Anthony Lanahan, MS, PhD
Dr. Lanahan holds an MS in Biochemical Sciences and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. His postdoctoral training research investigated the molecular regulation of cell growth in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Nathans (Nobel Prize 1978) at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Currently he is an Associate Research Scientist in the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center (YCVRC) where his research investigates the arteriogenic signaling cascade in hopes of ultimately being able to directly activate this cascade in order to develop therapeutic approaches for treating disease states not responsive to VEGF. Additionally he helps to run and maintain the YCVRC microscope core facility.
Dr. Lanahan holds an MS in Biochemical Sciences and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. His postdoctoral training research investigated the molecular regulation of cell growth in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Nathans (Nobel Prize 1978) at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Currently he is an Associate Research Scientist in the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center (YCVRC) where his research investigates the arteriogenic signaling cascade in hopes of ultimately being able to directly activate this cascade in order to develop therapeutic approaches for treating disease states not responsive to VEGF. Additionally he helps to run and maintain the YCVRC microscope core facility.
Alex K. Lancaster, PhD
Dr. Lancaster received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in Computational and Genomic Biology and also holds two bachelor's degrees, a BSc in physics and a BE in electrical engineering, both from the University of Sydney. He currently works in the field of computational and evolutionary systems biology. He holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and is also Research Associate in the Center for Biomedical Informatics at HMS, and a Visiting Scientist at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. He has over 10 years of experience in many aspects of computational biology, including pioneering work in developing the Swarm toolkit for agent-based modeling at the Santa Fe Institute for Complex Adaptive Systems in New Mexico, and was a founding board member of the non-profit Swarm Development Group. His research interests are in three main areas: (1) Understanding the interplay of evolvability and robustness: how organisms can simultaneously generate phenotypic novelty, yet be buffered against the forces of genetic and environmental change using model systems and mathematical modeling. (2) Building on this work to identify cellular networks underpinning the genotype-phenotype map and to apply these insights to help identify mechanistic underpinnings of human diseases using high-throughput systems biology and genomics approaches. (3) Developing computational methodologies, algorithms and software for systems biology, sequence analysis and next generation short-read sequencing data.
Dr. Lancaster received his Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in Computational and Genomic Biology and also holds two bachelor's degrees, a BSc in physics and a BE in electrical engineering, both from the University of Sydney. He currently works in the field of computational and evolutionary systems biology. He holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and is also Research Associate in the Center for Biomedical Informatics at HMS, and a Visiting Scientist at the Whitehead Institute at MIT. He has over 10 years of experience in many aspects of computational biology, including pioneering work in developing the Swarm toolkit for agent-based modeling at the Santa Fe Institute for Complex Adaptive Systems in New Mexico, and was a founding board member of the non-profit Swarm Development Group. His research interests are in three main areas: (1) Understanding the interplay of evolvability and robustness: how organisms can simultaneously generate phenotypic novelty, yet be buffered against the forces of genetic and environmental change using model systems and mathematical modeling. (2) Building on this work to identify cellular networks underpinning the genotype-phenotype map and to apply these insights to help identify mechanistic underpinnings of human diseases using high-throughput systems biology and genomics approaches. (3) Developing computational methodologies, algorithms and software for systems biology, sequence analysis and next generation short-read sequencing data.
Richard Li, PhD
Dr. Li received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Southern California in 2019, researching applications of quantum computing. Part of his research one of the first applications of quantum computing to a problem of interest to biologists – that of modeling transcription factor binding to DNA. He also demonstrated the first application of quantum computing on human cancer data, showing competitive results with conventional machine learning algorithms, and in the process uncovered a class of algorithms that perform better than conventional approaches with a small amount of training data. After graduating, he began working as a Senior Computational Statistician at what is now Genuity Science, where he has applied and developed machine learning algorithms to discover potential drug targets and biomarkers.
Dr. Li received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Southern California in 2019, researching applications of quantum computing. Part of his research one of the first applications of quantum computing to a problem of interest to biologists – that of modeling transcription factor binding to DNA. He also demonstrated the first application of quantum computing on human cancer data, showing competitive results with conventional machine learning algorithms, and in the process uncovered a class of algorithms that perform better than conventional approaches with a small amount of training data. After graduating, he began working as a Senior Computational Statistician at what is now Genuity Science, where he has applied and developed machine learning algorithms to discover potential drug targets and biomarkers.
C. Jimmy Lin, MD, PhD, MHS
Dr. Lin is a 2012 TED Fellow and Founder & President of Rare Genomics Institute, the world's first platform to enable any community to leverage cutting-edge biotechnology to advance understanding of any rare disease. Partnering with 18 of the top medical institutions, such as Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford, RGI helps custom design personalized research projects for diseases so rare that no organization exists to help. Previously, Dr. Lin was a medical school faculty member at the Washington University in St. Louis and, while at Johns Hopkins, led the computational analysis of the first ever exome sequencing studies for any human disease. He has numerous publications in Science, Nature, Cell, Nature Genetics, and Nature Biotechnology, and has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the Huffington Post.
Dr. Lin is a 2012 TED Fellow and Founder & President of Rare Genomics Institute, the world's first platform to enable any community to leverage cutting-edge biotechnology to advance understanding of any rare disease. Partnering with 18 of the top medical institutions, such as Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford, RGI helps custom design personalized research projects for diseases so rare that no organization exists to help. Previously, Dr. Lin was a medical school faculty member at the Washington University in St. Louis and, while at Johns Hopkins, led the computational analysis of the first ever exome sequencing studies for any human disease. He has numerous publications in Science, Nature, Cell, Nature Genetics, and Nature Biotechnology, and has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the Huffington Post.
Michael Lodato, PhD
Dr. Michael Lodato is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Cancer Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is a graduate of Hofstra University (BS 2005) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. 2012). Dr. Lodato trained in neuroscience, aging, and somatic mutation during his postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The Lodato lab focuses on studying mosaic mutations in the human brain using cutting-edge, single-cell, whole-genome sequencing techniques. In 2018, Dr. Lodato was named a Kreig Cortical Explorer by the Cajal Club, the oldest organization in North America dedicated to studying the structure and function of the cerebral cortex. Dr. Lodato was named as a Next Generation Lead by the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2019, and has received the Charles H. Hood Child Health Award, the Glenn Foundation and American Federation for Aging Junior Faculty Award, and a K99/R00 Award from the National Institute on Aging.
Dr. Michael Lodato is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Cancer Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is a graduate of Hofstra University (BS 2005) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. 2012). Dr. Lodato trained in neuroscience, aging, and somatic mutation during his postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The Lodato lab focuses on studying mosaic mutations in the human brain using cutting-edge, single-cell, whole-genome sequencing techniques. In 2018, Dr. Lodato was named a Kreig Cortical Explorer by the Cajal Club, the oldest organization in North America dedicated to studying the structure and function of the cerebral cortex. Dr. Lodato was named as a Next Generation Lead by the Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2019, and has received the Charles H. Hood Child Health Award, the Glenn Foundation and American Federation for Aging Junior Faculty Award, and a K99/R00 Award from the National Institute on Aging.
Jose Malagon Lopez, PhD
Dr. Lopez is a Computational Statistician with extensive background in biomedical data analysis, genome-editing and mathematical research. His current interests include characterization of single cell populations and their spatio-temporal evolution and statistical learning applications in modeling and simulation. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Northeastern University and a S.M. in Biostatistics from Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Lopez is a Computational Statistician with extensive background in biomedical data analysis, genome-editing and mathematical research. His current interests include characterization of single cell populations and their spatio-temporal evolution and statistical learning applications in modeling and simulation. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Northeastern University and a S.M. in Biostatistics from Harvard School of Public Health.
