Jessica Tsai, MD, PhD

Principal Investigator

I am a physician-scientist, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and Keck School of Medicine of USC, Attending Physician in the Cancer and Blood Disease Institute at CHLA, and a Full Member of the Epigenetic Regulation in Cancer Research Program at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. I grew up in the Bay Area and completed my undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Stanford University where I worked in the lab of Craig Heller on sleep homeostasis. I then joined the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Stanford where I completed my PhD in the Neurosciences Program in the lab of Tom Clandinin, focused on understanding synapse maintenance in the  Drosophila visual system. Following my MD/PhD, I completed my residency in Pediatrics at the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center and my clinical fellowship in Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I completed my post-doctoral work in the lab of Mimi Bandopadhayay, studying mechanisms of oncogenesis in pediatric brain tumors using functional genomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, and high-throughput screening assays. I was an Instructor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and an Attending Physician in Pediatric Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute before moving to Los Angeles.

Research interests: Pediatric cancer, brain tumors, molecular and developmental neuroscience, genetic perturbation and high throughput screening methods.

Favorite food: A three-way tie between oysters, dumplings, and spaghetti (not together)!

Beverage of choice and protocol for preparation: Hario V60 pourover, Philz Coffee whole beans freshly ground, water temperature at 197 F.

Favorite lab technique: CRISPR cloning. Also anything involving Parafilm!

Hobbies: Trying new restaurants, exploring the outdoors with Java and my husband Jim, Peloton-ing, thinking about STEM and building equity, finding the perfect cup of coffee.