Meet Our Dedicated Research Team
We are a passionate group of scientists exploring the role of primary cilia in islet function and their impact on endocrine communication and diabetes.
Hughes Lab
Lab.v2 is up and running at Yale. Come visit us in New Haven!
Current Members
Jeong Hun is a Research Scientist from South Korea. In his rare moments outside of lab, he likes to swim and watch movies.
Scientist
jeonghun.jo@yale.edu
Jing is a physician-scientist trained in immunology, cell biology, and endocrinology. She likes solving biological questions using microscopes.
Lab head
jing.hughes@yale.edu
Jeong Hun Jo, PhD
Jing Hughes, MD PhD
Shannon is a T32 postdoctoral scholar studying serotonin signaling in islet cells.
Postdoc
shannon.townsend@yale.edu
Shannon Townsend, PhD
Katie Bates
PhD Student, TMMPP
katherine.bates@yale.edu
Katie is investigating the metabolic role of islet cell cilia. Outside of lab she enjoys triathlon, aerial lyra, and playing with her pet rabbits.
Morgan Opp
Morgan is studying incretin signaling in islet primary cilia.
PhD Student, TMMPP
morgan.opp@yale.edu
Lab Alumni
Lifei was a postdoctoral fellow from 2020-2022 and is now a medical resident at Montefiore/Albert Einstein.
Resident, Radiation Oncology
Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
lifeizhu@wustl.edu
Lifei Zhu, MD PhD
Eun Young Lee, MD PhD
Eun Young was a visiting scholar from 2021-2023. She is currently focusing on clinical and stem cell diabetes research in South Korea.
Associate Professor
The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St Mary's Hospital
leyme@catholic.ac.kr
Henry was our undergraduate student from 2019-2021 and now a 4th year MD-PhD student at UT Southwestern.
MSTP, UT Southwestern Medical School
henry.roseman@utsouthwestern.edu
Henry Roseman
Alex Zipeng Li
Alex was our WashU undergraduate student from 2019-2023. He is now pursuing MSTP studies at WashU under the joint mentorship of Urano and Remedi Labs.
MSTP student, Washington University
alex.li@wustl.edu
Hannah Conway
Hannah was our research assistant from 2019-2020. She helped start our lab and is now working independently.
conway@luc.edu
Self-employed
Xinhang was our Biongineering masters student from 2023-2025. She pioneered ExM techniques for the lab and is now studying mitochondrial biology at UCLA.
PhD Student, UCLA
xinhangd@ucla.edu
Xinhang Dong
Samantha Adamson DiGruccio, MD PhD
Samantha completed her postdoctoral training with us from 2020-2025 and won both an NIH K12 and K08 career development award. She now heads her own lab studying beta cell calcium signaling.
Assistant Professor
University of Virginia School of Medicine
Bella Melena
Bella completed her MSTP thesis with us 2022-2026 on GLP-1 signaling in beta cell cilia. She won an NIH F31 fellowship and is now back in the clinics training toward a pediatric endocrinology career.
MSTP Student, Washington University
i.l.melena@wustl.edu
Rotation & summer students
Katie Faris, rotation student (Jan-Mar 2026) - currently PhD candidate in Dick Kibbey Lab, Yale School of Medicine
Jon Beirne, rotation student (Aug-Nov 2023) - currently PhD candidate in Sergej Djuranovic Lab, WashU Cell Biology & Physiology
Michelle Phan, rotation student (Jan-Apr 2024) - currently PhD candidate in Fumi Urano Lab, WashU Endocrinology
Harshita Jain, MD, NIDDK summer student (May-Aug 2019) - currently Internal Medicine Resident, Emory University
Taylor Gemperline, MD, NIDDK summer student (Jun-Aug 2018) - currently Ophthalmology Resident, University of Virginia
Angie Zhang, high school student (May-Aug 2024) - undergraduate, Cornell University