Mano Joseph Mathew, PhD
Dr. Mano Joseph Mathew, PhD is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) in Marseille, France. He received a PhD in Infectious Disease – Bioinformatics in 2013 from - Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) -UMR 6236, a joint research unit set up by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) from the University of Aix-Marseille, Marseille, France. During his PhD period his research was directed towards understanding the intracellular bacterial genome repertoire using comparative genomics. He holds a Masters degree in Bioinformatics from Sikkim Manipal University, India and a Bachelors in Biotechnology with specialities in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Sardar Patel University, India. His current research activity is to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of differentiation events during lymphocyte development, including antigen receptor gene expression and recombination. He focuses on the normal and pathological lymphoid differentiation by understanding epigenetic mechanisms. As a bioinformatician he uses high-throughput genomics Chip-Seq, RNA-Seq, Microarray and ExomeSeq data to decipher functional activity of TLX homeodomain oncogenes in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He is a keen enthusiast in the field of Epigenomics, Next Generation Sequencing Data analysis and Phylogenomics. e.g. DNA-Seq, Exome-Seq, targeted re-sequencing, RNA-Seq, Bisulfite Sequencing, Galaxy, Sequence analysis, Microarray and Phylogeny. As an experienced University lecturer, he develops and supervises research training programs / lectures for universities in India.
Dr. Mano Joseph Mathew, PhD is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) in Marseille, France. He received a PhD in Infectious Disease – Bioinformatics in 2013 from - Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) -UMR 6236, a joint research unit set up by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) from the University of Aix-Marseille, Marseille, France. During his PhD period his research was directed towards understanding the intracellular bacterial genome repertoire using comparative genomics. He holds a Masters degree in Bioinformatics from Sikkim Manipal University, India and a Bachelors in Biotechnology with specialities in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Sardar Patel University, India. His current research activity is to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of differentiation events during lymphocyte development, including antigen receptor gene expression and recombination. He focuses on the normal and pathological lymphoid differentiation by understanding epigenetic mechanisms. As a bioinformatician he uses high-throughput genomics Chip-Seq, RNA-Seq, Microarray and ExomeSeq data to decipher functional activity of TLX homeodomain oncogenes in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He is a keen enthusiast in the field of Epigenomics, Next Generation Sequencing Data analysis and Phylogenomics. e.g. DNA-Seq, Exome-Seq, targeted re-sequencing, RNA-Seq, Bisulfite Sequencing, Galaxy, Sequence analysis, Microarray and Phylogeny. As an experienced University lecturer, he develops and supervises research training programs / lectures for universities in India.
Devan Moodley, PhD
Dr. Moodley is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School. His work is primarily in the field of Systems Immunology and he is part of a group that investigates gene regulatory networks in immune cells. He has a strong interest in developing microfluidic technologies to measure gene network dynamics in immune cells. His earlier postdoctoral research investigated the role of non-coding RNA in the development on immunological tolerance. Dr. Moodley is a medical biochemist by training. During his doctoral studies in South Africa, he investigated abnormalities in rheumatoid peripheral lymphocytes using biochemical approaches. In particular, his studies showed for the first time that mitochondrial dysfunction in circulating lymphocytes played a role in severity of rheumatic disease. In addition, his studies showed that peripheral lymphocytes in rheumatoid arthritis initiate apoptosis whilst in circulation, but fail to fully execute the program and thus persist. This was shown to be dependent on cell stress responses mediated by heat shock protein 70.
Dr. Moodley is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology at Harvard Medical School. His work is primarily in the field of Systems Immunology and he is part of a group that investigates gene regulatory networks in immune cells. He has a strong interest in developing microfluidic technologies to measure gene network dynamics in immune cells. His earlier postdoctoral research investigated the role of non-coding RNA in the development on immunological tolerance. Dr. Moodley is a medical biochemist by training. During his doctoral studies in South Africa, he investigated abnormalities in rheumatoid peripheral lymphocytes using biochemical approaches. In particular, his studies showed for the first time that mitochondrial dysfunction in circulating lymphocytes played a role in severity of rheumatic disease. In addition, his studies showed that peripheral lymphocytes in rheumatoid arthritis initiate apoptosis whilst in circulation, but fail to fully execute the program and thus persist. This was shown to be dependent on cell stress responses mediated by heat shock protein 70.
Jason H. Moore, PhD
Dr. Moore received his B.S. in Biological Sciences at Florida State University where he focused on undergraduate research in molecular evolution. He then attended graduate school at the University of Michigan where he completed an M.A. in Applied Statistics and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Genetics. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1999, Dr. Moore accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Center for Human Genetics Research, the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University Medical School. Dr. Moore was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2003 and was awarded an endowed Ingram Professorship in Cancer Research. In 2004, Dr. Moore moved to Dartmouth Medical School as the Frank Lane Research Scholar in Computational Genetics, Associate Professor of Genetics and Associate Professor of Community and Family Medicine. In 2008 he was promoted to Professor of Genetics and Community and Family Medicine with tenure. In 2010 he was awarded an endowed Third Century Professorship and appointed founding Director of the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences. He also serves as Director of the Graduate Program in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences and Associate Director of Bioinformatics for the Norris-Cotton Cancer Center. Dr. Moore’s NIH-funded research program focuses on the development, evaluation and application of computational methods for identifying and characterizing gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in population-based studies of common human diseases. In 2012 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in recognition of his scholarship in the areas of computational genetics and bioinformatics.
Dr. Moore received his B.S. in Biological Sciences at Florida State University where he focused on undergraduate research in molecular evolution. He then attended graduate school at the University of Michigan where he completed an M.A. in Applied Statistics and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Genetics. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1999, Dr. Moore accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Center for Human Genetics Research, the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University Medical School. Dr. Moore was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2003 and was awarded an endowed Ingram Professorship in Cancer Research. In 2004, Dr. Moore moved to Dartmouth Medical School as the Frank Lane Research Scholar in Computational Genetics, Associate Professor of Genetics and Associate Professor of Community and Family Medicine. In 2008 he was promoted to Professor of Genetics and Community and Family Medicine with tenure. In 2010 he was awarded an endowed Third Century Professorship and appointed founding Director of the Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences. He also serves as Director of the Graduate Program in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences and Associate Director of Bioinformatics for the Norris-Cotton Cancer Center. Dr. Moore’s NIH-funded research program focuses on the development, evaluation and application of computational methods for identifying and characterizing gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in population-based studies of common human diseases. In 2012 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in recognition of his scholarship in the areas of computational genetics and bioinformatics.
