Members of The May Han Lab

Dr. May Han
Associate Professor of Neurology & Neurological Sciences

Principal Investigator
Dr. Han is a Board-certified neurologist and a clinician-scientist who specializes in multiple sclerosis and central nervous system demyelinating diseases. She was born and raised in Burma (Myanmar) and received her medical degree at the Institute of Medicine (1), Rangoon. She did her post-doctoral fellowship training in protein and membrane lipid biochemistry under the mentorship of Dr. John Glomset at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (University of Washington, Seattle).

She completed Neurology residency at University of Washington-affiliated hospitals and a fellowship in Neuroimmunology (MS) at Stanford with Dr. Lawrence Steinman. She joined the Stanford Neurology department and MS Center in 2009.

Her research focuses on utilizing Systems Biology approach (genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics) to identify targets for therapy in MS and NMO. Dr. Han is also an attending physician at the Neuroimmunology clinic and at the Stanford Hospital.

Monica Moreno, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Monica Moreno is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. May Han’s lab. Monica obtained her PhD in Immunology from the University of California Davis and joined the Han lab in July 2014. She is interested in investigating the role of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor signaling during oligodendrogenesis and oligodendrocyte-mediated repair following myelin damage or loss in the central nervous system (CNS). Monica is also involved in translational studies investigating the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis.

Hsing-Chuan Tsai, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Hsing-Chuan Tsai is a post-doctoral researcher in the Han lab. She obtained her PhD degree at the Immunology program at UC Davis in March 2014 and joined Dr. Han’s lab in March 2014. She is investigating how receptor variation of S1PR1 affects the immunopathogenesis and drug efficacy of multiple sclerosis. She is also working on how blood-brain barrier mediates immune trafficking and neuroinflammation in the central nervous system.

Ezzat Hashemi, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ezzat Hashemi is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Han’s lab. She obtained her PhD in integrative pathobiology from the University of California Davis and joined Dr. Han's lab in April 2017. She is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of inflammation and Gray Matter damage in Multiple Sclerosis. She is involved in investigating the role of sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor signaling in GABAergic neurons.

Haojun (Mike) Feng, BA

Clinical Research Coordinator

Mike is a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Han Lab on The Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience for Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) Studies (CIRCLES). He received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Mike spent three years as a research associate at the University of California, San Francisco before joining the Han Lab in November 2014. He is interested in how stress, exercise, quality of life, and autoimmune diseases are interconnected.

Anna Tomczak, MS

Clinical Research Coordinator

Anna Tomczak obtained her Master of Science in Health: Science, Technology and Policy at Carleton University before joining the Han Lab in March 2017. Throughout her graduate studies, she worked as a research assistant in the Department of Health Sciences at Carleton, performing research on various health related problems, including aging, and air pollution. She is currently a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Han Lab on The Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience for Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) Studies (CIRCLES).