Principal Investigator
Tom Nowakowski, Ph.D.
Awards
- Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists (2025) - Life Sciences Finalist
- Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science (2024)
- Joseph Altman Award in Developmental Neuroscience (2023)
- NYSCF Robertson Neuroscience Investigator (2022)
- CZI Investigator (2021)
- Sontag Foundation Award (2021)
- Klingenstein Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience (2021)
- CZ Biohub Intercampus Investigator (2018)
- Eppendorf & Science Prize in Neurobiology, Finalist (2018)
- Wellcome Trust PhD Fellowship (2008), The University of Edinburgh
Research and Support Staff
Clif Duhn - Lab Manager
Owen Griffiths
Clements Evans
Fiona Sun
Sean Simonini
In the NOW Lab, I focus on engineering neural grafts to better integrate with host tissue, providing a pathway towards enhanced regenerative therapies in the CNS. Prior to UCSF, I conducted research in Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. There, I drove ALS drug discovery efforts and brain aging research, employing cortical organoid models. I have also held research positions at USC and UMass Chan, working on stem cell engineering and neuronal vulnerability in traumatic brain injury.
Awards:
Barry Goldwater Scholarship – 2025
Time Initiative Fellowship – 2023
Publications
Elif O Dogan, *Sean R Simonini, et al., Genetic Ablation of Sarm1 Mitigates Disease Acceleration after Traumatic Brain Injury in the SOD1G93A Transgenic Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, 2025, Annals of Neurology.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Sih-Rong Wu, Ph.D.
I received my master's degree from National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan where I first met the beauty and the complexity of the brains by studying neurodegenerative disorders. During my PhD training at Baylor College of Medicine, I was intrigued by the molecular mechanisms giving rise to neuronal diversity. I elucidated the heterogeneity of pontine nuclei neurons and their molecular driver during development in mice. As a postdoc in NOW lab, I am interested in studying the human brain development and its implications in psychiatric disorders.
Significant Publications
Wu SR, Nowakowski TJ. Exploring human brain development and disease using assembloids. Neuron. 2025 Mar 11:S0896-6273(25)00128-X. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2025.02.010. PMID: 40107269
Wu SR, Butts JC, Caudill MS, Revelli JP, Dhindsa RS, Durham MA, Zoghbi HY. Atoh1 drives the heterogeneity of the pontine nuclei neurons and promotes their differentiation. Sci Adv. 2023 Jun 30;9(26):eadg1671.
Guohua Yuan, Ph.D.
Went through a long journey from material engineering during undergraduate, single molecular biophysics in master, and tools development & single cell multi-omics study on the temporal regulation of cortex development during PhD in Tsinghua University, then came to the NOW lab UCSF, I finally found the field that excites me the most and am dedicated to focusing on it in my future career. Basically, I'm interested in the broad topics about how the brain is formed, how the development of brain can be perturbed by different diseases like autism, and how the brain development can be engineered in vitro and in vivo. Currently, I'm primarily focused on lineage tracing and in vivo perturb-seq to systematically study the spatial temporal brain development and revisit the long-standing questions in the field. btw, I'm open to mentor interns if you are interested in our research.
Significant publications
Yuan G*, Suresh V*, Wigdor E*, Hao Y*, Leonard R, Steyert M, Griffiths M, Evans C, Rohani N, Weiss J, Lassen FH, Schafer N, Dong S, Palmer DS, Sanders SJ, Nowakowski TJ. Disruption of Cell-Type-Specific Molecular Programs of Medium Spiny Neurons in Autism. bioRxiv 2025.11.05.686845
Suresh V*, Wigdor EM*, Hao Y*, Leonard R, Asfouri J, Griffiths M, Evans C, Yuan G, Rohani N, Weiss J, Dema C, Mukthar T, Lassen FH, Schafer N, Dong S, Palmer DS, Chang EF, Sanders SJ, Nowakowski TJ. Molecular dynamics of Brodmann Area 22 in development and autism. bioRxiv 2026.03.31.715694
Yuan G*, Zhao Z*, Dong X*, Wang X‑W, Zhang Q, Yu X, Zhu M, Yu J, Zhang D, Zhang N, Xu Z, Dai L, Liu Y‑Y, Shi S‑H, Li Y. Neocortical temporal patterning by a two-layered regulatory network. bioRxiv 2025.12.18.695250
Zhang Q*, Yuan G*, Albizzati E*, Yang J*, Zhao Z, Yu X, Chang X, Lee CH, Du H, Lao Z, Krishnamurthy A, Zhang X, Lv X, Tang X, Hu S, Chi Y, Ma J, Gronostajski RM, Richards LJ, Zhang J, Joyner AL, Tchieu J, Li Y, Shi S‑H. Dose-dependent NFI regulation of progenitor lifespan and output underlying human neocortical malformation. bioRxiv 2025.12.27.696675
Varun Suresh, Ph.D.