Afsaneh Morteza, MD-MPH
Dr. Morteza is a clinical and translational researcher, with more than 6 years of experience in the field of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes, inflammation, Oxidative stress and atherosclerosis. She has designed and managed comprehensive research studies (pre-clinical and clinical) conducted at national and international universities. Dr. Morteza first worked on serum levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers such as heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), C-reactive protein (CRP), and oxidized LDL in patients with type 2 diabetes. She discovered while short term (3 months) metformin therapy modulates inflammatory markers, patients with long standing diabetes, who were on metformin, have high levels of HSP70, ox-LDL and CRP. Her research group also showed that alterations in inflammatory markers are gender dependent. Specifically, inflammation is more severe and less responsive to treatment in women with type 2 diabetes. In a couple of studies aiming to define the early predictors of type 2 diabetes complication, she showed the value of HDL in the prediction of albuminuria and silent myocardial ischemia. She succeeded in developing a neural network model and conditional logistic regression analysis, showing HDL-C as the most important predictor of albuminuria and silent myocardial ischemia in type 2 diabetes. Thereafter she worked on the effect of HDL-C from patients with the metabolic syndrome on glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from INS-1E beta cell line. She set up the bioassay that measured diabetic HDL functionality for GSIS. Dr. Morteza is a graduate of Tehran University of Medical Science with MD-MPH degree and currently works as a cardiovascular Research Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Morteza is a clinical and translational researcher, with more than 6 years of experience in the field of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes, inflammation, Oxidative stress and atherosclerosis. She has designed and managed comprehensive research studies (pre-clinical and clinical) conducted at national and international universities. Dr. Morteza first worked on serum levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers such as heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), C-reactive protein (CRP), and oxidized LDL in patients with type 2 diabetes. She discovered while short term (3 months) metformin therapy modulates inflammatory markers, patients with long standing diabetes, who were on metformin, have high levels of HSP70, ox-LDL and CRP. Her research group also showed that alterations in inflammatory markers are gender dependent. Specifically, inflammation is more severe and less responsive to treatment in women with type 2 diabetes. In a couple of studies aiming to define the early predictors of type 2 diabetes complication, she showed the value of HDL in the prediction of albuminuria and silent myocardial ischemia. She succeeded in developing a neural network model and conditional logistic regression analysis, showing HDL-C as the most important predictor of albuminuria and silent myocardial ischemia in type 2 diabetes. Thereafter she worked on the effect of HDL-C from patients with the metabolic syndrome on glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from INS-1E beta cell line. She set up the bioassay that measured diabetic HDL functionality for GSIS. Dr. Morteza is a graduate of Tehran University of Medical Science with MD-MPH degree and currently works as a cardiovascular Research Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard Medical School.
Mohana Nagda
Mohana Nagda is in her third year at Drexel University pursuing a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering. She is concentrating in tissue engineering along with a minor in business administration. Mohana is enrolled in a five year program in which she has the opportunity to complete three, six month co-ops. Currently, she is in the midst of her second co-op as a Product Engineer for one of Johnson and Johnson's diabetes solution companies, Animas Corporation in Wayne, PA. She is working on improving post-market engineering designs for Animas' insulin pumps. Mohana leads and conducts engineering tests as well as writes engineering test reports enforcing GDP implementation. She has had the opportunity to attend pre-market approval meetings to gain insight on FDA regulations and requirements for class three medical devices. For her first co-op, Mohana worked as a Research Associate for Dr. Simon Robson at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. At Beth Israel, Mohana worked alongside Dr. Phillip Brondon exploring the effects of low level light therapy on colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. She is a co-author of a published abstract for Digestive Disease Week 2014. Back on campus, Mohana is a chapter member of The Society of Women Engineers and the Delta Zeta Sorority. In her pursuit of the biomedical field, Mohana hopes to apply her innate passion to help improve the quality of human life.
Mohana Nagda is in her third year at Drexel University pursuing a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering. She is concentrating in tissue engineering along with a minor in business administration. Mohana is enrolled in a five year program in which she has the opportunity to complete three, six month co-ops. Currently, she is in the midst of her second co-op as a Product Engineer for one of Johnson and Johnson's diabetes solution companies, Animas Corporation in Wayne, PA. She is working on improving post-market engineering designs for Animas' insulin pumps. Mohana leads and conducts engineering tests as well as writes engineering test reports enforcing GDP implementation. She has had the opportunity to attend pre-market approval meetings to gain insight on FDA regulations and requirements for class three medical devices. For her first co-op, Mohana worked as a Research Associate for Dr. Simon Robson at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. At Beth Israel, Mohana worked alongside Dr. Phillip Brondon exploring the effects of low level light therapy on colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. She is a co-author of a published abstract for Digestive Disease Week 2014. Back on campus, Mohana is a chapter member of The Society of Women Engineers and the Delta Zeta Sorority. In her pursuit of the biomedical field, Mohana hopes to apply her innate passion to help improve the quality of human life.
Fahd Nasr, PhD
Dr. Nasr is a Professor in Molecular Genetics and Functional Genomics at the faculty of Sciences of the Lebanese University. He is a member of the Lebanese Association for the Advancement of Science since 19 October 2000. He holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology from Pierre and Marie Curie Paris VI University. His postdoctoral training had been in yeast genetics and molecular biology emphasizing the importance of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model and tool in the genomic and post-genomic eras. He had been involved since 2003 in the formulation and implementation of a new university curriculum termed LMD or 3-5-8 program for the faculty of Sciences. This innovation was critical to keep pace with the European and the World systems in higher education whereby credits become transferable between universities and countries. He had also been involved in projects to improve and develop higher education systems in Lebanon in order to further tailor higher education programs to fit the extremely demanding labor market. One of the projects aimed to establish a strategic action plan for higher education and set up the national priorities to attain world-class education and training in Lebanon. Another major challenge was to assess the role and purposes of different doctoral schools at the Lebanese University and draft a new law for the implementation of new doctoral schools. He has been involved in setting up several joint courses for Master’s and postgraduate students e.g. Yeast Genetics and Biology and Systems Biology.
Dr. Nasr is a Professor in Molecular Genetics and Functional Genomics at the faculty of Sciences of the Lebanese University. He is a member of the Lebanese Association for the Advancement of Science since 19 October 2000. He holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology from Pierre and Marie Curie Paris VI University. His postdoctoral training had been in yeast genetics and molecular biology emphasizing the importance of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model and tool in the genomic and post-genomic eras. He had been involved since 2003 in the formulation and implementation of a new university curriculum termed LMD or 3-5-8 program for the faculty of Sciences. This innovation was critical to keep pace with the European and the World systems in higher education whereby credits become transferable between universities and countries. He had also been involved in projects to improve and develop higher education systems in Lebanon in order to further tailor higher education programs to fit the extremely demanding labor market. One of the projects aimed to establish a strategic action plan for higher education and set up the national priorities to attain world-class education and training in Lebanon. Another major challenge was to assess the role and purposes of different doctoral schools at the Lebanese University and draft a new law for the implementation of new doctoral schools. He has been involved in setting up several joint courses for Master’s and postgraduate students e.g. Yeast Genetics and Biology and Systems Biology.
Flávia Cristina Nery, PhD
Dr. Nery is an Instructor in Neuroscience at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) in Boston. Dr. Nery earned her PhD in Human Genetics & Molecular Cell Biology at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) and University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Her thesis focused on functional and structural studies of the regulatory protein, Ki-1/57, involved in Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For her PhD work, Dr. Nery earned the award for the “Best PhD Thesis in Biological Sciences in Brazil” in 2005. Dr. Nery began her work at MGH in 2005. Since then she has studied hereditary of central nervous system (CNS) diseases in which genetic variants lead to chronic neuronal dysfunction. Her emphasis in this area has been focused on characterizing the DYT1 dystonia gene product, torsinA, which underlies a hereditary movement disorder. TorsinA protein acts in common pathways related to neurodegenerative diseases. For her work as an instructor, Dr. Nery has received prestigious awards from the Dystonia Medical Foundation, the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Foundation (PMDF) and the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center Fellowship - Eleanor and Miles Shore Scholar in Medicine. Dr. Nery’s research interests are brain tumors, brain stimulation, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Nery is an Instructor in Neuroscience at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) in Boston. Dr. Nery earned her PhD in Human Genetics & Molecular Cell Biology at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) and University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Her thesis focused on functional and structural studies of the regulatory protein, Ki-1/57, involved in Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For her PhD work, Dr. Nery earned the award for the “Best PhD Thesis in Biological Sciences in Brazil” in 2005. Dr. Nery began her work at MGH in 2005. Since then she has studied hereditary of central nervous system (CNS) diseases in which genetic variants lead to chronic neuronal dysfunction. Her emphasis in this area has been focused on characterizing the DYT1 dystonia gene product, torsinA, which underlies a hereditary movement disorder. TorsinA protein acts in common pathways related to neurodegenerative diseases. For her work as an instructor, Dr. Nery has received prestigious awards from the Dystonia Medical Foundation, the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Foundation (PMDF) and the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center Fellowship - Eleanor and Miles Shore Scholar in Medicine. Dr. Nery’s research interests are brain tumors, brain stimulation, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Jean Peccoud, PhD
Jean Peccoud is an expert in computational synthetic biology. His current scientific interests include the development of linguistic models of DNA sequences, the optimization of DNA fabrication processes, and the development of new instruments to measure the dynamics of gene networks in live cells. Dr Peccoud’s group is leading the development of GenoCAD, an open source web-based application to design synthetic DNA molecules from libraries of standard genetic parts. In the 1990s, Dr Peccoud pioneered the development of stochastic models of genetic networks. Dr Peccoud joined the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in 2006 as Associate Professor. Prior to joining VBI, he was involved in a research program at Du Pont focused on gene and regulatory network discovery, the design of DNA transformation vectors, and the development of methods to analyze the genetic properties of gene networks. Dr Peccoud has been a visiting professor in the department of electrical engineering at the University of Washington, a visiting scholar with Wolfram Research, and the recipient of a NATO Fellowship. Since 2009, he has been an Academic Editor of PLoS ONE. He co-edits the PLoS ONE Synthetic Biology Collection.
