr. Dandekar

Anna Denicol, DVM, MPVM, PhDAnna Denicol, DVM, MPVM, PhD

Assistant Professor
Animal Science
UC Davis, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

Research Interests: Reproductive and developmental biology

Peter J DickinsonPeter J Dickinson

Professor and Researcher
Surgical & Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Neurooncology: Molecular genetic characterization of primary brain tumors; development of novel therapeutic strategies for primary brain tumors.

Nasim Fazel, MD, DDS, MAS,Nasim Fazel, MD, DDS, MAS,

Associate Professor
Dermatology
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Oral mucosal disorders
More information about Dr. Fazel

Fernando Fierro, PhDFernando Fierro, PhD

Assistant Adjunct Professor
Stem Cell Program
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Translation of genetically altered stem cells
More Information about Dr. Fierro

Larry Galuppo, DVM, DACVSLarry Galuppo, DVM, DACVS

Professor
Surgical and Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Healing of musculoskeletal injuries using regenerative medicine
More information about Dr. Galuppo

Michael Kent, DVM, MASMichael Kent, DVM, MAS

Associate Professor
Surgical and Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Clinical and technical aspects of radiation oncology
More information about Dr. Kent

Amir Kol, DVM, PhD, DACVPAmir Kol, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Assistant Professor
Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Immunomodulatory properties of stem cells
More information about Dr. Kol

Maggie Ann Kuhn, MDMaggie Ann Kuhn, MD

Assistant Professor
Medicine and Epidemiology
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Reflux-mediated swallowing disorders, upper esophageal sphincter dysfunction and clinical outcomes of office-based laryngology procedures
More information about Dr. Kuhn

J. Kent Leach, PhDJ. Kent Leach, PhD

Associate Professor
Biomedical Engineering
UC Davis, College of Engineering

Research Interests: Tissue engineering and drug Delivery (Leach lab)

Jamal Lewis, MD, PhDJamal Lewis, PhD

Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
UC Davis, College of Engineering

Research Interests: Immuno-modulatory materials, stimuli-responsive materials, dendritic cell immunobiology, translational medicine, host immune system-material interactions, autoimmune disease therapy (Immuno-modulatory Biomaterials Laboratory)

Gang-yu Liu, PhDGang-yu Liu, PhD

Professor
Chemistry Department, Biophysical Graduate Group
UC Davis, College of Letter and Science

Research Interests: Nanotechnology and development of biomaterials for regulating cellular signaling processes (Keck Spectra Imaging Facility)

https://chemistry.ucdavis.edu/people/gang-yu-liu

Stanley Marks, BVSc, PhDStanley Marks, BVSc, PhD

Professor
Medicine and Epidemiology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Small animal gastroenterology
More information about Dr. Marks

Sina MarsilioSina Marsilio,  Dr. med. vet., PhD, DACVIM (SAIM), DECVIM-CA

Assistant Professor 
Dept. of Veterinary Medicine and Epidemiology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: novel treatments and therapy for feline chronic enteropathies

Michael Mienaltowski, PhDMichael Mienaltowski, PhD

Assistant Professor
Applied Physiology and Animal Science
UC Davis, College of Agriculture and Envioronmental Sciences

Research Interests: Development, maturation and repair of musculoskeletal tissues

Christopher Murphy, DVM, PhDChristopher Murphy, DVM, PhD

Professor
Comparative Ophthalmology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Medicine

Research Interests: Application of stem cells for the treatment of eye disease
More information about Dr. Murphy

James Murray, PhDJames Murray, PhD

Professor and Chair
Animal Science
UC Davis, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

Research Interests: Genetic engineering of mammals and horse genomics

Jan Nolta, PhDJan Nolta, PhD

Professor and Director
Stem Cell Program (Institute for Regenerative Cures)
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Migration and homing of stem cells (Nolta lab)
More information about Dr. Nolta

Sean Owens, DVMSean Owens, DVM

Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Programs
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Blood banking and transfusion medicine
More information about Dr. Owens

Jamie PeytonJamie Peyton

Staff Veterinarian
Integrative Medicine

Research Interests: Regenerative medicine approaches to tissue healing and repair after burn injury

Pablo Ross, DVM, PhDPablo Ross, DVM, PhD

Assistant Professor
Animal Sciences
UC Davis, College of Agriculture and Envioronmental Sciences

Research Interests: Reproductive biology and epigeneic remodelling

Eduardo Silva, PhDEduardo Silva, PhD

Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
UC Davis, College of Engineering

Research Interests: Stem/progenitor cells trafficking and biomaterials (Silva lab)

Scott SimonScott Simon

Professor
Biomedical Engineering
UC Davis, College of Engineering

Research Interests: Biomechanics of cells and tissues, neutrophil biology, vascular engineering, particularly with respect to inflammatory disease; fluorescence flow cytometry

Mathieu Spriet, DVM, DACVR, DECDIMathieu Spriet, DVM, DACVR, DECDI

Associate Professor
Surgical and Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Stem cell tracking and diagnostic imaging
More information about Dr. Spriet

Beverly Sturges, DVM, MS, DACVIMBeverly Sturges, DVM, MS, DACVIM

Professor
Surgical and Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury
More information about Dr. Sturges

Christine ToedebuschChristine Toedebusch

Assistant Professor
Surgical & Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Microglilal function in health and disease. Understanding mechanisms of microglia phenotype determination in glioma models. Our goal is to modulate microglia activity for treatment of glioma in both canine and human patients.

Natalia Vapniarsky, DVM, PhD, DACVPNatalia Vapniarsky, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Assistant Research Scientist
Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Tissue-engineered cartilage and stem cell therapies for immune-mediated diseases
For more information on Dr. Vapniasrsky

Karen VernauKaren Vernau

Professor
Surgical & Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Inflammatory brain disease, metabolic encephalopathies and brain tumors.

Frank J Verstraete, DrMedVet, BVSc, MMedVet, DAVDC, DECVS, DEVDCFrank J Verstraete, DrMedVet, BVSc, MMedVet, DAVDC, DECVS, DEVDC

Professor
Surgical and Radiological Sciences
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Oral and maxillofacial regenerative medicine
More information about Dr. Verstraete

Aijun Wang, PhDAijun Wang, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery
UC Davis, School of Medicine

Research Interests: Stem cell mediated tissue regeneration and healing (Surgical Bioengineering lab)
More information about Dr. Wang

Bart Weimer, PhDBart Weimer, PhD

Professor
Population Health and Reproduction
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Metagenomics of extreme enviornments and bacterial metabolism
More information about Dr. Weimer

Kevin Woolard, DVM, PhDKevin Woolard, DVM, PhD

Assistant Professor
Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Comparative glioma biology, cancer stem cells, neural stem cells
More information about Dr. Woolard

Clare Yellowley, PhDClare Yellowley, PhD

Professor
Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology
UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

Research Interests: Orthopedics and musculoskeletal biology
More information on Dr. Yellowley