Hans C Dreyer
Associate Professor of Human Physiology
Associate Member, Knight Campus
hcdreyer[at]uoregon.edu
Hans was born in Oslo, Norway and was raised in Southern California. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with a clinical degree in Physical Therapy and worked for a year before returning to school to do graduate work in the labs of Bob Wiswell and Cesar Blanco at the University of Southern California. In 2004, he completed his PhD in Biokinesiology and then went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship in the labs of Blake Rasmussen and Elena Volpi at the University of Texas Medical Branch, at Galveston, studying muscle metabolism. In 2009, following the post-doc and after two years as a Research Assistant Professor he took a position at the University of Oregon in the Department of Human Physiology. When not in the lab Hans enjoys skiing, hiking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest with his family.
Helia Megowan
PhD Student
heliam[at]uoregon.edu
Helia is a second year PhD student from Portland, Oregon. Her research focuses on changes in myonuclei with nutrition and exercise protocols, and most of her time in lab is spent on microscopes looking at single muscle cells. Helia completed her undergraduate degree in Biology here at UO, taking classes focused specifically on cellular and molecular biology. Before she came to Eugene, she pursued a career as a professional ballet dancer in Germany! In her free time, she loves to lift weights, go running, spend money on groceries, and listen to music.
Kaitlyn Augienello
Undergraduate Student
Knight Campus Undergraduate, Wuest Scholar
Megan A. and Thomas K. Wuest Scholar
kaugien2[at]uoregon.edu
Kaitlyn was raised in New York and moved to Las Vegas when she was 11. She attended a Career & Technical high school with a focus in Biomedical Sciences before committing to the University of Oregon in 2021. She is a senior studying Human Physiology and Psychology. She joined the lab in October 2022 and has been working on cross-sectional analysis of skeletal muscle fibers. She is currently working on graduate school applications for programs in Clinical Research, Epidemiology, and Public Health. In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys serving as a volunteer in the human anatomy lab, working out, and watching TV with friends.
Adam Shuaib
Undergraduate Student
ashuaib[at]uoregon.edu
Esben Schroeder
Undergraduate Student
Human Performance Alliance Undergraduate Fellow
esbens[at]uoregon.edu
Esben was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Now a current 4th year undergraduate majoring in Human Physiology and minoring in Chemistry, Esben been a member of the Dreyer Lab since January of 2023. Esben spends the majority of his time in the lab focused on optimizing image analysis workflow for the single fiber approach, utilizing image analysis software Imaris to render single muscle fibers in 3D for analysis of myonuclear number, morphological features, and fiber length. When he’s not in the lab, you can find him working out, playing soccer, skiing, and drinking egregious amounts of milk before bed. Following the University of Oregon, Esben plans to pursue post-graduate education in either medicine or clinical research.
Gabriel Mancuso
Undergraduate Student
gmancuso[at]uoregon.edu
Gabriel (Gabe) was born and raised in San Jose, California. He is a current undergraduate at the University of Oregon studying Human Physiology, chemistry, and biology. Under the excellent mentorship of Dr. Hans Dreyer, he has developed a deep love for muscle damage and researching. He is excited to continue his work in the topics of muscle damage and muscle regeneration to further his passion for the medical field. He also works as a medical scribe for a Dr. Brady walker for the Oregon Urology Institution. Gabriel loves to work out and watching fishing and camping videos. Also, he is very into cooking and watching sports.
Emily Wolf
Undergraduate Student
ewolf6[at]uoregon.edu
Emily was born and raised in Santa Clara, CA. She is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon majoring in Human Physiology. Under the mentorship of Hans Dreyer, she assists with biopsies, blood flow restriction protocols, and has some experience cutting tissue on the Cryostat. Outside of the lab, Emily enjoys going to pilates, spending time with family, and outdoor walks/hikes.
Nitai Gaash
Undergraduate Student
nwg[at]uoregon.edu
Nitai grew up in Southern California. He is a current undergraduate at the University of Oregon/Robert D. Clark Honors College studying Human Physiology. Under the mentorship of Dr. Hans Dreyer, he is working to better understand the relationship between essential amino acid (EAA) ingestion and blood flow restriction exercise on recovery of muscle structure and function, with a focus on myonuclear regeneration. He is excited to further his knowledge in the field of orthopedics. In his free time, Nitai enjoys running, reading, hiking, and surfing.
Lia Godino
Undergraduate Student
lgodino[at]uoregon.edu
Lia is from Portland, Oregon. She is an undergraduate at Clark Honors College majoring in human physiology and minoring in chemistry on the pre-medical route. She has been a member of the lab since November 2023, and she has been working on the single fiber end of tissue analysis. She’s spent the past year staining and preparing microscope slides and learning to image on the THUNDER microscope to quantify individual myonuclei. She is passionate about clinical research with immediate applications and eager to help run the next study from start to finish. Lia is a lover of all outdoor adventure activities. You can find her rock climbing, biking, mountaineering around the Cascade Range, and backpacking.
Mahathi Sridhar
Undergraduate Student
msridhar[at]uoregon.edu
Mahathi was born and raised in Tualatin, Oregon, and is an undergraduate student in the Robert D. Clark Honors College here at the University of Oregon. She is majoring in human physiology with minors in political science and chemistry, and she is on the pre-medical track. Since joining the lab in November 2023, Mahathi has worked primarily on the single fiber team where she is responsible for staining and imaging muscle fibers and tissue analysis. She is also one of the members of the team that is running the upcoming study that is looking to investigate the effect of blood flow restriction and essential amino acid supplementation on muscle fibers that have gone through eccentric muscle damage protocols. Mahathi is passionate about equitable health outcomes and health policy. When she is not in the lab you can find Mahathi exploring Eugene on her bike, running, and cooking!
Makayla Dreyer
Undergraduate Student
mdreyer[at]uoregon.edu
Nadia Awwad
Undergraduate Student
awwad[at]uoregon.edu
Nadia grew up in Tucson, Arizona and is a current undergraduate sophomore at the University of Oregon/Robert D. Clark Honors College. She is studying Human Physiology with a minor in Chemistry as well as Global Health. She enjoys weightlifting and going on hikes with friends. Currently in the lab, she makes essential amino acid drinks for our participants and prepares single fiber slides for analysis on the Imaris program.
Payton Gavaldon
Undergraduate Student
phg[at]uoregon.edu
Payton was born in Albuquerque, NM, but spent most of his life in Chicago, IL. He is currently a third year undergraduate at the University of Oregon studying Multidisciplinary Science with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. In the Dreyer lab, Payton is excited to learn how to use Imaris in order to analyze and export data surrounding myonuclei and muscle fiber length, as well as well as how to isolate and antibody tag the myonuclei of the muscle fibers. In his free time, Payton enjoys playing video games, playing guitar, watching sports, going on hikes, and playing with his kitten, Ace.
Lana Dezay
Undergraduate Student
ldezay[at]uoregon.edu
Lana is from Lake Oswego, Oregon. She is an undergraduate student at the Clark Honors College majoring in human physiology and minoring in Spanish on the pre-dental route. In the Dreyer lab, she prepares single fiber slides for analysis on the Imaris program and makes essential amino acid drinks. In her free time, she enjoys running, painting, hiking, and hanging out with friends/family.