Principal Investigator
Martha S. Cyert mcyert@stanford.edu Office: 410B Bass Biology
Martha received her A.B. from Harvard University, Ph.D. from UCSF (Marc Kirschner lab), postdoc at UC Berkeley (Jeremy Thorner lab) and joined the faculty of the Stanford Biology Department in 1992 as an Assistant Professor. She is the Dr. Nancy Chang Professor and A Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate education and has been Chair of the Biology department since September 1, 2020. Martha is active in the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology where she serves on the meetings committee. Since pioneering studies of yeast calcineurin, the Cyert lab now studies the human enzyme, and is leveraging the analysis and discovery of calcineurin-binding SLiMs (Short Linear Motifs) to gain insights into calcineurin signaling. Outside the lab, Martha enjoys hiking, taking photographs and hunting for mushrooms.
Research Scientist
Angela Barth angelab@stanford.edu
Angela received her B.S. and M.S. from University of Hamburg and did her Ph.D. at Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany working with Profs Gerisch and Abel on cell adhesion in Dictostelium discoideum. She then did postdoctoral work with Profess W. James Nelson at Stanford University and continued working in the Nelson lab as a research scientist studying various aspects of cell adhesion, epithelial polarity and cell signaling. She joined the Cyert lab in 2021, where she is investigating roles for calcineurin in breast cancer and pancreatitis.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Will King wrking@stanford.edu
Will received his B.S. from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio with a major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He studied with Jana Patton-Vogt at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA for his Ph.D. work on lipid metabolism and physiology of the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans. Currently, Will is examining lipidation of the membrane-associated CNß1 isoform, and is discovering roles for dynamic palmitoylation-depalmitoylation to regulate this enzyme. Will is an avid reader and enjoys spending time with friends over a good margarita.
Sneha Roy sneharoy@stanford.edu
Sneha received her Ph.D under supervision of Professor Rajiv Bhat from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Her research focused on employing biophysical tools to decipher the complex cascades of events involved in aggregation of intrinsically disordered proteins that are known to play key role in debilitating diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancer. In the Cyert Lab, she is working on two projects that aim to identify novel Calcineurin substrates in human proteome, and investigate Calcineurin signaling in acute pancreatitis. Her other major goal in the lab is to investigate the role of Calcineurin signaling in the regulation of biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation of substrate proteins. In her leisure time, she unwinds by dancing, traveling, reading her fiction novels or spending quality time with her pup and family.
Graduate Researchers
Yvette Moreno rymoreno@Stanford.edu
Yvette received her Ph.D under the supervision of Professor Y. Jessie Zhang from the University of Texas-Austin. Her doctoral research focused on uncovering how phosphorylation of the RNA Pol II C-terminal domain (CTD) regulates transcription, shaping gene expression in processes like cancer. In the Cyert Lab, she is working to define how C16orf74 directs calcineurin signaling at membranes through lipidation and phosphorylation dynamics while uncovering new interactors that shape its role in cancer. In her free time, she likes reading novels and being outside in nature
Prerna Lavania (Pre) prerna23@stanford.edu
Prerna earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Nagoya University in Japan, where she spent over three years conducting research on mTOR signaling in mammalian cells. Her work specifically focused on how calcium/calmodulin regulates mTORC2 signaling in mammalian cells. In the Cyert lab, Pre is currently working on a unique calcineurin CNß1 isoform and investigating its role in membrane-based signaling in pancreatic cancer.
In her free time, she enjoys singing, playing sudoku and badminton. Fun fact: Pre can speak and understand five languages.
Undergraduate Researchers
Jaston McClure jastonm@stanford.edu
Jaston is a member of the Stanford class of 2025. He is majoring in Biology and carrying out his honors research in the Cyert lab.
Mihjalo Stojkovic mstojkov@stanford.edu
Mihjalo is a bioengineering major and Stanford class of 2026. He is working on the role of calcineurin in acute pancreatitis.
Luna Romero lunarom@stanford.edu
Luna is a member of the Stanford class of 2028 majoring in Biology. She is working in the Cyert lab as part of Stanford's Biology Summer Undergraduate Research Program.
Bio 45 Course Instructor
Daria Hekmat-Scafe
Administrative Associate
Kelly Cosmas kcosmas@stanford.edu
Laboratory Assistant
Maria Mercedes Curlionis
Lab Pups
