Eli Zunder

Eli Zunder, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on analyzing stem cell fate using single-cell mass cytometry and high-dimensional modeling of cell lineage trajectories. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College (2002) and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from UCSF (2008), followed by postdoctoral training in Garry Nolan’s lab at Stanford University. His work has developed novel methods for cell barcoding in mass cytometry, mapping immune system organization, and identifying therapeutic targets in cancer and stem cell reprogramming.

Research Interests: Biotechnology and Biomolecular Engineering, Computational Systems Biology, stem cell differentiation, immune system dynamics, and high-dimensional data analysis. His lab explores mechanisms controlling stem cell behavior in development and disease, with applications in regenerative medicine and drug discovery.

Grants & Projects: Current research includes in vitro differentiation studies to define principles of pluripotency and lineage commitment. His lab develops experimental and computational tools for tracking cell populations at single-cell resolution, such as the FLOW-MAP trajectory mapping algorithm and ensemble clustering methods like ESCHR. Projects focus on neurodevelopment, immune system plasticity, and disease models like ALS and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Labs & Teams: The Zunder Lab at the University of Virginia collaborates across disciplines to integrate cutting-edge cytometry techniques with systems biology approaches. Key collaborations include work on immune signaling dynamics and metabolic pathways in neurodegenerative diseases.