Team

Meet our team


Current Lab Members


Hien Dang, Ph.D.
Vice Chair of Research, Division of Surgical Research Department of Surgery
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery/Cancer Biology
Loves tacos and cannot lie.
Adam Wojnar, M.S.
Research Assistant II
Project: Using bioinformatics to investigate the relationship between NELFE and MYC-induced HCCs
Believes cheese and beef jerky are the two greatest things in the world
Anna Barry, M.S.
Research Assistant II
Project: Role of AGO2 in promoting HCC independent of RISC.
Loves going to the beach, hiking, & Founders craft beer
Meghan Grim, B.S.
Master’s student
Project: Investigating the use of antisense oligonucleotides and the involvement of NELFE in pancreatic cancer
Enjoys hiking and hanging out with houseplants
Brittany Ruiz, B.S.
PhD Student
Project: Understanding AGO2’s role in regulating transcription in hepatocellular carcinoma
Enjoys spending time with family and exploring Philly
Alvaro Lucci, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Fellow
Project: Elucidating AGO2's role and its relationship with NELFE in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Plays musical instruments and spicy food could kill him very fast
Laura Reynolds, B.S.
Doctoral Candidate
Project: Validating a therapeutic targeting NELFE in HCC and investigating the mechanisms of NELFE in liver cancer.
Loves photography and going for walks around the city.

Alumni


Kai Zhang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Nanjing University, China
Project: NELFE single nucleotide polymorphism and its functional and clinical importance in HCC progression.
Enjoys the outdoors, and drinking a nice cold Pilsner
Michelle Schafer, B.Sc.
Medical Student, Thomas Jefferson University
Project: NELFE and its role in HCC.
Loves to run around Philadelphia with her dog, Cooper
Rajkumar Baldeosingh, M.S.
Contractor, Sparks Therapeutics
Project: Regulation of MYC-induced transcription by NELFE
Does not believe in vegetables, but thinks “Taco Bell has all the nutrients I need”
Ryan Lamm, M.D.
Resident
Department of Surgery
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Project: Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen to identify therapeutic targets against NELFE-driven HCCs
Was once the lead singer in a rock band