Lab Members

Melissa received her bachelor of science in biochemistry and pre-med biology from California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). She is involved in iPSC differentiation to notochord project, translational model development for PTOA and porcine IVD degeneration characterization. Melissa is a graduate student at Cedars-Sinai Master's Degree in Health Delivery Science (MHDS) program.

Tyna earned her PhD from Côte d’Azur University in Nice, France, where she worked at the IRCAN Institute, exploring molecular and cellular mechanisms in kidney regeneration. Passionate about bridging fundamental science with clinical applications, Tyna is now focused on understanding the underlying causes of discogenic back pain and applying iPSC-based therapies to develop innovative, translational therapies for intervertebral disc degeneration.

Giselle received her bachelor’s in kinesiology with a minor in biology from Occidental College. During her time as an athlete, she became interested in applying regenerative therapies for sports injuries. She is currently involved in a variety of projects including tendon regeneration, lower back pain modeling and intervertebral disc rejuvenation.

Rachel earned a PhD in biomedical engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where her research focused on developing advanced drug delivery systems for therapeutic proteins to treat and promote the regeneration of damaged skeletal muscle. Currently, Rachel is developing iPSC-based cell therapies for the preventive treatment of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) and cartilage degeneration, integrating gene editing technologies to enhance therapeutic efficacy.

Sarah received her medical doctorate degree from Tehran Azad Medical University. She joined the Yu Lab, where she worked on using nanoparticles to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to brain tumor cells. Currently at the Sheyn Lab, she is involved in cell delivery systems into degenerated IVD to attenuate lower back pain.

Namdev obtained a PhD degree from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad, India. He developed a range of biomaterials for the regeneration of skeletal tissues, including cartilage, bone, and IVD. His current research focuses on cell-encapsulated biomaterial for the treatment of IVD.

Ahmet earned his PhD in biomaterials and tissue engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. He worked on bone tissue engineering and developed various scaffolds for bone repair. Currently, his research aims to understand biological mechanisms in tendon regeneration and apply translational iPSC-based therapies.

Dean is a former CIRM Bridges intern who earned her BS in biology from Cal Poly Humboldt. She is interested in research that utilizes stem cells as treatments for musculoskeletal disorders. Dean is currently optimizing iPSC differentiation protocols to develop cell sources for orthopedic tissue engineering and performing rat biobehavioral testing.

Julia received a BS in Pharmacy from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She joined the Koronyo Lab, focusing on Alzheimer’s disease neuropathological assessments and therapies in transgenic mouse models. Currently, in the Sheyn Lab, she is involved in projects aiming to reduce pain and neuronal damage after spine traumatic injury, and developing new osteoarthritis treatments utilizing bioinformatics.

Lea obtained her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Toronto, where she competed as a varsity swimmer. After experiencing an athletic injury, she became interested in regenerative medicine and pursued her MASc in biomedical engineering. Currently at the Sheyn Lab, Lea is engaged in projects centered around osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc degeneration.