Jean Peccoud is an expert in computational synthetic biology. His current scientific interests include the development of linguistic models of DNA sequences, the optimization of DNA fabrication processes, and the development of new instruments to measure the dynamics of gene networks in live cells. Dr Peccoud’s group is leading the development of GenoCAD, an open source web-based application to design synthetic DNA molecules from libraries of standard genetic parts. In the 1990s, Dr Peccoud pioneered the development of stochastic models of genetic networks. Dr Peccoud joined the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in 2006 as Associate Professor. Prior to joining VBI, he was involved in a research program at Du Pont focused on gene and regulatory network discovery, the design of DNA transformation vectors, and the development of methods to analyze the genetic properties of gene networks. Dr Peccoud has been a visiting professor in the department of electrical engineering at the University of Washington, a visiting scholar with Wolfram Research, and the recipient of a NATO Fellowship. Since 2009, he has been an Academic Editor of PLoS ONE. He co-edits the PLoS ONE Synthetic Biology Collection.
Michael Perilstein, SFSPE
Mr. Perilstein is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry and a member of Mensa. He is also a Member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Michael is a Villanova University graduate (having majored in English with minors in Philosophy and Psychology). He is the Author of the philosophical book "A Flaw In The Ointment -- Explaining The Universe: The Difference Between How Things Are And How They Seem To Be". Michael is a noted Film Score Composer whose films include "The Deadly Spawn," "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers," "Winterbeast," "Master Race From Mars," "Muhammad Ali: A Twilight Portrait," "Murder Below The Line" and several others. His released Vinyl LPs released include two versions of "The Deadly Spawn" and a concept album on Ralph Records (home of The Residents), called "Godzilla Vs Your Mother." Michael's released CDs include "Elephants Gliding On Ice," "Winterbeast," and several others. Perilstein has also interviewed noted celebrities and visited film sets for purposes of writing articles free-lance for various newspapers and for doing radio interviews including: The members of Monty Python; Sir Sean Connery (on the set of "Diamonds Are Forever") in London, Sir Roger Moore (on the set of "The Spy Who Loved Me") in London, the late Sir Richard Attenborough (on the set of "Young Winston") in London, the late Sir Alfred Hitchcock (on the set of "Frenzy" in London, the late film score composer John Barry, the late writer Gene Roddenberry, the late writer Paul Dehn, Lily Tomlin, the late Jack Lemmon, and others. Perilstein works, writes, composes and, when possible, travels (having, so far, visited Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Panama, Russia, Sweden, and The Ukraine).
Mr. Perilstein is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry and a member of Mensa. He is also a Member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Michael is a Villanova University graduate (having majored in English with minors in Philosophy and Psychology). He is the Author of the philosophical book "A Flaw In The Ointment -- Explaining The Universe: The Difference Between How Things Are And How They Seem To Be". Michael is a noted Film Score Composer whose films include "The Deadly Spawn," "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers," "Winterbeast," "Master Race From Mars," "Muhammad Ali: A Twilight Portrait," "Murder Below The Line" and several others. His released Vinyl LPs released include two versions of "The Deadly Spawn" and a concept album on Ralph Records (home of The Residents), called "Godzilla Vs Your Mother." Michael's released CDs include "Elephants Gliding On Ice," "Winterbeast," and several others. Perilstein has also interviewed noted celebrities and visited film sets for purposes of writing articles free-lance for various newspapers and for doing radio interviews including: The members of Monty Python; Sir Sean Connery (on the set of "Diamonds Are Forever") in London, Sir Roger Moore (on the set of "The Spy Who Loved Me") in London, the late Sir Richard Attenborough (on the set of "Young Winston") in London, the late Sir Alfred Hitchcock (on the set of "Frenzy" in London, the late film score composer John Barry, the late writer Gene Roddenberry, the late writer Paul Dehn, Lily Tomlin, the late Jack Lemmon, and others. Perilstein works, writes, composes and, when possible, travels (having, so far, visited Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Panama, Russia, Sweden, and The Ukraine).
Tomas Perna, MSc
Tomas Perna, an engineer and mathematician with a self-taught background in philosophy and neuroscience, has pioneered a unique system for solving partial differential equations (PDE). This system incorporates elements of symmetry from transformation groups, leading to the emergence of a 4D-differential structure. This advanced method allows for differentiation of functions within 4D spaces that have complex measures. With over 30 years of expertise, Tomas has delved deep into mathematical modeling of natural processes and mathematical optimization. This foundation intrinsically links to Quantum Field Theory (QFT), interweaving classical physics through the lens of symmetry, especially when information transmission is steered by the Maxwell equations. To deploy this algorithmic blend effectively, a profound understanding of the nature of electric charge movement concerning the problem at hand is crucial. Integrating the trifecta of electric charge movement, symmetry, and quantum fields unveils an intricate and often unpredictable array of complex system degrees of freedom. For instance, when considering network-like connections in information transmission, a distinct code must govern the process. In scenarios that involve neural network models, the presence of a synaptic vesicle becomes imperative. Consequently, problem solutions utilizing finite element meshes align with the rudimentary zeros of the C(AI) code in artificial intelligence. Furthering his contributions, Tomas has conceived a 4D-differential structure-based mathematical model of artificial neural networks (aNN). This model produces accurate counts of neurons, iterations, and layers aligned with the C(AI)/synaptic vesicle. After diligent research spanning years, the validity of this model has been affirmed. His extensive experience both internationally and during his tenure at the MMV-Research Institute in the Czech Republic underscores the efficacy of his quantum-oriented approach to natural processes. Currently, Tomas' ambition is to finalize a specialized, biophysically-inclined AI/ML/DM model that delineates the behavior of the quantum states within the aNN. Primarily, this model is envisioned to have significant pharmaceutical applications. In line with this objective, Tomas is collaborating closely with Professor Tom Chittenden to establish the grounds for a fruitful partnership. He also welcomes the expertise and support of other CBSA members. In recognition of his contributions, Tomas Perna is an esteemed member of the World Genius Directory (WGD) and holds the title of Giga Society Fellow.
