People
About Kit
In July 2020, I started as an Assistant Professor at UCSD in the Division for Biomedical Informatics, Department of Medicine. I am also a Full Member of the Cancer Control Program at UCSD Moores Cancer Center. Previous to this, I held a Medical Research Council Rutherford Fellowship at Barts Cancer Institute in London UK, where I began as a postdoc in Prof Trevor Graham’s Evolution and Cancer lab in 2016. I was a Gastroenterology Research Fellow in the University of Washington Department of Medicine working with Dr. John Inadomi before moving to the UK. I received my PhD in Applied Mathematics from UW in 2015, working with advisor Dr. Georg Luebeck at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and obtained a BS in Mathematics from UCLA in 2010.
Contact
Email: kcurtius@health.ucsd.edu
Address: Division of Biomedical Informatics, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093
Lab members
PhD students
Caitlin Guccione
Caitlin is currently a Ph.D. student in the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (BISB) program co-advised by Dr. Kit Curtius and Dr. Rob Knight. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2020 with an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and computer science along with a Masters in applied mathematics. Her current research is focused in the intersection between the human microbiome and cancer. In her free time she enjoys surfing and open water swimming. Email contact: cguccion@ucsd.edu
Brian Johnson
Brian is a Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Informatics (BMI) program. He graduated from Rutgers University in 2020 with a B.S. in Physics. His current research interests are wide-ranging, but generally focus on analyzing multi-omic data to improve detection and treatment of cancer. His current work focuses on the phylogenetics of neutrally evolving tumors. In his free time, he enjoys surfing and running. Email contact: bdj001@ucsd.edu
Hyrum Eddington
Hyrum is a PhD student in the Biomedical informatics (BMI) program. He graduated from Brigham Young University in Bioinformatics in 2020 and spent 3 years as a data analyst at the Stanford Department of Surgery before coming to UCSD. His current research projects are focused in cancer genomics, particularly in cancer immunology and exploring the shared role of the immune system in autoimmune disorders and cancer. He enjoys rock climbing, pickleball, and anything sci-fi fantasy related. Email contact: heddington@ucsd.edu
Sam Reynolds
Sam is a Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Informatics (BMI) program. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 2023 with a B.A. in Biology and a minor in computer science. His current research interests include DNA methylation, machine learning, and cancer modeling. His current work focuses on understanding clonal expansion in Barret’s esophagus. In his free time, he enjoys surfing, skateboarding, and spearfishing. Email contact: srreynolds@ucsd.edu
Master's student researchers
Mengxue Xia
Mengxue is a first-year master’s student in biostatistics at UCSD, currently interning with Dr. Kit Curtius’s team for summer 2024. She has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and has two years of experience as a lab researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on the development of anti-cancer drugs. Mengxue aims to leverage her interdisciplinary background in drug discovery and statistics to generate unique insights in cancer genomics. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, editing videos, and traveling. Email contact: mexia@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate researchers
Lana Chuang
Lana is currently an Undergraduate Student at UCSD majoring in Biology w/ Specialization in Bioinformatics and minoring in Computer Science. She is an Industry Relations Chair in the Undergraduate Bioinformatics Club and a member of Bioscholars, the biology honors program. In Curtius Lab, she is involved in isolating and purifying IBD patient tissue samples to send off for sequencing as well as getting into the data analysis side of the lab. In her free time, she likes to play badminton and soccer, binge different shows, listen to K-pop, play piano, and play video games. Email Contact: Lachuang@ucsd.edu
Medical residents
Anna Dornisch, MD MAS
Anna Dornisch is a resident physician in the department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences. She graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Physiological Sciences with a minor in Society & Genetics. During medical school at UCSD, she completed a master’s degree in clinical research, focusing on cost-effectiveness and survivorship. With a goal of maximizing quality of life during cancer care and in survivorship, Dr. Dornisch is interested in utilizing clinical trial design to understand the impact of therapies on quality of life at the patient level and cost-effectiveness at a societal level. Outside of work, Dr. Dornisch enjoys spending as much time outdoors as possible, whether she’s riding horses, running on the beach, hiking with her dog, or spending time with family and friends and enjoying the amazing food that San Diego has to offer.
Openings
Please contact Dr. Curtius by email if you are a PhD student in the UCSD Bioinformatics & Systems Biology program who is interested in doing a research rotation, or if you are (or are soon to be) a doctoral graduate (PhD and/or MD) who is interested in applying to an open postdoctoral position on our team. I am happy to discuss available opportunities and potential projects, and to answer questions.
QCC Lab Alumni
Lorijane Robles (Undergraduate researcher 2023-2024): Research Associate at UC San Diego Health
Sandrine Amudhan (Undergraduate researcher 2022-2024): Research Associate at UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute
Cindy Huang (Research data analyst 2023-2024)
Erica Rodas Montejo (UCSD STARS Summer Intern 2024): current senior at California State University San Marcos
Busra Coskun (Summer NIH STEP-UP researcher 2023): current undergraduate at University of Pennsylvania
Sami Ryan (Summer DBMI Intern 2022): current undergraduate at UCLA
Phillip Pham (UCSD STARS Summer Intern 2021): currently PhD student and Fullbright scholar
McKenna Johnson (Undergraduate researcher 2020-2022): currently Software Engineer at Resilience