Michael Haney, PhD
Principal Investigator
Michael is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. in Molecular & Cell Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology from UC Berkeley. He went on to receive his PhD in Genetics from Stanford University School of Medicine for his work in Michael Bassik’s lab. During his PhD he developed CRISPR screening methods to address questions in neurodegenerative disease in collaboration with the Gitler Lab and the Barres Lab. Following his PhD work, he joined Tony Wyss-Coray’s lab in Stanford’s department of Neurology, where he researched the role of lipid droplet accumulating microglia in Alzheimer’s disease and developed in vivo CRISPR screening methods.
Staff
Yachen Shen, MD, PhD
Senior Research Investigator
Yachen received her MD and PhD from Nanjing Medical University. Her PhD work in Xiubin Liang’s lab at Nanjing Medical University focused on epithelial Na+ channels, which regulate the maintenance of whole-body Na+ homeostasis. As a visiting PhD scholar in Evan Rosen’s lab at Harvard Medical School, she made significant discoveries regarding adipocyte glucocorticoid receptor function in lipolysis and insulin resistance. During her postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania in Raymond Soccio’s lab, she utilized ChIP-seq and RNA-seq approaches in mouse adipocyte tissues to identify common PPARα/γ target genes that regulate brown adipocyte thermogenic function. Most recently, her research in Hongjun Song’s lab has illuminated specific RNA modifications that play a crucial role in hypothalamic neurogenesis using single-cell RNA-seq in mouse models and human hypothalamic organoids derived from iPSCs. Yachen has joined the Haney Lab to explore the mechanisms behind the interaction between microglia and neurons
Yixuan (Erica) Zhu, MS
Research Specialist
Erica (Yixuan) is a research specialist in the Haney Lab. She received her bachelor's degree in Bioengineering from Jiangnan University, where she conducted research in synthetic biology. Erica then earned a Master of Science and Engineering degree in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania for her work in Christoph Thiass’s lab on gut-brain interactions. In her master's research, she investigated the role of an uncharacterized goblet cell protein as a novel regulator of mucus production and established a DRG primary neuron screening platform. Upon completing her master's degree, Erica joined the Haney Lab to further explore the mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
PhD students
Ryan Anderson
PhD student
Pharmacology Graduate Group
Ryan is a graduate student joinlty advised by Chris Bennett and Michael Haney. He received his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Michigan, where he conducted structural biology research. Ryan then went on to the NIH as a postbaccalaureate fellow where he studied structure and signaling of focal adhesion machinery using Cryo-EM in Naoko Mizuno’s lab. Upon joining Penn’s Pharmacology Graduate Group, Ryan joined the Haney & Bennett labs to study stem cell editing and transplantation in order to further understand and treat neurodegenerative diseases.
Undergraduate Researchers
James Schnoebelen
Undergraduate Researcher
James is an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania studying Computational Biology and Economics. He is interested in the mechanisms of aging and neurodegeneration as well as morphogenesis and systems biology. He is originally from San Antonio, Texas.
Ashil Srivastava
Undergraduate Researcher
Ashil Srivastava is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania who is studying Neuroscience (BA) and Bioengineering (MSE). He is originally from Santa Monica, CA. He is interested in researching how CRISPR screening can be used to combat neurodegenerative disease.
Join the Lab!
We’re actively recruiting PhD students and post-doctoral fellows. Email Michael.Haney@pennmedicine.upenn.edu to inquire.