Iswar Hariharan Ishwar Hariharan
I obtained my degree in Medicine (MBBS) from the University of Sydney, worked as a medical resident for a year in The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and then got my Ph.D. degree from the University of Melbourne. For my PhD, I worked at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research with Jerry Adams and Suzanne Cory on the bcr-abl gene. After a brief stint in Papua New Guinea, I was a postdoc in Gerry Rubin's lab at UC Berkeley, where I started working on Drosophila. I joined the faculty of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School in 1992. In 2004 my lab moved to the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley where I am a Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology. I have no hobbies and have forgotten how to relax.
Edgar Zepeda
Assistant Specialist/Lab manager
Prior to joining the Hariharan Lab, I was an undergraduate research assistant in a developmental biology lab at UC Merced that studied endoderm migration patterns in Zebrafish under the joint direction of Stefan Materna and Stephanie Woo. I graduated in the spring of 2023 with a Bachelors in Human Biology after which I immediately joined the Hariharan Lab. Initially, my interests were very "pre-med" oriented, with emphasis in neuroscience, until I joined the Materna Lab where I began to appreciate research dealing with various topics in dev-bio. Currently, I am investigating the genetic regulation of regeneration in Drosophila wing imaginal discs. When not in the lab, I like to spend some of my free time hiking coastal and mountain trails.
hariharan-labmanager@berkeley.edu
Alexandra Verbeke
Assistant Specialist
I completed my undergraduate studies at the KU Leuven in Belgium, where I obtained a B.S. in Biomedical Science. During my bachelor's, I interned remotely in the Gevaert lab at Stanford University, where I developed a strong interest in combining classic molecular biology research with bioinformatics. After graduating, I completed a master's program at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr. Jelle van den Ameele. While there, I studied the noncanonical nuclear function of a metabolic enzyme during Drosophila brain development. My interest in the fruit fly as a model organism and eagerness to expand my dry-lab skills led me to my current position in the Hariharan lab. In my free time, I enjoy going to the movies with friends and spending time outside in the sun with a good book.
Twinkle Bansal
Junior Specialist
I graduated from UC Davis in 2024 with a B.S. in Biotechnology and an emphasis in Bioinformatics. I spent 2 years of my undergraduate degree working at the Diepenbrock Plant Biology lab, where I studied the abiotic stress resilience of the cereal grain sorghum. I was also heavily involved in the Neurotech@Davis club, where I was able to pursue a side passion in Neuroscience. While at Davis, I developed a dual interest in wet lab research and bioinformatics, particularly in fields concerning genomics. At the Hariharan Lab, I'm studying growth and regeneration in Drosophila, while also conducting an independent bioinformatics project on the evolution of genes that regulate growth. In my free time, I love to read epic fantasy novels, find new hiking spots, and play with my cat Cheddar.
Lupita Hernández
Media preparation and stock maintenance
Joyner Cruz
Graduate Student
I graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston with a B.S. in biology and psychology in 2016 after transferring there from a two year community college program. While there, I had my formative research experience studying membrane morphogenesis in budding yeast with Linda Huang. After graduating, I worked as a technician with Paul Garrity at Brandeis University studying sensory transduction in the fruit fly, where I solidified my decision to go to graduate school. My research interests are broad, which led me to the MCB program at UC Berkeley. As a newly minted member of the Hariharan Lab, I am interested in many aspects of tissue homeostasis. I prefer to keep my life outside of lab an enigma.
William Sun
James Walker (postdoc) Primary mentor was André Bernards (IKH was co-mentor)