Day Lab Members
The Day lab is invested in recruiting enthusiastic and motivated people to be part of the lab. If you are interested in joining the Day lab as an undergraduate, graduate, or post-doc, please send inquiries to Dr. Sharlene Day.
- Principal Investigator
- Staff
- Faculty
- Postdoctoral Fellows
- Graduate Students
- Undergraduate Students
- Alumni
Principal Investigator
Sharlene Day, MD
Associate Presidential Professor and Director of Translational Research, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiovascular Institute
sharlene.day@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Sharlene M. Day, MD recently joined Penn Medicine in July 2019 as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Genetics, and Director of Translational Research for the Penn Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her B.S from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991 and her MD from New York University School of Medicine in 1995. She completed her internal medicine residency and cardiovascular medicine fellowship at the University of Michigan, followed by postdoctoral research fellowships in cardiovascular biology and physiology. At the University of Michigan, she established the Program for Inherited Cardiomyopathies and Arrhythmias, where she served as the Director for 12 years. Dr. Day sees patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and other genetic heart conditions in the Penn Center for Inherited Cardiac Disease. Her research program primarily focuses on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and integrates basic, translational and clinical science. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, running, swimming and cycling.
Staff
Jaime Yob, MS
Lab Manager
jaime.yob@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Jaime is the Lab Manager and has been with the Day Lab since the beginning! She got her BS in Biochemistry and her MS in Biology from Eastern Michigan University. She is a mom to two cats and enjoys bowling, going on cruises and watching hockey.
April Allison
Clinical Research Coordinator
April.Allison@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu
April earned master’s degrees in Sociology and Public Health at UCLA. For two decades she was an editor and communications professional at Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine where she provided editorial support to medical faculty; created newsletters, annual reports, and websites; and wrote articles and a book-length History of Family Practice in Michigan. She recently moved to Durham, N.C., with her spouse, Melanie, and their kitty, Little Miss Ellie.
Mary Ann Concannon
Clinical Research Coordinator
MaryAnn.Concannon@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Maryann Concannon is the HCM database admin. She has works for University of Michigan and PENN and has been in this position 10 years now. She is a graduate of University of Michigan with a BA in Sociology and an MSW in Social Work. She loves her job. For enjoyment she knits and crochets.
Meghan Fersten
Clinical Research Coordinator
meghan.fersten@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Meghan is from Montreal, and recently graduated with a major in neuroscience from Penn, where she is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health. She looks forward to applying to medical school next year. In her free time, she likes to run, explore Philly, and listen to all kinds of music.
Kelly Gallagher
Research Technician
Kelly.Gallagher1@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Kelly recently completed her undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University. She is originally from Cold Spring Harbor, NY, and is interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. Outside of the lab, Kelly enjoys hiking, swimming, and music.
Ulla Lilienthal
Research Lab Manager at University of Michigan
ullalil@med.umich.edu
Ulla grew up on a small farm on the southeast coast of Sweden. After high school, she went on a one year adventure as an au pair to the United States. She got a scholarship to Kutztown University, and pursued a PhD in immunology at the University of Maryland, College Park. She loved the research and wanted to get a medical degree as well, but took time off to raise her family.
As her children were getting older, Ulla taught science at private high schools. She later got a job working as a dish washer at the Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan. She made a friend in the HR department, who knew about her science background and interest in research, and alerted Ulla to a job opening as a lab manager. Ulla was hired by Zhaohui Xu as a lab manager. Then she joined the lab of Dan Southworth to do Cryo-Elecronmicroscopy and used Sec-MALS Chromatography to make purified protein. With her passion for research rekindled, Ulla went back to school to pursue a Master’s degree in chemical biology from the University of Michigan (received 2017). Now Ulla works with Andrea Thompson in the Department of Cardiology at the University of Michigan. She is still working as a lab manager but also is heavily involved in the research projects, which include differentiating stem cells into cardiomyocytes. She also collects heart cells from open heart surgeries. Given her early interest in science and medicine, she loves the opportunity to bring clinical questions into a research setting.
When Ulla is not in the lab, she enjoys spending time with friends and her three children. Her daughter lives abroad so she spends a lot of time on FaceTime and sending emojis across the ocean! She has always loved animals, and spends time with her son’s Goldendoodle (her fur-grandbaby) and enjoys being around horses as often as she can.
Emily Romick
Administrative Coordinator
emily.romick@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Emily provides administrative support to Dr. Day and her lab as part of Penn's Cardiovascular Institute. Outside of her work in research administration, Emily enjoys finding time for hiking and reading.
Faculty
Andrea Thompson, MD, PhD
Clinical Lecturer
adooley@med.umich.edu
Andrea D. Thompson, MD/PhD is a clinical lecturer at the University of Michigan. She completed her undergraduate training in Chemical Engineering at M.I.T. She graduated with her MD/PhD at the University of Michigan in 2006, completing her graduate training in Chemical Biology in the laboratory of Dr. Jason Gestwicki. She completed her internal medicine residency and cardiovascular medicine fellowship training at the University of Michigan in 2020. Hobbies outside of work currently are playing basketball and baking.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Marcus Wagner, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
marcus.wagner@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Marcus earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree with departmental honors in Biology from Ursinus College. During his undergraduate training, Marcus found his passion for physiology and cardiovascular research while working with his faculty mentor, Dr. Beth Bailey. Marcus pursued his PhD in Biomedical Sciences and a Teaching Certificate in Higher Education at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine under the direction of Dr. Sadia Mohsin. Shortly after completing his degree, Marcus joined the Day lab in September of 2021. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer for Ursinus College’s Biology department where he instructs Genetics labs each fall. In his spare time, Marcus is an avid Philly sports fan and enjoys his time in the outdoors watching a game or staying active through running, biking, and swimming.
Graduate Students
Christopher McAllister
PhD Candidate
christopher.mcallister@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Rebecca Taichman
Medical Student/ Master of Translational Medicine Program
Rebecca.Taichman@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Becca is a medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, class of 2025. She is currently taking an extra year to pursue a Master of Translational Research, during which she is collaborating with the Margulies lab to study cardiac mechanics. Outside of lab, Becca enjoys biking along the Schuylkill and hanging out with her dogs, Theodore and Willow.
Undergraduate Students
Graham Branscom
Undergraduate Research Assistant
gbran@sas.upenn.edu
Graham is an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Biology and minoring in Chinese. He has been a member of the lab since September 2020, where he has worked with cell and animal models to study HCM. Outside of school, Graham enjoys playing saxophone.
Katherine Wei
Undergraduate Research Assistant
katwei@sas.upenn.edu
Katherine is an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania studying biology and minoring in healthcare management on the pre-med track. She is originally from Chandler, Arizona, and has been a member of the lab since January 2023. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball and writing.
Alumni
Liana Alcaro
Research Coordinator A
lalcaro@sas.upenn.edu
Liana is currently a medical student at Emory University.
Sarah Bartolone
Former undergraduate technician; currently Laboratory Assistant at William Beaumont Hospital Research Institute.
David Coleman
Former undergraduate technician; currently a resident in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University.
Frank Davis, MD
Former undergraduate; currently an assistant professor in Vascular Surgery at the University of Michigan.
Amelia Glazier, PhD
Former graduate student; currently a Post-doc at Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Germany.
Adam Helms, MD
Former post-doctoral researcher; currently Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan.
