Lab Members

I was raised in the Bay Area/Wine Country and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology. As an undergraduate, I studied the dependency of Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) in regulating protein-folding stability of Src-family Kinases in John Kuriyan’s lab at both UC Berkeley and  Vanderbilt University. Now, as a Junior Specialist in the Gordan Lab, I am super excited to branch my research into understanding Hsp70/Hsp90 linking adaptor protein, STIP1, and its impact on stability, activity, and mobility of mutant Protein Kinase A (PKA) in rare cancers. Apart from my research, I enjoy going to the gym, playing the violin, and going on hikes.

I was born and raised in India, and completed my PhD work at Institute of Life Sciences Bhubaneswar, India. Before moving to UCSF, I worked as a post-doctoral fellow at SUNY, Buffalo where I have studied the role of SOX15 in head & neck squamous cell carcinoma. My work in the Gordal Lab will focus on developing small inhibitors targeting KRAS/MAPK pathway in colon cancer. Outside the lab I love to travel and explore new places. I also like to watch sports like tennis & cricket.

My name is Nia Adeniji, and I am currently a second-year oncology fellow at UCSF in the Huang Lab. I received my undergraduate degree from MIT, where I studied biological chemical engineering before receiving a Masters in Bioengineering. I then took my process-oriented training and mindset with me to Genentech, where I developed antibody-drug conjugates in the Early- and Late-Stage Pharmaceutical Development departments for 6 years. Because I found myself drawn to the oncology clinical trials that I was supporting, and the patient outcomes on those trials, I decided to pursue a medical degree, which I obtained from Stanford University. There I discovered both a clinical and investigational research interest in hepatobiliary oncology.

My research interest is in understanding the ways in which the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) drives tumor development, progression, recurrence and treatment response. My ultimate goal is to provide a tissue-specific algorithm that can better direct clinical management for the large number of intermediate stage patients with HCC. I am currently looking to identify the unique immune compartments and signatures that influence HCC recurrence risk using multiplex imaging and spatial transcriptomics.

I was raised in New Mexico and attended university at NMSU. I then obtained my PhD in 2018 at the University of Washington in the laboratory of John D. Scott, where I studied fibrolamellar carcinoma and the oncogenic signaling of the fusion kinase, DNAJ-PKAc. In the Gordan lab, I am studying the effects of Hepatitis B Virus in epatocellular carcinoma using CRISPR techniques. In my free time, I like to run and bike around San Francisco.