Tomas Perna, an engineer and mathematician with a self-taught background in philosophy and neuroscience, has pioneered a unique system for solving partial differential equations (PDE). This system incorporates elements of symmetry from transformation groups, leading to the emergence of a 4D-differential structure. This advanced method allows for differentiation of functions within 4D spaces that have complex measures. With over 30 years of expertise, Tomas has delved deep into mathematical modeling of natural processes and mathematical optimization. This foundation intrinsically links to Quantum Field Theory (QFT), interweaving classical physics through the lens of symmetry, especially when information transmission is steered by the Maxwell equations. To deploy this algorithmic blend effectively, a profound understanding of the nature of electric charge movement concerning the problem at hand is crucial. Integrating the trifecta of electric charge movement, symmetry, and quantum fields unveils an intricate and often unpredictable array of complex system degrees of freedom. For instance, when considering network-like connections in information transmission, a distinct code must govern the process. In scenarios that involve neural network models, the presence of a synaptic vesicle becomes imperative. Consequently, problem solutions utilizing finite element meshes align with the rudimentary zeros of the C(AI) code in artificial intelligence. Furthering his contributions, Tomas has conceived a 4D-differential structure-based mathematical model of artificial neural networks (aNN). This model produces accurate counts of neurons, iterations, and layers aligned with the C(AI)/synaptic vesicle. After diligent research spanning years, the validity of this model has been affirmed. His extensive experience both internationally and during his tenure at the MMV-Research Institute in the Czech Republic underscores the efficacy of his quantum-oriented approach to natural processes. Currently, Tomas' ambition is to finalize a specialized, biophysically-inclined AI/ML/DM model that delineates the behavior of the quantum states within the aNN. Primarily, this model is envisioned to have significant pharmaceutical applications. In line with this objective, Tomas is collaborating closely with Professor Tom Chittenden to establish the grounds for a fruitful partnership. He also welcomes the expertise and support of other CBSA members. In recognition of his contributions, Tomas Perna is an esteemed member of the World Genius Directory (WGD) and holds the title of Giga Society Fellow.
Yunlong Qin, MD, PhD
Dr. Qin received his Bachelor Degree of Medicine from Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, one of the prestigious institutions of health sciences in China in 1996. He received his Masters Degree in Microbiology from Jilin University, one of the top educational institutions in China in 2001. In his M.Sc. program, he worked on Molecular Biology of HIV-1 -carried out co-expression of HIV-1 gag gene and cytokines gene (hIL-2, hIL-6, and IFNα2b) and studies on the experimental immunity of recombinant nucleic acid vaccine plasmids of HIV-1CN, and participated in the construction of live vectors (recombinant vaccinia and fowlpox viruses) and the immune studies of mice. The papers reporting these results had been published in Chinese Central Periodicals. In 2004, Dr. Qin received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Beijing Normal University, one of the important training bases of the talents in the field of life sciences and biotechnology in China. During his PhD, he worked on calcineurin, an important signal-transducing enzyme in many cell types and the target of immunosuppressive agents FK506 and CsA used in organ transplantation to prevent rejection, its dysfunction also involves to Alzheimer disease (AD). Dr. Qin successfully prepared a single chain calcineurin by inserting six glycines between its catalytic and regulatory subunits - this single chain calcineurin exhibited biochemical properties and kinetic parameters similar to the native enzyme and was completely soluble (Qin et al, 2003, BBRC 308: 87-93). And then he prepared a single chain calcineurin-calmodulin complex and carried out molecular docking between them (Qin et al, 2005, BBA 1747:171-8). In 2005, Dr. Qin was admitted to join Tulane and Emory University as a research scholar and postdoc fellow. During this period of his career development, he focused on a neurodegenerative disorder, Fragile X syndrome, a result of massive expansion of a CGG repeat segment in the Fmr1 gene, and co-authored papers on Neuron - cell press in 2007. From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Qin worked at Morehouse School of Medicine - Cancer Biology Program, as a research associate. He has further investigated the consequences of altered Ubc9 binding and found cytoplasmic localization of disease associated mutant BRCA1 and BRCA1a proteins. The findings were published and highlighted on J Cell Physiol 226(12): 3355-67 and cited by Global Medical Discovery (GMD). He also obtained the Postdoctoral Research Memo Award at Cutis L. Parker Research Symposium from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2013. As a senior cancer researcher, he is presently arranging and analyzing data and scientific findings, and writing the manuscripts of papers.
Dr. Qin received his Bachelor Degree of Medicine from Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, one of the prestigious institutions of health sciences in China in 1996. He received his Masters Degree in Microbiology from Jilin University, one of the top educational institutions in China in 2001. In his M.Sc. program, he worked on Molecular Biology of HIV-1 -carried out co-expression of HIV-1 gag gene and cytokines gene (hIL-2, hIL-6, and IFNα2b) and studies on the experimental immunity of recombinant nucleic acid vaccine plasmids of HIV-1CN, and participated in the construction of live vectors (recombinant vaccinia and fowlpox viruses) and the immune studies of mice. The papers reporting these results had been published in Chinese Central Periodicals. In 2004, Dr. Qin received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Beijing Normal University, one of the important training bases of the talents in the field of life sciences and biotechnology in China. During his PhD, he worked on calcineurin, an important signal-transducing enzyme in many cell types and the target of immunosuppressive agents FK506 and CsA used in organ transplantation to prevent rejection, its dysfunction also involves to Alzheimer disease (AD). Dr. Qin successfully prepared a single chain calcineurin by inserting six glycines between its catalytic and regulatory subunits - this single chain calcineurin exhibited biochemical properties and kinetic parameters similar to the native enzyme and was completely soluble (Qin et al, 2003, BBRC 308: 87-93). And then he prepared a single chain calcineurin-calmodulin complex and carried out molecular docking between them (Qin et al, 2005, BBA 1747:171-8). In 2005, Dr. Qin was admitted to join Tulane and Emory University as a research scholar and postdoc fellow. During this period of his career development, he focused on a neurodegenerative disorder, Fragile X syndrome, a result of massive expansion of a CGG repeat segment in the Fmr1 gene, and co-authored papers on Neuron - cell press in 2007. From 2008 to 2013, Dr. Qin worked at Morehouse School of Medicine - Cancer Biology Program, as a research associate. He has further investigated the consequences of altered Ubc9 binding and found cytoplasmic localization of disease associated mutant BRCA1 and BRCA1a proteins. The findings were published and highlighted on J Cell Physiol 226(12): 3355-67 and cited by Global Medical Discovery (GMD). He also obtained the Postdoctoral Research Memo Award at Cutis L. Parker Research Symposium from Morehouse School of Medicine in 2013. As a senior cancer researcher, he is presently arranging and analyzing data and scientific findings, and writing the manuscripts of papers.
Thomas Quertermous, MD
Vicente M. Reyes, PhD
Dr. Vicente Mendoza Reyes hails from Manila, Philippines, where he attended Felipe Calderon Elementary School and the first science high school in the country, Mania Science High School, graduating valedictorian from both schools. He double-majored in Chemistry (B.S., magna cum laude) and Mathematics (B.S., magna cum laude) from the University of the Philippines’ flagship campus in Diliman, Quezon City, where, upon graduation, he taught mathematics for two years. He then went to the U.S. to earn his Ph.D. in Chemistry (conc. Molecular biology/biochemistry) from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA under a Laszlo Zechmeister Graduate Fellowship award. His doctoral dissertation was on the transcription and splicing of intron-containing transfer RNAs in S. cerevisiae, which was published in the journal Cell and is considered to be one of the pioneering works in the field of tRNA splicing. He then completed a postdoctoral appointment at the National Cancer Institute, NIH in Bethesda, MD under a Fogarty International Fellowship award, working on the molecular and cellular biology of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and then continuing his work in the Biology and Medicine departments of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where the laboratory he was working in later moved to. He went on to do a second postdoctoral stint at the UCSD Chemistry & Biochemistry department under a NIGMS Fellowship award, using macromolecular x-ray crystallography to elucidate the mechanism of the anticancer model target enzyme ecDHFR. He was later appointed as Senior Research Associate at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, CA where he worked on structure-based drug design using x-ray crystallography to elucidate the ligand-binding mode of two anticancer targets (enzymes) involved in de novo purine biosynthesis. Firmly believing that the 21st century life scientist must have multidisciplinary knowledge, interest and training, he went on to earn Professional Certificates in Bioinformatics and Data Mining from UCSD and expanded his fields of specialty to include bioinformatics and computational biology by doing research as Project Manager and Research Scholar jointly at the UCSD School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology and the San Diego Supercomputer Center under an IRACDA Fellowship award, where he worked on the mathematical modeling of protein-ligand and protein-protein interaction sites. Most recently he was assistant professor in bioinformatics and computational biology at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, where he taught bioinformatics, UNIX, Perl programming and structural biology, while advising several M.S. bioinformatics graduate students on their thesis project. Vicente has published several peer-reviewed research papers, served as guest editor in several journals and made presentations and given talks in various national and international scientific conferences, including the Gordon Conferences. His current research interests are in the areas of bioinformatics (proteomics), computational and mathematical biology, biological complexity, etc. His most recent research projects include computational prediction of ligand binding sites in proteins and of protein-protein interaction partners, novel representations of protein 3D structures and surfaces, a cancer biotherapy bioinformatics resource, etc.
