People

Meet the Principal Investigator

Dayoung Oh, Ph.D.

Dr. Dayoung Oh is an Associate Professor in the Touchstone Diabetes Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Neuroendocrinology under the mentorship of Dr. Jae Young Seong, where she made several important contributions to understanding G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathways and identifying ligands for orphan GPCRs using high-throughput systems.

In the summer of 2007, Dr. Oh joined the laboratory of Dr. Jerrold Olefsky at the University of California, San Diego as a postdoctoral fellow. There, she discovered GPR120 as an omega-3 fatty acid receptor that mediates anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing effects. Her work resulted in several high-impact publications that continue to influence the field.

She joined the UTSW faculty in 2017 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2025. Her lab focuses on the role of GPCRs in obesity, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and aging-related metabolic syndromes. The Oh Lab uses a multidisciplinary approach that includes global and tissue-specific GPCR knockout mouse models, molecular and cellular biology techniques, and protein and nucleic acid biochemistry. The long-term goal of her research is to understand how GPCRs regulate metabolism and to uncover new therapeutic opportunities for metabolic disease.

In her limited free time, Dr. Oh enjoys painting abstract art and spending time with her husband and their four beloved pets. Now an early empty nester with her teenage son away at boarding school, she embraces this new chapter with a mix of pride, curiosity, and creativity.

Current Lab Members

Xuenan (Nancy) Sun, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nancy joined the Oh Lab in 2018, and concentrates on functional characterization of GPR84 in various aspects of metabolism. Xuenan received her Ph.D in Biochemistry and molecular biology from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2018, where she was involved in the role of nuclear receptors in immune cells on cardiovascular disease.

In her free time, she enjoys music, swimming, and watching movies.

Angelica Morales Cueva

Graduate Student

Angelica joined the Oh Lab as a graduate student in 2025. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology, with minors in Chemistry and Spanish, from Molloy University on Long Island, New York. Following graduation, she completed a two-year postbaccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she worked in the Laboratory of Genetics and Biochemistry under the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Her research focused on centriole duplication in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In the Oh Lab, Angelica is investigating the role of GPR120 in adipogenesis, aiming to better understand how GPCR signaling regulates fat cell development and function.

Outside the lab, Angelica enjoys lifting weights, reading both fiction and nonfiction, drinking plenty of coffee, and spending time with her cat, Almendra.

Ayanna Cobb

Lab Manager/Staff Scientist

Ayanna explored the ins and outs of animal care with a variety species in the Animal Resource Center in UTSW for 7 years. She worked her way up as a Chief Animal Technician before transitioning to the Oh lab in 2021. Currently, she oversees both lab maintenance and basic research techniques, deepening her understanding of the field.

On her time off, Ayanna enjoys fitness activities, art, live music, and entertaining her two cats, Niko and Coi.