Our People
Principal Investigators
Laurence Baskin, MD
As Principal Investigator, I am privileged to lead a team of passionate, dedicated members in the pursuit of cutting edge research for a range of pediatric conditions.
Jerry Cunha, PhD
Dr. Cunha received a BS in Biology at the University of Santa Clara in 1966 and a PhD at the University of Chicago in 1970. Dr. Cunha is known for his pioneering work in mesenchymal-epithelial interactions in development of the male and female reproductive tracts and mammary gland. In addition, for several years Dr. Cunha has studied development of the external genitalia in mice, rats, moles and spotted hyenas. These studies have resulted in nearly 400 publications.
Current Lab Members
Mei Cao, MD
Mei Cao, MD has a keen interest in pediatric research. Her current focus is on the mouse and human hypospadias project and the normal development of the female urogenital tract project.
Maya Overland, MD, PhD
Maya Ragini Overland received Bachelor’s Degrees in Physics and Biology from MIT and an MD and PhD in Biophysics from the University of California, San Francisco. She joined the Baskin Lab in 2014, working to help characterize the anatomic and molecular fetal development of the human external genitalia and urethra as well as on clinical projects examining the routine use of functional imaging studies in pediatric uretero-pelvic junction obstruction. She is currently a resident in the UCSF Urology training program with plans to apply for fellowship in Pediatric Urology.
513 Parnassus Ave, HSW1434
San Francisco, CA, 94143
Email: [email protected]
Yi Li, MD
Yi Li, MD completed his medical school training at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and is now a resident with the UCSF Department of Urology. He first joined the Baskin Lab in 2014 and worked extensively on 3-dimensional imaging of the developing human fetal urethra by optical projection tomography. He is currently in his PGY5 research year and is applying to pediatric urology fellowships this year.
513 Parnassus Ave, HSW1434
San Francisco, CA, 94143
Email: [email protected]
Sena Aksel, MD
Sena Aksel graduated from medical school at Trakya University and has been an Assistant Specialist in the Baskin Lab since 2020. His current research focuses on three-dimensional imaging techniques to gain a new understanding of hypospadias etiology and the genes associated with increased risk.
513 Parnassus Ave, HSW1434
San Francisco, CA, 94143
Email: [email protected]
Former Lab Members
Ron Sutherland, MD
Pediatric Urology Fellow
Eric Kurzrock, MD
Pediatric Urology Fellow
Ali Erol, MD
Pediatric Research Fellow
Kun Suk Kim, MD
Pediatric Urology Research
Nicholas Holmes, MD
Pediatric Urology Fellow
Wei Zhang, MD
Pediatric Research Fellow
Yavuz Akman, MD
Pediatric Urology Research
Gerald Mingin, MD
Pediatric Urology Fellow
Carlos Ramon Torres, MD
Pediatric Urology Research
Selcuk Yucel, MD
Pediatric Urology Research
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Our Research
Featured Work
We would like to acknowledge our incredible UCSF research team, all of our collaborators, all of our funding sources and specifically support from UCSF Department of Urology to make this project possible.