Leadership and Staff at UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic

Clinic Leadership

The Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic leadership and staff help launch and support regenerative medicine clinical trials at UC San Diego. They ensure the studies are performed in a safe and effective manner. UC San Diego Faculty and companies in industry can learn more about Alpha Clinic services here.

Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD

Director, Sanford Stem Cell Institute
Director, UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic
Chief, Division of Regenerative Medicine
Koman Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
cjamieson@ucsd.edu

Sheldon Morris, MD, MPH

Deputy Director and Data Management Lead, UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic
Clinical Professor, Medicine
619-543-4761
shmorris@ucsd.edu

View the Meet the Expert video here

Sandip Patel, MD

Clinical Professor, Medicine
858-822-2372
spatel@ucsd.edu

Benjamin Heyman, MD

Associate Clinical Professor, Medicine
858-246-3038
bheyman@health.ucsd.edu

View the Meet the Expert video here

Nicole Griffin

Clinic Manager, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic

858-249-3000
nmgriffin@health.ucsd.edu

Jamison Langguth, MPH, MSED

Director of Clinical Research, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic

858-951-8349
j1langguth@health.ucsd.edu

Trial Experts & Advisors

At the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic, a team of highly talented professionals with diverse fields of expertise safely accelerate the delivery of stem cell therapies to patients with unmet needs. The oversight and direction of these experts, and the physicians that care for our patients and their families, ensure that our clinical trials adhere to the highest standards. We invite you to meet the people who help our studies.

Ludmil Alexandrov, PhD
Genomics Manager
Deputy Director, Sanford Stem Cell Fitness and Space Medicine Center
Associate Professor, Cellular Molecular Medicine
l2alexandrov@ucsd.edu

Kathleen Fisch
Trial Expert, Data Science - Transcriptomics, Epigenomics, and Translational Genomics
Assistant Professor, OBGYN & Reproductive Sciences
kfisch@ucsd.edu

Ehtisham Mahmud, MD, FACC, FSCAI

Trial Expert, Cardiology
Professor, Chair (Interim), School of Medicine
emahmud@ucsd.edu

Karen Christian, PhD
Trial Expert, Cardiology
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Welfare, Jacobs School of Engineering
Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering Innovation
Director, Sanford Advanced Therapy Center; Professor, Bioengineering
kchristm@ucsd.edu

Anthony DeMaria, MD, MAAC
Trial Expert, Cardiology
Professor, School of Medicine
ademaria@ucsd.edu

Tatiana Kisseleva, MD, PhD
Trial Expert, Metabolic
Professor, Surgery
Director, Sanford Stem Cell Fitness and Space Medicine Center
tkisseleva@ucsd.edu

Loomba Rohit, MD, MHSc
Trial Expert, Metabolic
Professor, Medicine
roloomba@ucsd.edu

Stephanie Cherqui, PhD
Trial Expert, Metabolic
Professor, Pediatrics
scherqui@ucsd.edu

Leslie Crews, PhD
Trial Expert, Myeloma
Assistant Professor, Medicine
lcrews@ucsd.edu

Rebecca Shatsky, MD
Trial Expert, Breast Cancer
Associate Clinical Professor, Medicine
rshatsky@ucsd.edu

Gregory Botta, MD, PhD
Trial Expert, Gastrointestinal Cancers
Assistant Clinical Professor, Medicine
gbotta@ucsd.edu

Rana McKay, MD
Trial Expert, Urogenital Cancers
Associate Clinical Professor, Medicine
rmckay@ucsd.edu

Carolyn Mulroney, MD
Trial Expert, Blood Cancers
Clinical Professor, Medicine
camulroney@ucsd.edu

Joseph Ciacci, MD
Trial Expert, Neurological Disease
Professor of Clinical, Neurological Surgery
jciacci@ucsd.edu

Mark Tuszynski, MD
Trial Expert, Neurological Disease
Professor, Neurosciences
mtuszynski@ucsd.edu

Martin Marsala, MD
Trial Expert, Neurological Disease
Professor, Anesthesiology
Director, Sanford Surgical Training Center
mmarsala@ucsd.edu

Joel Castellanos, MD
Trial Expert, Neurological Disease, Physical Medicine & Rehab Specialist
Associate Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology
jcastellanos@ucsd.edu

Dan Kaufman, MD, PhD

Professor of Medicine, Division of Regenerative Medicine
Director, Advanced Cell Therapy Lab, UC San Diego
Director, Sanford Advanced Therapy Center
858-822-1777
dskaufman@ucsd.edu

Eric Ahrens, PhD

Trial Expert, Imaging
Professor, Radiology
eahrens@ucsd.edu

Research and Administration

Vickie Sheckler
Lead Research Strategic Advisor, UC San Diego Health CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic START Team
858-534-1364
vsheckler@ucsd.edu

Maria Huaracha
Research Strategic Advisor, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center START Team
mhuaracha@health.ucsd.edu

Peggy Wentworth, PhD
Research Strategic Advisor, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center START Team
pwentworth@ucsd.edu

Kenneth Henry II
Pre-Clinical Project Manager, Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center START Team
kwhenry@ucsd.edu

Karina Santos
Assistant to Director, Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD
858-534-5099
ksantos@ucsd.edu

Julissa Gonzalez, MS
Clinical Research Data Manager, UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center CIRM Alpha Clinic
858-822-4401
jug004@ucsd.edu