PCAT Staff
Imane Moutkine, MSc is the Manager of the Parnassus Center for Advanced Technologies (PCAT) at UCSF, where she oversees the development and implementation of high-throughput robotics protocols and facilitates access to cutting-edge molecular biology resources for the research community. With a strong background in cell biology and physiology, she brings extensive experience in molecular and cellular techniques to support and advance UCSF’s research mission.
Imane earned her B.S. in Cell Biology and Physiology from the University of Tours, France, where she contributed to groundbreaking research on kidney disease, helping to define the plasma membrane targeting of podocin via the classical exocytic pathway. Building on this foundation, she pursued postgraduate training in Cellular Engineering at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, in collaboration with Yale School of Medicine, where she focused on the role of autophagy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its interactions with host cells.
Prior to joining UCSF, Imane held research positions at prestigious institutions such as the Institut Imagine in Paris, where she investigated hereditary nephropathies and kidney development, and the Institut du Fer à Moulin, a leading neuroscience research center in Paris. There, she led a molecular biology platform supporting multiple research teams, contributing to projects aimed at understanding the role of microglia in brain function and their regulation by serotonin.
At PCAT, Imane is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art resources to support collaborative projects and drive innovation across multiple disciplines. Her leadership helps ensure that PCAT remains a vital resource for UCSF researchers by offering advanced instrumentation, technical expertise, and training to accelerate scientific discovery.
Dr. Michael T McManus, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF and holds the Vincent and Stella Coates Endowed Chair. As a leader in the field, he has spearheaded a diverse and collaborative research program that focuses on developing innovative technologies to address fundamental questions in gene function, with applications spanning health and disease. His lab embraces a systematic and synthetic biology approach, encouraging students, postdocs, and research staff to leverage cutting-edge tools and methodologies to tackle complex biological challenges.
In addition to leading his lab, Dr. McManus is an active member of several key UCSF initiatives, including the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, the Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Diabetes Center, the Eli & Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, and the Innovative Genomics Institute. His research integrates computational and synthetic biology to develop scalable solutions for studying gene regulation and function, and his contributions have led to the development of novel approaches that have been widely adopted by the scientific community.
Dr. McManus is committed to fostering an environment of shared resources and collaboration, ensuring that advanced technologies are accessible to the broader research community. His efforts have contributed to high-impact discoveries and the dissemination of innovative tools that support UCSF’s mission to advance biomedical science. Throughout his career, he has been recognized with numerous awards, including the WM Keck Award, New Technologies Award, Breakthrough Technologies Award, and the NIH Transformative Research Award.
As part of his ongoing commitment to technology development and collaboration, Dr. McManus actively supports initiatives like the Parnassus Center for Advanced Technologies (PCAT), which provides a shared instrumentation environment for UCSF researchers. His work aligns with PCAT’s mission to bring new technologies to the research community, facilitate collaborations, and ensure that resources are available to support groundbreaking scientific discoveries.