I graduated with a master's in biotechnology from SIES College, University of Mumbai, where I first encountered how rewarding research can be. Subsequently, in Dr.Deepak Modi's lab at NIRRCH, I fell in love with mammalian development. For my PhD, I worked in the lab of Prof Shubha Tole, TIFR Mumbai, to decipher molecular pathways in the developing forebrain. In my post-doctoral training at the NOW lab, I am excited to understand the genomic basis of neurodevelopment and disease across brain regions.
Awards
1. VATAT Fellowship Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. 2020
2. Sarojini Damodaran Fellowship, TIFR. 2022.
Significant Publications
Suresh V*, Wigdor EM*, Hao Y*, Leonard R, Asfouri J, Griffiths M, Evans C, Yuan G, Rohani N, Weiss J, Dema C, Mukthar T, Lassen FH, Schafer N, Dong S, Palmer DS, Chang EF, Sanders SJ, Nowakowski TJ. Molecular dynamics of Brodmann Area 22 in development and autism. bioRxiv 2026.03.31.715694
Yuan G*, Suresh V*, Wigdor E*, Hao Y*, Leonard R, Steyert M, Griffiths M, Evans C, Rohani N, Weiss J, Lassen FH, Schafer N, Dong S, Palmer DS, Sanders SJ, Nowakowski TJ. Disruption of Cell-Type-Specific Molecular Programs of Medium Spiny Neurons in Autism. bioRxiv 2025.11.05.686845
Suresh, V., Muralidharan, B., Pradhan, S.J., Bose, M., D’Souza, L., Parichha, A., Reddy, P.C., Galande, S., and Tole, S. (2023). Regulation of chromatin accessibility and gene expression in the developing hippocampal primordium by LIM-HD transcription factor LHX2. PLoS Genet. 19, e1010874. 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010874.
Suresh, V., Bhattacharya, B., Tshuva, R.Y., Danan Gotthold, M., Olender, T., Bose, M., Pradhan, S.J., Ben Zeev, B., Smith, R.S., Tole, S., et al. (2023). PRDM16 co-operates with LHX2 to shape the human brain. BioRxiv. 10.1101/2023.08.12.553065.
Vittorio Padovano, Ph.D.
I am a postdoctoral researcher with a background in molecular biology and neurodegeneration. I completed my PhD at Sapienza University of Rome under the supervision of Prof. Irene Bozzoni, where I investigated the role of non-coding RNAs in motor neuron physiology and disease, and optimized biochemical tools to study RNA subcellular localization in neurons. My interest in neurodevelopment was sparked during a summer course at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where I met Dr. Nowakowski, which ultimately led me to join the lab. My goal in the Nowakowski lab is to investigate the possibility of explaining neurodevelopmental phenomena by assaying molecular and mechanistic paradigms, with a focus on how these circuits can be impaired in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric diseases. I am particularly interested in how protein–protein interactions and subcellular protein localization may drive phenotypic convergence across diverse genetic mutations associated with schizophrenia. In the future, I aim to investigate the spatial regulation of RNA and proteins at human synapses to better understand the unique features of human synaptic development.
Significant Publications
Pellegrini F*, Padovano V*, Biscarini S, Santini T, Setti A, Galfrè SG, Silenzi V, Vitiello E, Mariani D, Nicoletti C, Torromino G, De Leonibus E, Martone J, Bozzoni I. A KO mouse model for the lncRNA Lhx1os produces motor neuron alterations and locomotor impairment. iScience. 2022 Dec 28;26(1):105891. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105891. PMID: 36647387; PMCID: PMC9840152.
Setti A, Stufera Mecarelli L, Santini T, D’Angelo A, Padovano V, Vitiello E, Castagnetti F, Martone J, Mariani D, Bozzoni I. Neuronal late endosomes serve as selective RNA hubs disrupted by ALS-linked FUS mutation. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Jan 19:2026.01.19.700337. doi:10.64898/2026.01.19.700337.
Graduate Students
Allison Melendez
Jose Gomez-Romo
Gomez is a Biomedical Sciences (BMS) graduate student in the Nowakowski Lab. He earned his B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. Following graduation, he worked as a research associate in Robert Coffman's preclinical immunology group at Dynavax Technologies, where he established in vivo tumor models to investigate Toll-like receptor adjuvant therapies aimed at priming T cell responses against immunologically quiescent (“immune-cold”) tumors.
