Meet the Team

Richard Smith, MD

Richard Smith, MD

Director
Carla Nester, MD

Carla Nester, MD

Associate Director
Carla Nishimura

Carla Nishimura

Lab Manager
Jori Hendon

Jori Hendon

Accounts Receivable / Administrative Services Coordinator
Amy Weaver

Amy Weaver

Project Assistant / Administrative Services Coordinator
Hela Azaiez, PhD

Hela Azaiez, PhD

Associate Research Scientist (Research Hearing Team Lead)
Yuzhou Zhang, PhD

Yuzhou Zhang, PhD

Senior Research Scientist (Functional Renal/ Renal Research Team Lead)
Nicolo Ghiringhelli Borsa

Nicolo Ghiringhelli Borsa

Research Specialist (Clinical Genetic Renal Team Lead)
Kathy Frees

Kathy Frees

Research Associate (Clinical Hearing Team Lead/ Safety Officer)
Yoichiro (Yoh) Iwasa, PhD

Yoichiro (Yoh) Iwasa, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Scholar (Hearing)
Ryotaro (Ryo) Omichi, MD, PhD

Ryotaro (Ryo) Omichi, MD, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Scholar (Hearing)
Ann Black-Ziegelbein

Ann Black-Ziegelbein

Senior Application Developer (Hearing / Renal)
Renee Goodfellow

Renee Goodfellow

Research Associate (Clinical Functional Renal)
Monica Hall

Monica Hall, RN, BSN, CNN

Clinical Healthcare Research Associate (Renal)
Mike Jones

Michael Jones

Research Associate (Clinical Genetic Renal)
Diana Kolbe, PhD

Diana Kolbe, PhD

Associate Research Scientist/ Engineer (Hearing / Renal)
Robert Marini

Robert Marini

Application Programmer/Analyst
Kristofer May

Kristofer May

Research Assistant (Clinical Functional Renal)
Nic Meyer

Nic Meyer

Research Associate (Clinical Functional Renal)
Gabriella Pitcher

Gabriella Pitcher

Research Assistant (Research Functional Renal)
Stephen Presti

Stephen Presti

Research Assistant (Clinical Functional Renal)
Sarah Roberts

Sarah Roberts

Research Assistant (Clinical Functional Renal)
Amanda Schaefer, GC

Amanda Schaefer, MS, LGC

Associate Genetic Counselor (Hearing)
Dingwu Shao

Dingwu Shao

Research Assistant (Clinical Functional Renal)
Amanda Taylor

Amanda Taylor

Research Assistant (Clinical Genetic Renal)
William (Daniel) Walls

William (Daniel) Walls

Application Developer/ Bioinformaticist (Renal)
Donghong (Maggie) Wang

Donghong (Maggie) Wang

Research Assistant (Clinical Hearing)
Heather Widmayer

Heather Widmayer

Research Assistant (Research Hearing)
Jill Hauer

Jill Hauer

Doctoral Candidate Researcher (Renal)
Jin-Young Koh

Jin-Young Koh

Doctoral Candidate Researcher (Hearing)
Bertha Martin

Bertha Martin

Doctoral Canditate Researcher (Renal)
Mallory Tollefson

Mallory Tollefson

Grad Student Researcher (Hearing)
Sofiya Pisarenka

Sofiya Pisarenka

Doctoral Candidate Researcher (Renal)
Monique Weaver

Monique Weaver

PhD Student (Hearing Research)
Tayo Akinbo

Tayo Akinbo

Laboratory Assistant (General)
Bailey Deppe

Bailey Deppe

Laboratory Assistant (Hearing)
Hannah Dunlop

Hannah Dunlop

Laboratory Assistant (General)
Paige Harlan

Paige Harlan

Laboratory Assistant (Office)
Meagan Hartman

Meagan Hartman

Laboratory Assistant (Renal)
Luke Hovey

Luke Hovey

Laboratory Assistant (Hearing)
Jonathon Kim

Jonathan Kim

Laboratory Assistant (Renal)
Erika Renkes

Erika Renkes

Laboratory Assistant (Hearing)
Tucker Trefz

Tucker Trefz

Laboratory Assistant (General)
Jenifer Valdez

Jenifer Valdez

Laboratory Assistant (Renal)