Laboratory Team

MSTP Program, MD/PhD Graduate Student

Justin is a graduate from Swarthmore college with a degree in biology and minor in film and media studies in 2015. He then worked as lab technician studying the testis stem cell niche in Drosophila at the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently an MD/PhD student in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). For his thesis work, he joined the Kliment lab in 2020 and is exploring the role of mitochondrial metabolism in immune cells during COPD pathogenesis and the metabolic role of ANT2 in the lung epithelium during COPD.

MSTP Program, MD/PhD Graduate Student

Bio: Ugonna is a graduate from the University of Maryland in 2019. She is currently an MD/PhD student in the University of Pittsburgh MSTP. For her thesis work, she joined the Kliment lab in 2023. Her research interests include the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in epithelial cell repair and regeneration in the lung, specifically the ANT2’s role in chronic lung disease pathophysiology.

Laboratory Technical Specialist and Laboratory Manager

Jian has worked in a cancer laboratory for many years, where she developed multiple skills in cell culture, virus-based work, mouse work, evaluation of human samples and laboratory management. She started in the Kliment laboratory in August 2021 where she continues her contributions to the lab and science.

Inhalational Exposure Core Specialist
2018 – present

Undergraduate Work-study Student
School: University of Pittsburgh