He subsequently held research associate positions at Lyell Immunopharma and Nurix Therapeutics, where he focused on engineering and reinvigorating antigen-specific T cells capable of delivering therapeutic payloads and engaging the endogenous immune system to improve efficacy in solid tumors. Building on this background in immunology, Jose’s graduate research focuses on understanding how microglia influence human neurodevelopment, particularly by identifying molecular interactions that regulate neurogenesis and shape neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Judy Luu
Before starting at UCSF, I spent my entire life in Massachusetts, growing up in Quincy and earning a B.S. in Psychology from UMass Amherst. After graduation, I worked as a research associate in Dr. Evan Macosko's lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, developing a new technology to relate single-neuron transcriptomes to their synaptic neuroanatomy. As a graduate student in the NOW lab, I aim to better understand sex differences in the developing brain on both the cellular and molecular levels.
Marcus Williams
(with Ritchie Chen's lab)
I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico before moving to Colorado to attend Fort Lewis College, where I earned my BS in Biochemistry. After graduating, I worked as an NIH PREP Scholar at Johns Hopkins in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Currently, I'm in the UCSF MD-PhD (MSTP) program pursuing my PhD in Bioengineering. I'm interested in utilizing various model systems to develop novel gene therapies with potential clinical translation.
Significant Publications
Mair DB*, Williams MAC*, Chen FJ, Goldstein A, Wu A, Lee PHU, Sniadecki NJ and Kim DH. PDMS–PEG block copolymer and pretreatment for arresting drug absorption in microphysiological devices. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2022. (Vol. 14, pp. 38541-38549)
Williams MAC, Shankar B, Vaishnav J, and Ranek MJ. Current and potential therapeutic strategies for transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis. Frontiers in Drug Discovery. 2022. (Vol. 2)
Williams MAC, Mair DB, Lee W, Lee E and Kim DH. Engineering three-dimensional vascularized cardiac tissues. Tissue Engineering. 2022. (Vol. 28, pp. 336-350)
Kelsey Hennick
I'm interested in understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms that underlie neurodevelopmental disorders. I received my B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley, where I worked on stem cell biology and genome engineering. After graduation, I worked as a research technician at the Gladstone Institutes studying iPSC-derived neurons. I'm currently a PhD student in UCSF's Developmental and Stem Cell Biology graduate program.
Awards
Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award F31 - 2023
Significant Publications
Hennick K*, Sui Y*, Karunakaran D, Nicollela A, Leonard R, Meyer‑Schuman R, Berk‑Rauch H, Wang T, Chakravarti A, Zoghbi HY, Eichler EE, Nowakowski TJ. Sex differences in the developing human cortex intersect with genetic risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. bioRxiv 2025.09.04.674293
Wang, B.; Vartak, R.; Zaltsman, Y.; Naing, Z. Z. C.; Hennick, K.; Polacco, B. J.; Bashir, A.; Eckhardt, M.; Bouhaddou, M.; Xu, J.; Sun, N.; Lasser, M.; Zhou, Y.; Guiley, K. Z.; Chan, U.; Kaye, J. A.; Khare, P.; Drake, S.; Drury, V.; Burke, D. F.; Gonzalez, S.; Alkhairy, S.; Morris, M.; Baum, T.; Krasnoff, R.; Wang, S.; Pham, P.; Arbalaez, J.; Pratt, D.; Chag, S.; Rolland, T.; Bourgeron, T.; Finkbeiner, S.; Bandyopadhay, S.; Ideker, T.; Beltrao, P.; Willsey, H. R.; Obernier, K.; Nowakowski, T. J.; Huttenhain, R.; State, M. W.; Willsey, A. J.; Krogan, N. J. A foundational atlas of autism protein interactions reveals molecular convergence. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.03.569805
Marilyn Steyert
I fell in love with research during my time at St. Mary's College of Maryland where I received undergraduate degree in Biology with minors in Neuroscience and Music. After college, I became deeply interested in cortical wiring and genome engineering in the Poulopoulos lab at University of Maryland Baltimore. As a graduate student in the Nowakowski lab, my interests have shifted to the stem cells of the developing brain. I hope to uncover what makes neural stem cell subtypes of the developing cortex unique.
Awards
National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship - 2021
Schmidt Science Fellowship - 2026
CIRM Training Fellowship - 2024
Significant Publications
Keefe MG*, Steyert MR*, Nowakowski TJ. Lineage-resolved atlas of the developing human cortex. Nature. 2025 Nov;647(8088):194-202. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09033-8. Epub 2025 Nov 5.PMID: 41193842
Steyert MR, Li T, Piao X, Nowakowski TJ. Molecular Signatures in Cortical Development. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2025 Jul;48(1):445-464. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-091823-014001.
