Kohta Ikegami, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Kohta opened his laboratory at the Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2021. Before joining CCHMC, he obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo in Japan, completed his postdoctoral training at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Princeton University, and served as an Instructor at University of Chicago. Email: kohta.ikegami@cchmc.org

Melanie Gucwa, M.S.

Research Assistant/Master student

Melanie is originally from Chicago, IL and received her Bachelor’s degree in biology from Carthage College. Her passions are in molecular biology and understanding new laboratory techniques in biomedical research. She joined the Ikegami lab in September 2022, and her work focuses on constructing a new method to obtain single cell information in complex tissues such as heart tissue. Outside of the lab, she enjoys going to museums and experiencing new things with friends and family.

Atsuki “Atsu” En, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Atsu joined the Ikegami lab in 2022. Atsu completed his Ph.D. at Yokohama City University in Japan. Atsu’s primary interest is the cellular and molecular basis of aging. Atsu is supported by JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Wataru Katano, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Wataru joined the Ikegami lab in January 2024. Wataru completed his Ph.D. at Toyo University in Japan. Wataru is interested in heart development and functions. Wataru is currently studying lamin’s functions during heart development.

Nonso Nduka, B.S.

Graduate Student

Nonso is a graduate student in the Development, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (DSRM) graduate program at Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati. He completed B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences in Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Nigeria. He investigates LMNA-associated dilated cardiomyopathy mouse models to understand mechanisms culminating to heart failure in the patients. Nonso joined the lab in 2024.

Ella Radvany

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF)

Ella is an undergraduate student studying biochemistry and molecular biology at Lewis & Clark College. She is especially interested in the cardiovascular system and hopes to become a physician scientist. Ella joined the lab as a SURF student in 2025. She enjoys learning molecular biology to better understand mechanisms of disease.

Former lab members

Ellie Rohrer ¹(2023–2025, Undergraduate Researcher)
Jake Childress² (2024, SURF student, University of Kentucky)
MaryKay Birtcil (2023, SURF student, Thomas More University)
Hanumakumar Bogireddi (2022–2023, Research Assistant)
Briana Thomas (2022–2023, Research Assistant)
Bo Stoll (2022, SURF student, Thomas More University)
Kaleigh Loveless (2021-2022, University of Cincinnati Biomedical Engineering CO-OP student)
Mason Griffith (2021, Research Assistant, CCHMC)
Omar Almakki (2018-2021, Undergrad, U Chicago)
Sunny Liu (2019-2020, Undergrad, U Chicago => Duke Med School)
Natalia Ayres (2018-2020, Undergrad, U Chicago)
Vera Beilinson (2018-2019, Undergrad, U Chicago => CalTech PhD)
Alexis Stutzman (2016-2018, Undergrad, U Chicago => UNC Chapel Hill PhD)
Stefano Secchia (2015-2016, Visiting master student, U Chicago => EMBL PhD)
April Liang (2013-2015, Undergrad, Princeton => UCSF Med School)

Footnotes below are descriptions when they were in the lab.

Ellie is an undergraduate student in the medical sciences program at the University of Cincinnati. She joined the lab in 2023 and is currently working as a SURF student. She is most interested in molecular biology and the role genetics play in human disease and illness. ↩︎
Jake is an undergraduate student studying chemical engineering at the University of Kentucky. Jake is a pre-med interested in cardiology and other fields in medicine. Jake joined the lab as a SURF student for the summer in 2024. Jake enjoys learning about organic/biological chemistry and subsequent reactions in the body! ↩︎