Our Team
Principal Investigator
Katherine Uyhazi, MD, PhD
Katherine.Uyhazi@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Principal Investigator
Katherine completed MD/PhD training at the Yale School of Medicine, studying translational gene regulation during early development in the lab of Dr. Haifan Lin. She completed an ophthalmology residency and retinal degeneration fellowship at the Scheie Eye Institute, and a postdoctoral fellowship in retinal gene therapy with Dr. Jean Bennett at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an attending physician at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine where she provides care to patients with inherited retinal diseases, and runs a federally-funded basic science laboratory with a goal of developing gene and cell therapies to restore vision. Katherine lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.
Lab Personnel
Robin Wilder
PhD Candidate (Gene Therapy & Vaccines)
Robin graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. She is developing AAV-mediated gene therapy for the blinding disease gyrate atrophy. She is a student leader of the Trainee Advocacy Alliance (TAA) at Penn, which provides support for students facing adversity. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing with her dog Bracie and volunteering for student outreach events in Philadelphia.
Joseph Yano
PhD Candidate (Developmental, Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology)
Joe received a bachelor’s degree in Cell/Molecular Biology and Music from Washington & Jefferson College, and is currently a Cell and Molecular Biology (CAMB) graduate student at Penn. He is investigating the heterogeneity of photoreceptor development and developing cell-based therapies for retinal regeneration. He enjoys baking tasty treats for the lab, yoga, and playing bassoon in the Penn Med Symphony Orchestra.
Ivan Shpylchak
Research Technician
Ivan received a degree in political science and started working at Penn as an animal care technician in 2009. He was recruited to CAROT in 2013 and currently conducts research and manages the animal colony in the Uyhazi lab. His interests include spending time with his family, camping, and traveling.
Georgia Fossett
Research Technician
Georgia graduated from UPenn in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, and has worked with mouse models of retinal degeneration in the Uyhazi lab since 2021. Her research has inspired her to pursue a career in vision science, and she will begin optometry school in the fall!
Andrea An
Undergraduate Student
Andrea is a Penn undergraduate student from Atlanta, Georgia studying Bioengineering. In her free time, Andrea enjoys working out, playing volleyball, and making soup.
Alex Iyer
Undergraduate Student
Alex is an incoming junior at Penn. In his free time, he enjoys exploring Philadelphia’s coffee shops, watching Riverdale, and karaoke.
Emma Yang
Summer Student
Emma is an undergraduate student from the greater Philadelphia area majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Global Health at UCLA. Outside the lab, you can find her playing tennis with friends, volunteering at the children’s hospital, or exploring what LA has to offer.
Jennifer Pham
Lab Manager
Jen received her B.S. in Biology from Penn State and has research experience in both industry (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals) and academia. She has been the lab manager of the Bennett lab since 2014. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her two children.
Wei Zhang
Histology Specialist
Wei is a lab technician with over 22 years of experience in eye sectioning techniques and histology at the Center for Advanced Retinal and Ocular Therapeutics (CAROT) at Penn. She enjoys spending her spare time on flower arrangement and home decoration.
Brent Bell
Director of Animal Imaging
Brent has extensive experience performing non-invasive ocular imaging of zebrafish, mice, rats, rabbits, and non-human primates. He previously managed the Small Animal Imaging Resources Center at the Cleveland Clinic’s Cole Eye Institute, and currently serves as the Director of Animal Imaging at Penn.
Lab Alumni
Thu Duong
Postdoctoral Fellow
Thu completed a PhD in the lab of Dr. Jean Bennett at Penn, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the Uyhazi lab where she developed induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models of gyrate atrophy. She is deeply involved in educational outreach programs including the Vietnam Book Drive and Science Festival for children in Vietnam. Thu is currently an Associate Principal Scientist at Merck.
