Faculty
Administration
Jiwu Wang, PhD
CEO
As Scintillon’s founder and current CEO, Dr. Wang has overseen and led The Scintillon Research Institute’s rapid growth over the past decade, including locating of the institute in the heart of San Diego’s biotech hub, helping to recruit and mentor numerous faculty members, and laid the blueprint for further expansion. He is also co-leads of Scintillon’s startup incubator (SI-START) to grow exciting, young biotech companies.
Erica Chavin
Director of Finance and Operations
Bio coming soon!
Victoria Ploehn
Officer Manager and Accounting
Angel Perez
Pre-Award Grant Manager
Ms. Perez has over 15 years of sponsored research experience. She received her Certified Research Administrator® (CRA) in 2016 and has maintained that certification to date. Her primary concern is ensuring extraordinary support for SI’s diverse assemblage of outstanding laboratories, assisting faculty, postdoctoral, and pre-doctoral fellows to secure and maintain external funding from various sponsoring agencies while complying with those same agencies’ guidelines and regulations and fostering collaborations amongst colleagues. In her spare time, she enjoys being with her four dogs, pretending to be a master mixologist, and trying new restaurants. She is a tea and chocolate connoisseur, and dabbles in gardening, crocheting, and jam making.
Yun C. Yung, PhD
Co-Director, SI-START, Director of Philanthropy, Director of Scintillon Imaging Center
As a core faculty member of The Scintillon Research Institute and member of Scintillon’s Center for Aging Research, Dr. Yung also co-leads Scintillon’s program to incubate and grow exciting, young biotech companies. He also directs Scintillon’s Core Imaging Center, which consists of confocal, epifluorescence, and high-throughput image-based systems. Finally, he is Director of Philanthropy, aimed at increasing community interest and engagement with Scintillon’s mission and vision.
Brian Lawson, PhD
Director of SURE summer program
As a core faculty member of The Scintillon Research Institute and member of Scintillon’s Center for Aging Research, Dr. Lawson also directs and supervises the popular annual SURE program that provides lab opportunities to high school students during the summer and school year.
Ata Zarieh, BS, MBA
Manager of Vivarium Operations
Mr. Zarieh is proficient in all aspects of in-vivo pharmacology with over 20 years of experience. He has extensive training across 9 species of animals in the drug discovery field. He is competent in various surgeries, in-vivo procedures, animal model development, vivarium management, IACUC and regulatory bodies, animal welfare, compliance, toxicology, and behavioral studies.
Halleck Cui, MBA
Webmaster
Mr. Cui serves as head of design for Scintillon’s website and social media presence, increasing Scintillon’s presence in the community through SEO and outreach strategies.