Meet the Team

Richard Smith, MD

Richard Smith, MD

Director
Carla Nester, MD

Carla Nester, MD

Associate Director
Carla Nishimura

Carla Nishimura

Lab Manager
Picture of Jori Hendon the Admin Service Coordinator for the Clinical Diagnostic Team

Jori Hendon

Clinical / Administrative Services Coordinator
Amy Weaver

Amy Weaver

Project Assistant / Administrative Services Coordinator
Hela Azaiez, PhD

Hela Azaiez, PhD

Senior Research Scientist ( Hearing Research 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)
Miles Klimara, MD

Miles Klimara, MD

Postdoctoral Research Scholar (Hearing)
Ryan Thorpe, MD

Ryan Thorpe, MD

Postdoctoral Research Scholar (Hearing)
Graham Ausdal, Research Intern

Graham Ausdal

Research Intern (Clinical Functional Renal)
Ann Black-Ziegelbein

Ann Black-Ziegelbein

Senior Application Developer (Hearing / Renal)
Christopher Culek

Christopher Culek

Research Assistant
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 Developer
Nic Meyer

Nic Meyer

Research Associate (Clinical Functional Renal)
Gabriella Pitcher

Gabriella Pitcher

Research Assistant (Research Functional Renal)
Stephen Presti

Stephen Presti

Research Intern (Clinical Functional Renal)
Sarah Roberts

Sarah Roberts

Research Assistant (Clinical Functional Renal)
Amanda Schaefer, MS, LGC

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)
Tucker Trefz

Tucker Trefz

Research Intern (Renal/Hearing)
Lynn Vining, RN

Lynn Vining, RN

Research Assistant
William (Daniel) Walls

William (Daniel) Walls

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

Donghong (Maggie) Wang

Research Assistant (Clinical Hearing)
Joseph Chin, Graduate Research Assistant

Joseph Chin

Graduate Research Assistant (Hearing Research)
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

Doctoral Candidate Researcher (Hearing)
Sofiya Pisarenka

Sofiya Pisarenka

Doctoral Candidate Researcher (Renal)
Jenifer Valdez

Jenifer Valdez

Graduate Research Assistant (Renal Research)
Monique Weaver

Monique Weaver

PhD Student (Hearing Research)
Maria Wong, Graduate Research Assistant

Maria Wong

Graduate Research Assistant (Hearing Research)
Samantha Blain

Samantha Blain

Laboratory Assistant (Renal)
Hannah Dunlop

Hannah Dunlop

Laboratory Assistant (General)
Paige Harlan

Paige Harlan

Laboratory Assistant (Office)
Meagan Hartman

Meagan Hartman

Laboratory Assistant (Renal)
Jonathon Kim

Jonathan Kim

Laboratory Assistant (Renal)