Daniele Canzio
Associate Professor

Daniele was born in Rieti, Italy. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his PhD in Chemical Biology from the University of California, San Francisco under the guidance of Dr. Geeta Narlikar. He then moved to New York City for his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Tom Maniatis at Columbia University. When not in lab, Daniele loves riding his bike and spending time with Mocha.

Alexander Greben
Postdoctoral fellow

Jennifer Langen
UCSF, Neuroscience Graduate Student

Jenn was born and raised in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA. She attended the University of Southern California for her undergraduate studies, where she received her B.A. in Neuroscience. Before relocating to the Bay Area as a Neuroscience PhD student, she worked as an undergraduate researcher and lab technician with Dr. Karen Chang at USC. When not thinking about clustered Protocadherins, Jenn keeps herself busy with random artistic pursuits and baking.

Alex Buckley
UCSF, Neuroscience Graduate Student

Alex grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and went to undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis. He then teched for two years in the lab of Evan Macosko at the Broad Institute before joining the neuroscience program at UCSF. His interest in how neurons acquire their intricate morphologies and wiring patterns drew him to the study of protocadherins. He loves playing tennis, exploring new places, and going on coffee runs with his lab mates.

Carlo Vetralla
UCSF, Tetrad Graduate Student

Carlo was born in Milan, Italy, where he completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Medical Biotechnologies. During his thesis, he worked in the Tjian-Darzacq lab at UC Berkeley and later returned to the Bay Area to start a PhD at UCSF in the Tetrad program. In the Canzio lab, he is passionate about enhancer-promoter communication and the dynamics of cohesin loop extrusion in the protocadherin locus. When not in the lab, you can find Carlo in the gym or watching Ac Milan play.

Michael Mui
Research Assistant

Michael was born in Hong Kong and was raised in San Francisco, CA. He received his B.S. in Animal Science from UC Davis. Prior to joining the Canzio lab, he was an animal technician at UCSF. Michael is joined between the Canzio and the Paredes labs at UCSF. When not in lab, Michael likes to watch movies, draw, and spend time with his dog.

Matthew Fiedeldey
Junior Specialist

Matthew was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana before moving to the Bay Area to pursue a B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology from UC Berkeley. There he worked in the lab of Prof. Hillel Adesnik to better understand how cortical circuits give rise to conscious perception. When not in the lab, he is most likely at jiu-jitsu, working on robotics projects, or riding a motorcycle.

Jash Gada
Junior Specialist

Jash grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area before heading down to the University of Southern California where he completed his B.S. in Human Biology. There, he worked under Dr. Derrick Morton to better understand the role of the RNA exosome in neurodevelopment through a cerebellar organoid model. When not in lab, he can be found at the gym, the basketball court, or on the Caltrain.

Shayra Nawsheen
Specialist

Shayra was born in Bangladesh and grew up in Los Angeles, California. She went to UC Berkeley for her undergraduate where she majored in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis on Neurobiology. She then moved to San Diego to pursue her masters in Bioengineering at UC San Diego. She initially joined the lab as an undergraduate volunteer in 2023 and has decided to rejoin the lab as a research assistant again in 2026 after completing her masters. Outside the lab, Shayra can be found exploring new cafes, watching horror movies, and traveling.

Mocha
Fluffy friend

Mocha is a New Yorker. Prior to joining the Canzio lab she “worked” as a happy doggie in Daniele’s house.