Dr. Vicente Mendoza Reyes hails from Manila, Philippines, where he attended Felipe Calderon Elementary School and the first science high school in the country, Mania Science High School, graduating valedictorian from both schools. He double-majored in Chemistry (B.S., magna cum laude) and Mathematics (B.S., magna cum laude) from the University of the Philippines’ flagship campus in Diliman, Quezon City, where, upon graduation, he taught mathematics for two years. He then went to the U.S. to earn his Ph.D. in Chemistry (conc. Molecular biology/biochemistry) from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA under a Laszlo Zechmeister Graduate Fellowship award. His doctoral dissertation was on the transcription and splicing of intron-containing transfer RNAs in S. cerevisiae, which was published in the journal Cell and is considered to be one of the pioneering works in the field of tRNA splicing. He then completed a postdoctoral appointment at the National Cancer Institute, NIH in Bethesda, MD under a Fogarty International Fellowship award, working on the molecular and cellular biology of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and then continuing his work in the Biology and Medicine departments of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where the laboratory he was working in later moved to. He went on to do a second postdoctoral stint at the UCSD Chemistry & Biochemistry department under a NIGMS Fellowship award, using macromolecular x-ray crystallography to elucidate the mechanism of the anticancer model target enzyme ecDHFR. He was later appointed as Senior Research Associate at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, CA where he worked on structure-based drug design using x-ray crystallography to elucidate the ligand-binding mode of two anticancer targets (enzymes) involved in de novo purine biosynthesis. Firmly believing that the 21st century life scientist must have multidisciplinary knowledge, interest and training, he went on to earn Professional Certificates in Bioinformatics and Data Mining from UCSD and expanded his fields of specialty to include bioinformatics and computational biology by doing research as Project Manager and Research Scholar jointly at the UCSD School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology and the San Diego Supercomputer Center under an IRACDA Fellowship award, where he worked on the mathematical modeling of protein-ligand and protein-protein interaction sites. Most recently he was assistant professor in bioinformatics and computational biology at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY, where he taught bioinformatics, UNIX, Perl programming and structural biology, while advising several M.S. bioinformatics graduate students on their thesis project. Vicente has published several peer-reviewed research papers, served as guest editor in several journals and made presentations and given talks in various national and international scientific conferences, including the Gordon Conferences. His current research interests are in the areas of bioinformatics (proteomics), computational and mathematical biology, biological complexity, etc. His most recent research projects include computational prediction of ligand binding sites in proteins and of protein-protein interaction partners, novel representations of protein 3D structures and surfaces, a cancer biotherapy bioinformatics resource, etc.
John Rhodes, PhD
Dr. Rhodes obtained his PhD in biochemistry at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, a graduate division of SUNY-Buffalo where he studied enzymatic anabolic processes of N-linked carbohydrates and the role of carbohydrate epitopes involved in inflammation and oncogenesis. His postdoctoral work has involved the study of specific sulfation of heparan sulfate proteoglycans and the biology of the carbohydrate ligands produced by enzymes in the heparan sulfate biosynthetic pathway, specifically in reference to enhancing antithrombin binding and as co-recpetors for growth factor signaling. Later work by Dr. Rhodes has involved examining the signaling properties of syndecans, a specific family of growth factor co-receptors and their involvement in vasculogenesis.
Dr. Rhodes obtained his PhD in biochemistry at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, a graduate division of SUNY-Buffalo where he studied enzymatic anabolic processes of N-linked carbohydrates and the role of carbohydrate epitopes involved in inflammation and oncogenesis. His postdoctoral work has involved the study of specific sulfation of heparan sulfate proteoglycans and the biology of the carbohydrate ligands produced by enzymes in the heparan sulfate biosynthetic pathway, specifically in reference to enhancing antithrombin binding and as co-recpetors for growth factor signaling. Later work by Dr. Rhodes has involved examining the signaling properties of syndecans, a specific family of growth factor co-receptors and their involvement in vasculogenesis.
Nicolas Ricard, PhD
Dr. Ricard obtained a Master degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the INSA Lyon in 2007. Then, he completed in 2011 his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. J.J.-Feige (INSERM UMR_S 1036) in Grenoble, under the direction of Dr. S. Bailly, on BMP9 and ALK1 in vascular remodeling. Next, he joined in 2012 as a postdoctoral fellow the laboratory of Professor M. Humbert (INSERM UMR_S U999) in Le Plessis-Robinson, under the direction of Dr. C. Guignabert. He studied the effects of pulmonary endothelial dysfunction on pericytes and the increased pericyte coverage of remodeled distal pulmonary arteries in human and experimental PAH. Currently, Dr. Ricard is a postdoctoral associate in Professor M. Simons' lab, Yale University School of Medicine, and works on the ERK pathway in vascular remodeling.
Dr. Ricard obtained a Master degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the INSA Lyon in 2007. Then, he completed in 2011 his PhD in the laboratory of Dr. J.J.-Feige (INSERM UMR_S 1036) in Grenoble, under the direction of Dr. S. Bailly, on BMP9 and ALK1 in vascular remodeling. Next, he joined in 2012 as a postdoctoral fellow the laboratory of Professor M. Humbert (INSERM UMR_S U999) in Le Plessis-Robinson, under the direction of Dr. C. Guignabert. He studied the effects of pulmonary endothelial dysfunction on pericytes and the increased pericyte coverage of remodeled distal pulmonary arteries in human and experimental PAH. Currently, Dr. Ricard is a postdoctoral associate in Professor M. Simons' lab, Yale University School of Medicine, and works on the ERK pathway in vascular remodeling.
Piotr Ruchala, PhD
Dr. Ruchala received PhD in Organic Chemistry from University of Wroclaw (Poland) working on peptidomimetics’ formation using Mitsunobu reaction. Subsequently, he worked for several years in prestigious American universities including: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Tufts University and UCLA, designing, synthesizing and investigating various peptides and peptidomimetics in the context of their prospective biomedical applications. He has extensive (10+ years) experience in peptide design and synthesis and is also proficient in artificial gene transfer (retroviral systems), small animal work (mice), flow cytometry analysis and cell-based in vitro assays. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and a co-director of Peptide Synthesis Core Facility in the Department of Medicine at UCLA.
