Shoko Ichimura, M.S. Shoko completed her MS in the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Japan and worked as a clinical pharmacist in Japan for 10 years. Before joining the Chen lab, she worked at Dr. Sushma Reddy’s lab at Stanford University, where she contributed to projects investigating the role of mitochondria dysfunction and capillary disarray in congenital heart disease. After relocating to Cincinnati in August 2024, she started working at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Dr. Mingxia Gu’s lab, where she contributed to a project focused on establishing different types of organoids. She worked in both labs as a lab manager and research assistant, where she honed and utilized her skills in tissue staining and imaging such as electron microscopy, 3-D deep tissue imaging with confocal microscopy, and RNA in situ hybridization. Shoko is a Lab Manager and Research Assistant III in the Chen Lab at CCHMC.

Natalie Pfaltzgraff, B.S. Natalie is a Research Assistant III in the Mikedis Lab at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) and a part-time master’s student in the Biomedical Research Technologies Program (BMRT) through the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine. She received a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from UC in 2021 and has been at CCHMC since then. Natalie runs various experiments in the Mikedis lab to explore spermatogonial stem cell development and handles administrative duties such as ordering and inventory organization. She is currently rotating in the Chen Lab at CCHMC to learn about cell culturing and the CUT&RUN protocol.