PEOPLE

Sangbum Park, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Institute for Quantitative Health Sciences and Engineering  (IQ)

Sangbum received B.S. in Animal Biotechnology and Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology at the Seoul National University in South Korea. He completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Valentina Greco in the Department of Genetics at Yale University. Sangbum is currently an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University (2020 - ). Sangbum has been the receipient of many fellwoships and awards including the 2014 James Hudson Brown – Alexander Brown Coxe Postdoctoral Fellowship, the 2015 State of Connecticut Regenerative Medicine Research Fund (RMRF) seed grant award, the 2017 New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) – Druckenmiller Fellowship and the 2019 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Merit Award.

POSTDOC

Artem Kiselev, PhD

Artem received B.S in the field of Hox-genes and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology at the Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of science. Through his Ph.D. project, Artem developed an in vivo model for studying oogenesis in insects. After Ph.D. Artem worked in the field of сardiovascular research where he gained extensive experience with modern OMICS technologies and bioinformatics methods. Artem also participated in studies on anaphylactic shock at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Artem was the head of several Russian Science Foundation grants and awards. Artem joined the Park lab in March of 2022 as a postdoc. He is interested in understanding molecular mechanisms of immune organization in the skin.

Axel Schmitter-Sánchez, MS

Born and raised in Mexico, Axel pursued higher education as a student-athlete in biology and swimming at Eastern Michigan University. Interest in stem cell research led him to enroll at Central Michigan University as a master’s student in the Karp lab. There, he studied stem cell multipotency maintenance during quiescence in C. elegans. Axel began his Ph.D. studies at Michigan State University in the fall of 2019 and joined the Park lab in July of 2020. He is interested in understanding the orchestration of skin regeneration. 

Sudhanshu Mishra, MS

Sudhanshu completed his Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology and Master of Technology in Biotechnology from India. He then worked as a Senior Research Assistant at West Bengal University of Technology where his job was to Investigate the activity of graphene and its derivatives towards the biological systems with special relevance to C. elegans. Sudhanshu received a Fellowship for his master’s by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Sudhanshu joined the Park lab in May of 2022. In the Park lab, he is interested in chronic wound healing in the diabetic mouse model. He is an outdoorsy person and a big fan of MCU!

Paige Norwood

Paige Norwood is a second year medical student at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a first generation college student and completed her undergraduate education at Michigan State University as well where she received a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology with a minor in Health Promotions. She is currently interested in pursuing Dermatology as a future speciality. Her interest in the field of dermatology started when she worked as a medical assistant at a dermatology clinic during my gap year after completing her undergraduate degree. Paige joined the Park lab in May of 2024. She is excited to study the science underlying our current healthcare practices in the realm of wound healing.

Audrey Bench

Audrey joined the Park Lab as a Professorial Assistant (PA) in the fall of 2021. She is an undergraduate honors student majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and minoring in Spanish. She has a passion for studying the science behind healthcare, especially the molecular aspects within the dermatology field. Audrey plans to continue conducting research and hopes to find a position in the medical field after graduating from Michigan State University.

Nicholas Basista

Nicholas is an undergraduate student at Michigan State University in the honors program majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology through Lyman Briggs. Nicholas joined the Park Lab through the Professorial Assistantship (PA) Program in the fall of 2022. Nicholas plans to apply to medical school with an interest in dermatology.

Abhay Kakarla

Abhay is an undergraduate human biology major through the Lyman Briggs College and honors program. He is also part of the Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program (OMSP) and hopes to have a future as a DO. Abhay is passionate about learning how to go beyond treating illness and treating the patient. He is also very interested in research and has experience with regenerative medicine and computational biology. Abhay joined the Park Lab in the fall of 2024 as a Professorial Assistant and hopes to continue his research with the lab throughout his undergrad at Michigan State.

Gun Woo Lee, MD, PhD

Dr. Gun Woo Lee is an orthopedic spine surgeon currently working as an associate professor at Yeungnam University Medical Center and Yeungnam University College of Medicine, South Korea. Gun Woo received a B.S. in medicine and a Ph.D. in mesenchymal stem cells and regenerative medicine. After completing a residency in orthopedic surgery, he worked as a clinical research fellow and clinical professor at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in South Korea. His specialization in orthopedic surgery includes spine surgery, especially cervical spine surgery, and basic research with mesenchymal stem cells and extracellular vesicles (exosomes) for musculoskeletal disorders. Gun Woo joined the Park lab in August 2024 as a visiting professor. In the Park lab, he will investigate molecular mechanisms of stem cell-derived exosomes in skin inflammation.