Dr. Ruchala received PhD in Organic Chemistry from University of Wroclaw (Poland) working on peptidomimetics’ formation using Mitsunobu reaction. Subsequently, he worked for several years in prestigious American universities including: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Tufts University and UCLA, designing, synthesizing and investigating various peptides and peptidomimetics in the context of their prospective biomedical applications. He has extensive (10+ years) experience in peptide design and synthesis and is also proficient in artificial gene transfer (retroviral systems), small animal work (mice), flow cytometry analysis and cell-based in vitro assays. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and a co-director of Peptide Synthesis Core Facility in the Department of Medicine at UCLA.
Diane Rudy-Reil, PhD
Dr. Rudy-Reil is a Cell Biologist whose research career has been focused to identify the molecular signaling events required for gastrulation, mesoderm lineage differentiation and cytoskeletal protein assembly in striated muscle. She received her PhD in Cell Biology & Anatomy in 1997 from The University of Arizona (with minors in Histopathology and Biological Imaging) and postdoctoral training from the Medical College of Wisconsin (2002-2007). As a graduate student, she developed a 3-D mesoderm cell culture system that accurately reflects de novo events of cardiac differentiation and myofibrillogenesis in the embryo. This system served as a tool to investigate effects of mutations in sarcomeric components and cell-substrate interactions, and allowed her to begin testing a novel model of actin thin filament assembly using an optical technique called FRAP (“Fluorescent Recovery After Photobleaching”). Dr. Rudy-Reil was selected to participate in the 1st International Human ES Cell Workshop conducted at The Jackson Laboratory in 2002 and subsequently recognized by the Medical College as Spotlight Researcher in Cardiovascular Development for her methods to robustly induce murine pluripotent stem cells into beating cardiomyocytes. She founded Specialized Stem Cells, LLC (SSC) in 2005 as an innovative provider of human stem cell-based differentiation methodologies but continued to perform research and participate in preliminary therapeutic studies at the Medical College until joining Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI) in 2007. Dr. Rudy-Reil assumed several leadership positions at CDI as she provided training of SSC’s methods to differentiate human ESC and iPSC into mesoderm lineages such cardiomyocytes and endothelium. She participated in scaled-up manufacturing of cardiomyocytes, formed and chaired an SOP Committee, and participated in cardiac toxicity studies in collaboration with Roche. Prior to leaving CDI in 2010, she also served as Safety Officer and formulated a Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Plan, initiated employee safety training and provided internal guidance of federal and state workplace regulations. Dr. Rudy-Reil currently manages a growing portfolio of US and foreign human stem cell-related patent applications and provides consulting services to science and non-science professionals as she continues to pursue opportunities where her knowledge and experience can be applied to better understand and treat diseased states. Of particular interest are the identification of engraftable cell types, such as intermediate blood progenitors, and establishment of in vitro disease models.
Dr. Rudy-Reil is a Cell Biologist whose research career has been focused to identify the molecular signaling events required for gastrulation, mesoderm lineage differentiation and cytoskeletal protein assembly in striated muscle. She received her PhD in Cell Biology & Anatomy in 1997 from The University of Arizona (with minors in Histopathology and Biological Imaging) and postdoctoral training from the Medical College of Wisconsin (2002-2007). As a graduate student, she developed a 3-D mesoderm cell culture system that accurately reflects de novo events of cardiac differentiation and myofibrillogenesis in the embryo. This system served as a tool to investigate effects of mutations in sarcomeric components and cell-substrate interactions, and allowed her to begin testing a novel model of actin thin filament assembly using an optical technique called FRAP (“Fluorescent Recovery After Photobleaching”). Dr. Rudy-Reil was selected to participate in the 1st International Human ES Cell Workshop conducted at The Jackson Laboratory in 2002 and subsequently recognized by the Medical College as Spotlight Researcher in Cardiovascular Development for her methods to robustly induce murine pluripotent stem cells into beating cardiomyocytes. She founded Specialized Stem Cells, LLC (SSC) in 2005 as an innovative provider of human stem cell-based differentiation methodologies but continued to perform research and participate in preliminary therapeutic studies at the Medical College until joining Cellular Dynamics International, Inc. (CDI) in 2007. Dr. Rudy-Reil assumed several leadership positions at CDI as she provided training of SSC’s methods to differentiate human ESC and iPSC into mesoderm lineages such cardiomyocytes and endothelium. She participated in scaled-up manufacturing of cardiomyocytes, formed and chaired an SOP Committee, and participated in cardiac toxicity studies in collaboration with Roche. Prior to leaving CDI in 2010, she also served as Safety Officer and formulated a Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Plan, initiated employee safety training and provided internal guidance of federal and state workplace regulations. Dr. Rudy-Reil currently manages a growing portfolio of US and foreign human stem cell-related patent applications and provides consulting services to science and non-science professionals as she continues to pursue opportunities where her knowledge and experience can be applied to better understand and treat diseased states. Of particular interest are the identification of engraftable cell types, such as intermediate blood progenitors, and establishment of in vitro disease models.
Adrian (Abbas) Salavaty, MSc
Adrian (Abbas) was born in 1993. He completed his diploma in biology at the age of 18 years (2011) from Shahid Beheshti High School. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Genetics from the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in spring 2015. Then, he studied Masters of Biology-Biochemistry at the University of Kashan. He is now pursuing his Ph.D. at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Monash University, Melbourne. His special research interests focus on Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, especially their application in melanoma and lung cancer research. He is also an enthusiastic fan of cancer epigenetic topics.
Adrian (Abbas) was born in 1993. He completed his diploma in biology at the age of 18 years (2011) from Shahid Beheshti High School. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in Genetics from the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in spring 2015. Then, he studied Masters of Biology-Biochemistry at the University of Kashan. He is now pursuing his Ph.D. at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Monash University, Melbourne. His special research interests focus on Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, especially their application in melanoma and lung cancer research. He is also an enthusiastic fan of cancer epigenetic topics.
Komal Sane, PhD
Dr. Sane is a young, early-career scientist who earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Wayne State University in Michigan. Post graduation, Komal moved to Boston, the East Coast Mecca for biotech scientists, to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Her primary research interest has been drug discovery and development in various types of cancers including multiple myeloma. Her work spans small molecule as well as monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics (translational) research for antitumor application. Dr. Sane equally enjoys being at the bench as well as writing about cutting-edge research. Komal has recent unique experience in the area of medical writing helping biotech companies advance their rare disease therapeutics into the market. Additionally, she is a research writer for an Indian non-profit foundation for motor neuron disease (MND)/ Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) called “Asha Ek Hope”, providing research updates in the field of ALS. She is also actively involved in the non-profit ALS research institute in Boston, ALSTDI.
Dr. Sane is a young, early-career scientist who earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Wayne State University in Michigan. Post graduation, Komal moved to Boston, the East Coast Mecca for biotech scientists, to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Her primary research interest has been drug discovery and development in various types of cancers including multiple myeloma. Her work spans small molecule as well as monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics (translational) research for antitumor application. Dr. Sane equally enjoys being at the bench as well as writing about cutting-edge research. Komal has recent unique experience in the area of medical writing helping biotech companies advance their rare disease therapeutics into the market. Additionally, she is a research writer for an Indian non-profit foundation for motor neuron disease (MND)/ Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) called “Asha Ek Hope”, providing research updates in the field of ALS. She is also actively involved in the non-profit ALS research institute in Boston, ALSTDI.
