Lab Members

Madelyn (Maddie) Arzt earned her BA in biochemistry from Pitzer College and she joined the Sharma Lab in October 2021. Her role in the Sharma Lab has focused on performing cardiotoxicity and imaging assays on cardiomyocytes derived from patient-derived, induced pluripotent stem cells to better understand the mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy. Maddie is also the co-manager of the Cedars-Sinai CIRM Organoid and Organ-Chip Shared Resource Laboratory, and she assists with the Sharma Lab's space research program.

Maedeh Mozneb earned her PhD in biomedical engineering from Florida International University, where she studied the application of plasmonic-based optical sensors in cardiomyocyte electrophysiology. Maedeh joined the Sharma Lab in August 2022. She is working on cardiac organ-chip systems and exploring the effects of spaceflight on stem cell biology and biomanufacturing. She is the associate director of the Center for Space Medicine Research at Cedars-Sinai.

Sean Escopete earned his BS in biology from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). As a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences PhD Program, Sean is investigating methods to improve 3D differentiation of human iPSCs into cardiac organoids, in order to study the mechanisms of congenital heart disease in vitro.

Jemima Moses was previously a CIRM BRIDGES scholar in the Sharma Lab and a graduate student studying biotechnology and bioinformatics at California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI). Jemima is investigating chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity using iPSCs. She also contributes to the lab's organoid and space biosciences efforts.

Lauren Wiegand is an undergraduate research intern in the Sharma Lab and majoring in biology at UCLA. Lauren is interested in stem cell biology, drug cardiotoxicity and space biosciences.

Elizabeth is currently a CIRM BRIDGES scholar in the Sharma Lab and a graduate student studying biology at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). Elizabeth is investigating simulated microgravity approaches for organoid and spheroid models.