Chang Kim
I am interested in understanding spatiotemporal molecular dynamics during human brain development and how disruptions in these processes lead to neuropsychiatric disorders. I received my undergraduate degree from UCSC. As a graduate student in the Nowakowski lab, I'm studying the developing human thalamus and its role in cortical development.
Awards
2023 - UCSF Discovery Fellowship
Significant Publications
Ding JW, Kim CN, Ostrowski MS, Abeykoon Y, Pavlovic BJ, Wallace JL, Schaefer NK, Nowakowski TJ, Pollen AA. Dissecting gene regulatory networks governing human cortical cell fate. Nature. 2026 651(8106):732-742. PMID: 41565813, PMCID: PMC12999477
Kim CN*, Shin D*, Wang A, Nowakowski TJ. Spatiotemporal molecular dynamics of the developing human thalamus. Science 2023 Oct 13;382(6667):eadf9941. doi: 10.1126/science.adf9941.
Winkler EA*, Kim CN*, Ross JM, Garcia JH, Gil E, Oh I, Chen LQ, Wu D, Catapano JS, Raygor K, Narsinh K, Kim H, Weinsheimer S, Coole DL, Walcott BP, Lawton MT, Gupta N, Zlokovic BV, Chang EF, Abla AA, Lim DA, Nowakowski TJ Single cell atlas of the normal and malformed human brain vasculature. Science 2022. eabi7377. doi: 10.1126/science.abi7377.
Joseph Asfouri
My background is in electrical engineering and neuroscience. In my undergrad at Rice and master's at Cambridge, I worked on magnetogenetics, closed-loop DBS, motor BCIs, and flexible bioelectronic implants. Now, I'm fascinated by the processes of neurodevelopment – neurogenesis, axonogenesis, synaptogenesis – and how we can co-opt these processes for cell transplantation therapies and biohybrid implants. With my co-adviser Dr. Karunesh Ganguly, I'm developing ways to monitor and perturb transplanted neuron activity in vivo to accelerate functional integration and recovery.
Awards
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship - 2024
IEEE-HKN Outstanding Student Award - 2023
Churchill Scholarship - 2023
Barry Goldwater Scholarship - 2022
Significant Publications
Suresh V*, Wigdor EM*, Hao Y*, Leonard R, Asfouri J, Griffiths M, Evans C, Yuan G, Rohani N, Weiss J, Dema C, Mukthar T, Lassen FH, Schafer N, Dong S, Palmer DS, Chang EF, Sanders SJ, Nowakowski TJ. Molecular dynamics of Brodmann Area 22 in development and autism. bioRxiv 2026.03.31.715694
Xiao J, Provenza N, Asfouri J, Myers J, Mathura R, Metzger B, Adkinson J, Allawala A, Pirtle V, Oswalt D, Shofty B, Robinson M, Mathew S, Goodman W, Pouratian N, Schrater P, Patel A, Tolias A, Bijanki K, Pitkow X, Sheth SA. Decoding depression severity from intracranial neural activity. Biological Psychiatry (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.01.020.
Sebesta C, Torres D, Wang B, Asfouri J, Li Z, Duret G, Jiang K, Xiao Z, Zhang L, Zhang Q, Colvin V, Goetz S, Peterchev A, Dierick H, Bao G and Robinson JT. Subsecond multichannel magnetic control of select neural circuits in freely moving flies. Nature Materials (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01281-7.
Alumni
Postdocs
2025 Anthony Lee - now Neurosurgery Fellow at UCSF
2025 John Andrews - now pediatric neurosurgery fellow at CHOP
2023 Galina Popova - now Scientist at Calico
2022 Cathryn Cadwell - now Assistant Professor
2021 Ethan Winkler - now Assistant Professor
2019 Ryan Delgado - now postdoc at Harvard University
Graduate Students
2025 Julio Rivera de-Jesus - now scientist at Matter Bio
2025 Derek Bogdanoff - now postdoc at Stanford University
2024 David Shin - now postdoc at Harvard University
2024 Matt Keefe - now lead scientist at a startup company
2022 Denise Allen - now senior data scientist
2021 Ryan Ziffra - now at Regel Therapeutics
Undergrad / postbac
2025 Timothy Liu - now graduate student at Princeton University
2025 Naya Fullerton - undergraduate at UCLA
2025 Nishant Chadha - now medical student
2025 Alma Dubuc - now graduate student at Yale University
2025 Adam Kazerounian - now graduate student at UCSF
2022 Jayden Ross - now PhD student at UCSF
2021 Sarah Soliman - now PhD student at UCSF
2019 Julia Schroeder - now medical student at UMich Med
2019 Shaun Cho - now investment banking
2018 Tamara Sharf - now medical student at USC
2017 Johain Ounadjela - now medical student at NYU