Principal Investigator

Dr. Yoshi Izumiya is a Professor at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a PhD in Veterinary Microbiology, focusing on the oncogenic mechanisms of Marek's disease virus, a chicken herpesvirus, under the guidance of Dr. Takeshi Mikami.

Following this, he conducted postdoctoral research with Dr. Hsing-Jien Kung at the University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. Since then, Dr. Izumiya has dedicated over twenty years to scientific research at UC Davis Medical School.

Outside of his academic career, he is the father of three daughters and is involved as a member of the USA Swimming Association and a Stroke & Turn judge.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9184-2603

Assistant Project Scientist, School of Medicine, University of California Davis.

Ashish Kumar received his Ph.D. in 2018 from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal, India, where he worked on host-pathogen interaction and immune response to highly pathogenic influenza virus strains. He joined Yoshi’s lab in January 2019 and has been utilizing the novel proximity labeling proteomic method to understand the host-pathogen interaction by using KSHV, human oncogenic viruses that cause several cancers. His favorite thing outside the lab is spending time with his wife and daughter.

Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, University of California Davis

Dr. Komaki received her MD degree at Hamadan Medical School. She worked as a family physician from 2020 to 2022. In 2023, she joined Dr. Izumiya’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow while pursuing a career as a physician-scientist. She is working on the viral protein, which involves cell type-specific roles.

Associate Specialist

Ms. Kang-Hsin Wang has worked at UC Davis Medical School since 2009 and joined  Dr. Izumiya’s lab in 2013. She received her master's degree at National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan. She oversees xenograft studies and animal protocols and serves as a lab manager to comply with regulations. She is interested in translational science and medical engineering.

Assistant Specialist, Department of Dermatology, University of California Davis Health

Jonna M. Espera joined Dr. Yoshihiro Izumiya’s lab in September 2020 as an undergraduate mentee. After graduating from University of California Davis with a Bachelors of Science in Global Disease Biology, she shortly received the position of Junior Specialist. Today, she maintains the role of Assistant Specialist, providing support in Dr. Izumiya’s current projects on KSHV. Similar to her mentor, she strives to obtain a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine.

In her free time, she loves to play with her cats, make art, and see live music.

Research Trainee, Biotechnology with an emphasis of Bioinformatics, University of California Davis

Chris A. Bautista has conducted research in Dr. Yoshi’s lab since September 2023. He is a pre-med student interested in genetic engineering and its potential to transform medicine. Currently, he studies flexible protein interactions by purifying fluorescent protein-tagged proteins. Beyond the lab, he is involved in a student-run clinic, where he engages in patient care. In his free time, they enjoy playing music, sewing, and pursing personal growth. He loves making his PI laugh and creating a positive lab environment.

Research Trainee

Darian joined the Izumiya Lab shortly after completing his undergraduate studies at UC Merced in August 2024. His current work focuses on characterizing KSHV viral protein interactions. He will be attending medical school beginning in Fall 2026 and is particularly interested in the intersection of virology, cancer biology, and clinical medicine.

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Dermatology, University of California Davis

Xingling Zheng received her Ph.D. in 2020 from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She then worked as a Research Associate at the Shanghai Cancer Institute. In June 2025, she joined Dr. Izumiya’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow, where she has been studying the mechanisms underlying the reactivation of inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (iciHHV-6)

Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis

Dr. Abhishesh is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Izumiya’s lab at the University of California, Davis, where he focuses on developing novel therapeutic strategies for herpesvirus-associated cancers. He is passionate about understanding the molecular mechanisms of cancer therapy and translating nanomedicine research into real-world applications. Dr. Abhishesh holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics (targeted nanomedicine and theranostics) and an M. Pharm. in Pharmaceutics, both from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India. Prior to his academic research career, he worked as a formulation scientist at leading pharmaceutical companies, including Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Apotex Research Pvt. Ltd., where he gained industrial experience in drug formulation and process development. He is an expert in the development of advanced drug delivery and imaging formulations, with extensive experience in nanocarriers, cancer biology, in vitro and in vivo studies, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), and analytical & imaging techniques such as DSC, TGA, XPS, HPLC, LC-MS, NMR, FTIR and UGS/PA, IVIS. He is also highly skilled in animal handling and tumor induction using both carcinogenic and syngeneic models.

Dr. Abhishesh enjoys interdisciplinary collaboration and mentoring young scientists. Outside the lab, he loves photography, travelling, and exploring new places with friends and family.