
Ma Lab
The Ma Lab combines computational and experimental network biology approaches to understand the molecular interactions that determine infection and treatment fate in tuberculosis. We will use these insights to inform the engineering of therapies that are safer, more effective, and harder for the pathogen to evade.
Partnership Opportunities

Shuyi Ma, PhD
I completed my undergraduate education in chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, where I engaged in undergraduate research with Dr. Frances Arnold. I completed my PhD training at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and the Institute for Systems Biology in Dr. Nathan Price's lab, where I learned computational systems biology. I did my postdoctoral training in Dr. David Sherman's lab (now at the University of Washington), where I learned tuberculosis microbiology and experimental systems biology approaches. My reseach interests lie in harnessing mathematical tools to help untangle the molecular complexity in the interactions between organisms and interventions that drive infection and treatment fates.
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Ethan Bustad
Research Scientist II
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Braden Carroll
Graduate Student
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Miranda Coldren
Research Scientist I
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Braden Griebel
Graduate Student
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Josh Ivie
Postdoc
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Elizabeth Nilles
Research Scientist I
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Meng Qin
Graduate Student
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Erick Tieu
Graduate Student
- Opu Bhuiyan
- Alden Gu
- Nicole Huang
- Emma Mudrock
- Mackenzie Phan
- Thao Nguyen
- Jinny Ryu
- Bjorn Sunde
- George Wang
- Jack Wier
Christoph Grundner Lab
The Grundner Lab seeks to map the signaling pathways that underlie the adaptability and pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our collaboration aims to understand how mycobacterial signaling influences infection outcomes.
Rafael Hernandez Lab
The Hernandez Lab seeks to understand the interactions between mycobacterial pathogens and host immune cells. Our collaboration aims to understand how drug-drug interactions impact treatment in Mycobacterium abscessus and host toxicity.
Alexis Kaushansky Lab
The Kaushansky Lab seeks to understand host-pathogen interactions in infections including malaria and to drive host-based drug discovery. Our collaboration seeks to understand host-pathogen interactions and host-directed targets that impact tuberculosis infection.
Tanya Parish Lab
The Parish Lab seeks to study Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug response. Our collaboration seeks to understand how anti-tubercular drugs with diverse mechanisms of action interact with each other.
Kevin Urdahl Lab
The Urdahl Lab seeks to understand the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Our collaboration seeks to understand host and pathogen regulators that impact tuberculosis infection outcomes in mice.
Thomas Hawn Lab
The Hawn Lab seeks to undertand the innate immune mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. Our collaboration seeks to understand host and pathogen regulators that impact tuberculosis infection outcomes in human macrophages.
David Raible Lab
The Raible Lab seeks to study the cells responsible for hearing using zebrafish. Our collaboration seeks to understand how drugs that cause hearing injury interact with each other.
David Sherman Lab
The Sherman Lab seeks to understand the inner workings of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our collaboration seeks to understand how bacterial gene regulation influences treatment outcomes.
Ashleigh Theberge Lab
The Theberge Lab develops biomimetic microfluidic systems to advance medicine. Our collaboration seeks to establlish ex vivo infection systems for Mycobacterium tuberculosis that mimic the host infection microenvironment.
David Alland Lab
The Alland Lab seeks to understand Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug response. Our collaboration seeks to understand mechanisms of drug evasion in tuberculosis clinical strains.
Sriram Chandrasekaran Lab
The Chandrasekaran Lab seeks to understand microbial metabolism and drug response. Our collaboration seeks to understand drug interaction responses in Mycobacteria.
W. Evan Johnson Lab
The Johnson Lab seeks to understand molecular response patterns associated with disease phenotypes. Our collaboration seeks to understand mechanisms of drug response and infection progression in tuberculosis clinical strains.
Alissa Rothchild Lab
The Rothchild Lab seeks to understand alveolar macrophage responses to environmental and infectious insults. Our collaboration seeks to understand tuberculosis infection and treatment response in alveolar macrophages.
David Russell Lab
The Russell Lab seeks to understand the interplay between the macrophage and intracellular pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our collaboration seeks to understand tuberculosis treatment response in macrophages.
Jason Yang Lab
The Yang Lab seeks to understand mechanisms underlying pathogenesis and treatment of chronic and infectious diseases. Our collaboration seeks to understand in vivo treatment response in tuberculosis clinical strains.
Join the Ma Lab
We are a diverse, cross-disciplinary, and highly collaborative group focused on combining computational and experimental systems biology approaches toward understanding infection and treatment outcome. We encourage applications from interested prospective postdoctoral scientists. Please send a CV, contact information for three references and a cover letter explaining your interest in our lab and how our research fits with your career trajectory.
Lab training
We leverage a variety of computational and experimental approaches, including machine learning, RNA sequencing, multiplexed screening assays, imaging and a range of low-throughput approaches.
Lab team expectations
Think creatively, engage actively, communicate clearly and collaborate collegially. We aim to tackle some incredibly challenging problems, but we are in this together.