Shasha obtained her B.S. in Chemistry from University of Science & Technology of China and her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Harvard University. She did her postdoctoral research at University of California, Berkeley and joined the faculty of California Institute of Technology in August 2021. As a Ph.D. student under the direction of Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Shasha developed novel optical imaging modalities and achieved detection of single-molecule optical absorption at room temperature. Then she ventured into the study of DNA-protein interactions and stochastic gene expression by in vitro single-molecule imaging. In particular, she developed a single-molecule RNA-imaging assay to tackle the mechanism of transcriptional bursting of highly expressed genes in E. coli. Her deep interest in more complex regulatory behaviors led her to move from bacteria to mammals for her postdoctoral research. In the joint laboratories of Robert Tjian and Xavier Darzacq, she combined powerful single-cell and single-molecule imaging tools with genome editing and genetics approaches to investigate how intrinsically disordered regions in human transcription factors perform critical functions in transcriptional regulation and oncogenesis. Her independent research group employs multidisciplinary approaches to tackle the fundamental rules that govern the interaction behaviors of intrinsically disordered regions and elucidate their roles in regulating gene transcription under normal and disease conditions. Shasha is named a 2022 Searle Scholar and a 2022 Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research.

Sadie M. Rubalcava, Administrative Coordinator

Sadie is a Los Angeles native who just can’t get enough of our beautiful beaches and world-famous traffic. In her free time, Sadie enjoys weightlifting, CrossFit, obstacle course races, and trying new coffee places. She is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Angel City FC, and the USWNT.

Originally from Zhuhai, China, Qinyu obtained her B.S. in Chemistry and Biological Chemistry from Nanyang Technological University. During her undergraduate years, she developed various fluorescent probes for biosensing and nanotherapy under the direction of Bengang Xing. Qinyu joined the Chong lab in December 2021. She is interested in utilizing quantitative single-cell imaging methods to understand the interaction behaviors of oncogenic fusion transcription factors mediated by their intrinsically disordered regions.

Shawn Yoshida, Graduate Student (BMB)

B.A., Case Western Reserve University, 2021

Email: syoshida@caltech.edu

Shawn is originally from Tokyo, Japan and grew up in Illinois. He earned a B.A. in Physics from Case Western Reserve University, where he applied novel super-resolution techniques to the characterization of biomolecular diffusion in the extracellular matrix. He is currently interested in the dynamics of transcriptional regulation.

Jamie Takashima, Joint Graduate Student with the Hsieh-Wilson Lab (Chem)

B.S., University of Arizona, 2021

Email: jtakashi@caltech.edu

Jamie grew up in Mountain View, CA and earned his BS in Chemistry and BS in Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. During his undergraduate research, he studied the interactome of the chemotactic receptor cAR1 in the lab of Prof. Pascale Charest. In the Chong lab, he is interested in studying the effect of post-translational modifications on multivalent interactions between the intrinsically disordered regions of proteins.

Will Liu, Cambridge Scholar

University of Cambridge, Chemistry, 2024

Email: wliu5@caltech.edu

Will is originally from Auckland, New Zealand and grew up in Sydney, Australia. He is entering his third year as an undergraduate, studying chemistry at the University of Cambridge and is planning to graduate in 2024. Will joins the group as part of the Cambridge Scholars Program, an exchange program between Cambridge and Caltech. In Chong lab, he will be using super-resolution imaging to study oncogenic fusion transcription factors.