Principal Investigator

Svetlana Lutsenko

Svetlana received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the Moscow State University in Russia. She then pursued a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Shemyakin Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in Moscow, Russia, investigating the structure and function of Na,K-ATPase.  After completing her postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Svetlana started her independent research career as an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where she focused on biochemistry and cell biology of human copper transporters.  In 2009, she became Professor of Physiology at Johns Hopkins University, where she continues her studies of human copper homeostasis and its various roles in normal cells and in disease.  In her free time, she enjoys arts, especially photography, hiking, and reading.

Contact: lutsenko@jhmi.edu

Postdoctoral Fellows

Yu Wang

Yu Wang received her Ph.D. in Graduate School of Medicine from Kyoto University (Japan) in 2017, where she studied islet biology. Currently, she is investigating the role of copper homeostasis in regulation of glucose and lipid metabolic pathways in gut. Outside of the lab , she likes reading and movie watching.

 Contact: ywang391@jh.edu

Shubhrajit Roy

Shubhrajit has obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Zoology from the University of Calcutta, India. He then pursued Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the S. N. Pradhan Centre for Neurosciences, University of Calcutta, elucidating the molecular basis of Wilson disease, a copper metabolism disorder. Shubhrajit was selected for the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research program (USIEF) in 2018. Currently, Shubhrajit is trying to understand the molecular mechanism associated with the regulation of copper metabolism in the brain. He is also interested in identifying the potential involvement of the copper transporters in the differentiation of intestinal stem cells. During his free time, Shubhrajit enjoys painting, reading books, cooking, listening to music, and traveling. 

Contact: sroy30@jh.edu

Mugagga Kalyesubula

Mugagga earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he researched the mechanisms of fatty liver pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies to combat this condition. His current work investigates the regulation of copper homeostasis and lipid metabolic pathways. Mugagga enjoys reading books in his leisure time, stays active through running, and cherishes moments with friends.

Contact: mkalyes1@jh.edu

Graduate students

Yingze Martin Ma

Martin received his Bachelor of Science with Honors in Physiology from the University of Alberta, Canada. During his undergraduate, he worked on several projects on arsenic cellular protection by multidrug resistance proteins, members of the ABC transporter superfamily, under the supervision of Dr. Elaine M. Leslie. From there, he developed an interest in cellular transporters, so he decided to pursue his Ph.D. study in the Lutsenko lab. His project mainly concerns the regulation of the cellular function of copper transporter 1 (CTR1) and its role in organ development. During his free time, he enjoys cooking and hanging out with friends.

Contact: yma87@jhmi.edu

Katherine Sullivan

Katie received her bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 2019. During her undergraduate work she worked in the lab of Dr. Rutilio Fratti where she led several projects exploring the role of phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate in regulating membrane fusion in yeast. Her current work focuses on investigating how copper regulates lipid metabolism and nutrient secretion in intestinal enterocytes. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, drawing, and reading.

Contact: ksulli71@jhmi.edu

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Bruce Dong

Bruce is an undergraduate student majoring in Molecular and Cellular biology. He is currently working with Som on elucidating the role of copper on myeloid differentiation and cytoskeleton structure changes in hepatic stellate cells. In his free time, he enjoys painting and drawing, running, and cooking.

Contact: ydong17@jhu.edu