Welcome to our lab.
We are dedicated to finding new treatments for glaucoma.
The lab enjoying a warm holiday lunch of hot pot (火锅).
Qi (“Chi”) Cui, MD PhD
Scientist and clinician at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to research, she also provides clinical and surgical treatments for patients with glaucoma. Qi enjoys traveling, gardening, baking, and most of all, time with her family.
Jie Wu, MD MS
Research specialist at University of Pennsylvania for more than 20 years. Jie completed her medical training in China. In addition to research, Jie enjoys gardening, Zumba, and traveling.
Khaled Safadi, MD
Khaled is an ophthalmologist and glaucoma specialist from Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel. He is perusing a two-year research fellowship in the Cui lab. Khaled enjoys cooking, travelling, listening to music, and spending time with family.
Tianyuan “Ben” Yao, BS
Ben is a medical student at the University of Arkansas, and is taking time away from school to conduct research in the Cui lab. Outside of medicine, Ben enjoys spending time with his homing pigeons, some of which he has trained to return home from hundreds of miles away!
Ariana Boorboor, BS
Ariana completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Nevada. She is take time to study for the MCAT and applying to medical school while conducting research in the Cui lab. She enjoys running half marathons, trying new restaurants in the Philly area (with a penchant for sweets!), and spending time with her dog Peanut.
Brent Bell, AAS, BS
Project Manager and Director of Animal Imaging. Resident in vivo ocular imaging and retina functional testing aficionado with a biomedical/laser electro-optics background and experience in academic research for 30 years. In his spare time, Brent enjoys globetrotting with his family, and occasional fishing trips with friends both old and new.
Cui Lab Alumni
Anny Zhong, BS
Anny is a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania who completed a research year in the Cui lab. Anny obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and worked as an investment analyst before matriculating at PSOM. She is interested in a career in academic medicine where research might play a role!
Turner Schwartz, MD
As a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, Turner worked on multiple scholarly pursuit projects in the lab. He is an ophthalmology resident at the University of Michigan. Turner competed in an Ironman triathlon while raising funds for glaucoma research, or as he called it: Ironman to Prevent Blindness!
Sahit Reddi
Sahit is a BS student at Pennsylvania State University. Sahit is applying to medical school and is already considering a residency in ophthalmology! Sahit is also an avid sports fan and in his free time enjoys working out and spending time outdoors.
Emily Lawrence, MD, MEd
Emily was a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, and took a year out of the traditional curriculum to pursue research projects in the Cui lab. She is pursuing residency training in ophthalmology at the University of Michigan and is passionate about preserving and restoring sight.
Modupe Adetunji, MD
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine who spent a year-out in the lab. Modupe is pursuing a residency in ophthalmology at Duke.
Jacob Sterling, MD PhD
MD-PhD graduate from U Penn pursuing a residency in Cardiology at Northwestern. Jacob studied innate immune dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, and successfully defended his PhD thesis in May 2021. Co-mentored by Dr. Qi Cui and Dr. Joshua Dunaief.
Albert Bargoud, MD
A graduate of the Rutgers school of medicine who spent a year in the lab conducting basic science research, Albert has since completed an ophthalmology residency at Rutgers NJMS and is pursuing a clinical glaucoma fellowship at NYU.
Keyshla Negron Rios, BS
Keyshla completed her Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania through the Cui lab and is a current pursuing her PhD through the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program (OxCam).
Kailey Bae, BS
Kailey completed her Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate studies at the University of Pennsylvania while working in the lab. She is pursuing clinical opportunities while planning on applying to medical school in the near future.
Jingwen (Nikita) Lu, MS
After receiving her Master’s in Biotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania while working in the lab, Nikita is pursuing a career in drug development.
Michelle Guo, MD
Michelle is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who took a year-out to conduct research in the lab. She is pursuing a psychiatric residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.