MEET OUR TEAM
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Will is a physician scientist who specializes in Pediatric Cardiology and Electrophysiology. Will graduated from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) with a BSc in Biology prior to completing his graduate studies at Stanford University in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). He subsequently completed residency training in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital before returning to Stanford to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology and advanced fellowship in Pediatric Electrophysiology. He additionally performed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Sean Wu laboratory at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute where he developed the first comprehensive single-cell gene atlas of the entire murine cardiac conduction system (CCS) as well as pioneered the generation of optical imaging agents for the real-time visualization of the CCS to help prevent accidental surgical damage during heart surgeries. Will's lab focuses on basic science advances aimed at the improved diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.
William Goodyer, MD-PhD
Assistant Professor
CURRENT TEAM
Katherine is a current research assistant in the Goodyer Lab. She recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she received a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Over the past six years, Katherine has been deeply immersed in research, focusing on cardiovascular mechanisms and disease for the past three years. She is particularly passionate about exploring how rare cell types and their unique gene expression profiles influence cardiovascular function and contribute to disease. This work has fueled her desire to pursue an MD-PhD, as she aims to integrate cutting-edge research with clinical practice. Her ultimate goal is to use her expertise to address critical questions in cardiovascular medicine, develop innovative therapies, and enhance patient care through a combined approach of scientific discovery and clinical application.
Katherine Dang
Kaila is a current research assistant in Dr. Goodyer's lab. She recently earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. Following her graduation, she joined Stanford's REACH post-baccalaureate program to further explore her passion for translational research. Kaila's personal experience with cardiac issues as a child deeply influenced her interest in cardiovascular research. This personal connection drew her to the Goodyer lab, where the focus on arrhythmias particularly resonated with her. In her current role, Kaila is working on a project to fully profile human cardiac conduction cells using advanced genomics and proteomics techniques. Her work is aimed at uncovering the complexities of heart function and contributing to the development of innovative treatments for cardiac diseases. Kaila's long-term goal is to attend medical school and pursue an MD. She is committed to integrating her research expertise with clinical practice, with the ultimate aim of improving patient care.
Kaila Kalauokaaea-Kahele
Gaurav Saini holds a Bachelor’s in Dental Surgery from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India, and a Master’s in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics from California State University Channel Islands. He completed a research internship at UC Davis, focusing on CLL1-targeting nanoimmunoengagers for acute myeloid leukemia, synthesizing peptide nanoparticles using the One Bead One Compound combinatorial method. Currently, Gaurav is a Life Science Research Professional 1 in the Goodyer lab, where his work includes Western blot analysis to identify specific protein markers in different parts of the heart, cryosectioning heart tissues, immunostaining to detect the targeted binding of antibodies to these markers, and evaluating the effects of antibody-conjugated drugs in animal models.
Gaurav Saini
ALUMNI
Jonathan is a PhD student in the Cardiovascular Research Program at the University of Copenhagen. He holds a B.Sc. in Biomolecular Engineering from the Technical University of Darmstadt and an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Copenhagen. As a visiting student researcher in the Goodyer lab, Jonathan contributed to multiple projects, with a primary focus on applying multi-omics approaches—including proteomics and single-cell techniques—to characterize key components of the human cardiac conduction system (CCS).
Jonathan Achter
Felix is a medical student at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany. He earned his B.S. in Management and Technology from TUM before starting medical school. He is a visiting student researcher in the Goodyer lab working on various projects and his doctoral thesis. Among others, he is involved in projects dedicated to understanding the molecular basis of CCS development and function in mice, human iPSC-derived CCS models, antibody targeting of cardiac substructures and multiomic characterization of the developing human CCS.
Felix Atzert
Lauren is a former research assistant in the Goodyer lab, and is now a MD-PhD student in the Stanford MSTP. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, and worked in the Goodyer lab on a number of projects including: 1) antibody-mediated targeting of the CCS and other cardiac substructures in vivo, 2) understanding the molecular basis of CCS development and function in mice and human iPSC-derived nodal CCS models, 3) single-cell multiomic characterization of the developing human CCS, and more.
Lauren Duan
Sruthi is a medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Molecular Biology-Biochemistry, she worked as a clinical research coordinator in the Stanford Pediatric Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine, where she established the Binns Program for Cord Blood Research. As a preclerkship student, she completed a MedScholars fellowship in the Goodyer lab, working on projects aimed at investigating (1) genes essential to the development and function of the murine cardiac conduction system (CCS) and (2) the transcriptomic profile of the human CCS. Sruthi’s interests continue to evolve; now a clinical student, she is finding joy in pediatric neurology and psychiatry, and feels passionately about provider mental well-being.
Sruthi Mantri
Benjamin Beyersdorf is currently a Neurosurgery resident at the University Hospital Zürich. During his medical school studies at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, he acted as a visiting student researcher in the Goodyer lab at Stanford University and performed his dissertation on Single-Cell Transcriptomic Profiling & Real-Time CCS Visualization.
Benjamin Beyersdorf, MD