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Cynthia Hsu, MD PhD
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor | Gastroenterology | Medicine
Staff Physician | San Diego VA Medical Center
Cynthia is a physician scientist and gastroenterologist dedicated to transforming care for people with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease. She earned her MD and PhD degrees at UC San Diego through the Medical Scientist Training Program before completing Internal Medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship training through the Physician Scientist Training Program. Her clinical focus is in hepatology and in particular providing comprehensive care for individuals with alcohol-associated liver disease, while her research seeks to uncover microbiome‑based risk factors to inform new treatments and improve patient outcomes. She is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of physician scientists. Outside the lab, she loves hiking, visiting national parks, reading with her cats, and cooking/baking for friends and family.
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Linton Freund, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Linton is a postdoctoral scholar and current NIH T32 fellow with an interest in leveraging meta-omics techniques to understand the microbial ecology of the gut microbiome. They earned their PhD from University of California, Riverside and focused on the microbial diversity of the Salton Sea, an extreme ecosystem in Southern California. They use their passion for bioinformatics and ecology to answer questions about interactions within the gut microbiome-liver-brain axis, specifically in patients with alcohol use disorder. Besides research, Linton loves to engage in local mutual aid work, exercise, listen to music and podcasts, and spend time with their partner Erik and their dog daughter Deetsi.
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Shikha Shukla, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Shikha is a neurobiologist focused on uncovering how the gut–brain axis shapes neural function and behavior. Her research explores how gut-derived proteins, metabolites, and the microbiome influence neuronal health, brain aging, and the neural circuits that contribute to alcohol addiction. She has worked extensively with C. elegans, mouse models, and mammalian cell lines, integrating molecular, microbial, and behavioral approaches to uncover mechanisms at the gut–brain interface and identify novel therapeutic targets. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing badminton, working out, dancing, and always trying to learn something new.
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Amelia Orgill
Clinical Research Coordinator
Amelia Orgill is a fourth-year undergraduate at UC San Diego majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology. She manages participant recruitment and data collection for the lab’s clinical research studies and contributes to clinical research projects investigating health outcomes in patients with alcohol use disorder and liver disease. She plans to pursue a career in medicine and aims to bridge scientific discovery with meaningful improvements in clinical care.