Visiting Scholars
Jenna Alley, PhD
(she/her/they)
Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, Genetics
Social Justice Equity and Inclusion Chair | CAL STAR Network
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
https://uclahs.zoom.us/my/jennaalley
jenna.alley@psych.utah.edu
Research Interests: In my work I investigate the potential psychobiological mechanisms through which stress, adversity and abuse, faced across developmental periods, influence the mental, physical and sexual health of sexually diverse and gender diverse populations.
Hsin-Ling Hsu, PhD
Visiting Scholar
Investigator at Institute of Molecular and Genomic Medicine in National Health Research Institutes (Taiwan), known for her research on the molecular mechanism of MCT-1 oncogene.
Research Interests: Cancer Immunotherapy Against Tumor Recurrence, Metastasis, Metabolism and Microenvironment. Dr. Hsu is also an Adjunct Professor at Department of Life Science in Tung-Hai University and has served as a Health Product Research Consultant at Hi-Q Marine Biotech International Ltd.
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Shahar Lev Ari, PhD
Shahar Lev Ari, Ph.D.is a Visiting scholar at Professor Michael Snyder's Lab, Department of Genetics, Stanford University.
Shahar Lev-Ari is a researcher and mentor specializing in health promotion, integrative medicine, and precision health. As the former Chair of the Department of Health Promotion at Tel Aviv University and the founding director of the Integrative Medicine Center & Research Laboratory at Tel Aviv Medical Center. More His career has been dedicated to advancing evidence-based approaches that optimize well-being. Currently, he is a visiting faculty member in Professor Michael Snyder's Lab at Stanford University, where he co-leads one of the largest virtual psychosocial intervention studies globally.
Dr. Lev-Arr research focuses on empowering individuals to take control of their health through tailored self-care strategies, advancing mental health promotion with precision tools, and exploring the psychobiology of life-changing interventions. Leveraging multi-omics profiling, wearable technology, and psychosocial assessments, his work integrates cutting-edge methodologies to address mental health and well-being.
With over 75 publications in leading journals such as Journal of Clinical Oncology and JAMA Network Open, Dr. Lev-Ari has been recognized with the Outstanding Israeli Researcher Award for Complementary and Integrative Medicine. He was also appointed by the Israel Cancer Association to develop the national integrative cancer care guidelines and serves as Section Editor for the Journal of Clinical Medicine.
Mentorship and teaching are central to Dr. Lev-Ari work, having guided over 50 graduate and postgraduate students and received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. His vision is to bridge traditional and precision medicine, promoting precision health and transformative care for all.
Summer Mengelkoch, PhD
Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Genetics
Experimental Psychology Ph.D., Texas Christian University
smengelkoch@mednet.ucla.edu
Research Interests: stress, health, immune function/inflammation, hormonal contraceptives, hormones, decision-making, gene expression, evolutionary psychology/medicine
Maanasi Madhavan Menon, Ayu (MD)
Visiting research scholar at the Snyder lab, Stanford Genetics
Professor of Kayachikitsa (General Medicine) at the Amrita School of Ayurveda, Amrita University, India.
Research Interests: Dr. Menon is passionate about Microbiome research, Epigenetics, Multiomics , Integrative medicine, Ayurveda (Traditional Indian Medicine), Ayurgenomics, Mental health, Precision and Personalised medicine, Phytochemical research, Ayurveda IT and AI innovation, and the molecular mechanisms underlying Ayurvedic therapies. Driven by a commitment to advancing Ayurveda, her research involves understanding mechanisms of Ayurvedic enema therapy in the management of Neurological diseases and genetic profiling of individuals based on their Prakriti (Ayurvedic body constitution) thus contributing to the integration of traditional and modern medical knowledge systems.
Daniel Moriarity, PhD
Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Genetics
Clinical Psychology Ph.D., Temple University
dmoriarity@mednet.ucla.edu
Research Interests: Psychiatric phenotyping, physiometrics, cognitive vulnerabilities, inflammation, affective psychopathology
Helge Raeder, PhD
Visiting Professor
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen (UiB), Norway
Senior Consultant in Pediatric Endocrinology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
Research Interests: Contributing to precision health research focusing on developing endocrine digital twins. Interested in the biology of diabetes and endocrine disorders, focusing on the interplay between genetics, proteomics, and stem cell biology.
Lydia Roos, PhD
Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Genetics
Health Psychology PhD, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
lroos@mednet.ucla.edu
Research interests: Stressor appraisals and stress reactivity (cognitive, emotional, and physiological), emotion regulation and coping, stress-related biomarkers, mobile health sensing/wearables, stressful life events, social processes.
Sushma Naranappa Salethoor, Ayu (MS)
Visiting Research Scholar, Snyder Lab, Stanford Genetics
Faculty Associate, Professor of Ayurveda Eye and ENT
Research Associate at Amrita University, India.
sushmans@stanford.edu
Research interests: Microbiome research, multi-omic studies, ocular degenerative diseases, ocular surface diseases, Diabetic retinopathy, Retinal imaging, Clinical trials in Ayurveda medicines, Mental health, Phytochemicals research, Precision medicine, IT and AI innovation, and Integrative medicine.
Katarzyna Wac, PhD
Visiting Scholar, Genetics
Computer Scientist, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
wac@stanford.edu
Research interests: Professor Wac is a computer scientist leading the Quality of Life Technologies lab at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.