Jack Scannell, PhD
Dr. Jack Scannell studied Medical Sciences at Cambridge University, did graduate study in Neuroscience at the University of California, before completing a PhD in Neuroscience at the Department of Physiology at Oxford. After his PhD, he worked as a post-doctoral scientist at Oxford before taking up a faculty position at Newcastle University. His research focused on computational neuroscience (e.g., the representation of information about the visual environment in the patterns of neuronal activity; statistical analyses of the network organisation of the cerebral cortex) and some other areas in mathematical biology (e.g., methods for estimating microbial biodiversity; competitive interactions between predators and prey animals). After Newcastle, Jack spent five years at the Boston Consulting Group, where he worked with drug industry and hospital clients. In 2005, he moved to Sanford C. Bernstein, a sell-side equity research firm, where he was the Senior Analyst covering European healthcare stocks. He left finance in 2012 and returned to science as Head of Discovery Research at e-Therapeutics PLC. E-Therapeutics focuses on bioinformatics-based approaches to drug discovery; mainly via the analysis of protein-protein interaction networks. Dr Scannell left e-Therapeutics in 2014.
Dr. Jack Scannell studied Medical Sciences at Cambridge University, did graduate study in Neuroscience at the University of California, before completing a PhD in Neuroscience at the Department of Physiology at Oxford. After his PhD, he worked as a post-doctoral scientist at Oxford before taking up a faculty position at Newcastle University. His research focused on computational neuroscience (e.g., the representation of information about the visual environment in the patterns of neuronal activity; statistical analyses of the network organisation of the cerebral cortex) and some other areas in mathematical biology (e.g., methods for estimating microbial biodiversity; competitive interactions between predators and prey animals). After Newcastle, Jack spent five years at the Boston Consulting Group, where he worked with drug industry and hospital clients. In 2005, he moved to Sanford C. Bernstein, a sell-side equity research firm, where he was the Senior Analyst covering European healthcare stocks. He left finance in 2012 and returned to science as Head of Discovery Research at e-Therapeutics PLC. E-Therapeutics focuses on bioinformatics-based approaches to drug discovery; mainly via the analysis of protein-protein interaction networks. Dr Scannell left e-Therapeutics in 2014.
Elena A. Shestakova, PhD
Dr. Shestakova holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Russia. The theme of her thesis was the analysis of intracellular organization of eukaryotic protein synthesis apparatus in relation with the cytoskeleton. Her multidisciplinary postdoctoral training includes experimental investigations in cancer field, particularly on the role of E2A-PBX1 and Hoxa9 oncogene collaboration in the development of B cell leukemia at the Research Centre of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Canada and on the role of BRCA1 in breast and ovarian tumor suppression at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA. Other fields of her research involve virology: interferon signalling pathways at the Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, Canada and epigenetic mechanisms of interferon expression at the Rene Descartes University, Paris, France. One of the major objectives of Dr. Shestakova’s work is discovering of new protein components of elaborate complexes which could be involved in intracellular signalling pathways and in the initiation and maintenance of cancer development. An important part of Dr. Shestakova’s scientific activities includes training and teaching of students for master’s and PhD degrees.
Dr. Shestakova holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Russia. The theme of her thesis was the analysis of intracellular organization of eukaryotic protein synthesis apparatus in relation with the cytoskeleton. Her multidisciplinary postdoctoral training includes experimental investigations in cancer field, particularly on the role of E2A-PBX1 and Hoxa9 oncogene collaboration in the development of B cell leukemia at the Research Centre of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Canada and on the role of BRCA1 in breast and ovarian tumor suppression at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA. Other fields of her research involve virology: interferon signalling pathways at the Lady Davis Institute, Montreal, Canada and epigenetic mechanisms of interferon expression at the Rene Descartes University, Paris, France. One of the major objectives of Dr. Shestakova’s work is discovering of new protein components of elaborate complexes which could be involved in intracellular signalling pathways and in the initiation and maintenance of cancer development. An important part of Dr. Shestakova’s scientific activities includes training and teaching of students for master’s and PhD degrees.
Vrunda Sheth, MSc
Vrunda Sheth holds a Master's degree in Bioinformatics from Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Bioinformatics from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India. She is currently employed as Scientist-3, Bioinformatics at Life Technologies. She is responsible for analyzing high throughput next generation sequencing data. She is a member of a multidisciplinary team consisting of molecular biologists, software engineers and bioinformaticians responsible for advanced collaboration and application development using the SOLiDTM and the Ion Torrent systems like medical re-sequencing, SNP detection, structural variation profiling, ChIP-Seq, RNA-Seq and methyl-Seq. Vrunda has in depth experience in Bioinformatics tool development and data analysis and is well versed in Perl, Python and Java. Additionally, Vrunda is highly experienced in sequencing technology development - improving system performance, throughput and accuracy.
Vrunda Sheth holds a Master's degree in Bioinformatics from Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Bioinformatics from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India. She is currently employed as Scientist-3, Bioinformatics at Life Technologies. She is responsible for analyzing high throughput next generation sequencing data. She is a member of a multidisciplinary team consisting of molecular biologists, software engineers and bioinformaticians responsible for advanced collaboration and application development using the SOLiDTM and the Ion Torrent systems like medical re-sequencing, SNP detection, structural variation profiling, ChIP-Seq, RNA-Seq and methyl-Seq. Vrunda has in depth experience in Bioinformatics tool development and data analysis and is well versed in Perl, Python and Java. Additionally, Vrunda is highly experienced in sequencing technology development - improving system performance, throughput and accuracy.
Peter Shimon, BSc
Mr. Shimon has earned a BSc in biology with a specialization (Honors) in evolutionary ecology from Concordia University. He has done graduate studies in evolutionary ecology in the laboratory of Dr. Edward J. Maly at Concordia University as well as graduate studies in paleoanthropology in the laboratory of Dr. Ken Jacobs at the University of Montreal. He has worked as a researcher in Dr. Maly's laboratory and as a technician in the microbiology laboratory of Dr. Claire Cupples (currently Dean of Science at the University of British Columbia) at Concordia University. An avid outdoorsman, he has done field studies of the behavior of several species of whale in the Sector B.E.S.T Lower Northshore of the St. Lawrence River Estuary collaborating with Robert Michaud (GREMM) and Ned Lynas (ORES), as well as studying Vervet monkey ecology and behavior on the Caribbean/West Indies island of Nevis. As a member of an International team he has worked at hominid excavations in Southern France; namely, at the Homo neanderthalensis site of Bau de L'Aubesier (Vaucluse, Provence) with Dr. Serge Lebel (Professor at Universite de Quebec A Montreal) and at the Homo erectus site at Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel, Dordogne/Perigord) and the Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon) site at Les Ezyies de Tayac (Dordogne/Perigord) with Dr. Henry de Lumley (Director of the Institute of Human Paleontology and Professor Emeritus at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Dr. de Lumley was also corresponding member of the Academy of Humanities of the Institute of France and former director of the French National Museum of Natural History). As a visiting archeologist he has been to other hominid sites including Lascaux 1 & 2, Pech Merle, La Chapelle-aux-Saints, Le Moustier, La Ferassie and many others in France. He currently works at MU-Peter Shimon Consulting and is known as a Disruptive Digital Darwinist.
Mr. Shimon has earned a BSc in biology with a specialization (Honors) in evolutionary ecology from Concordia University. He has done graduate studies in evolutionary ecology in the laboratory of Dr. Edward J. Maly at Concordia University as well as graduate studies in paleoanthropology in the laboratory of Dr. Ken Jacobs at the University of Montreal. He has worked as a researcher in Dr. Maly's laboratory and as a technician in the microbiology laboratory of Dr. Claire Cupples (currently Dean of Science at the University of British Columbia) at Concordia University. An avid outdoorsman, he has done field studies of the behavior of several species of whale in the Sector B.E.S.T Lower Northshore of the St. Lawrence River Estuary collaborating with Robert Michaud (GREMM) and Ned Lynas (ORES), as well as studying Vervet monkey ecology and behavior on the Caribbean/West Indies island of Nevis. As a member of an International team he has worked at hominid excavations in Southern France; namely, at the Homo neanderthalensis site of Bau de L'Aubesier (Vaucluse, Provence) with Dr. Serge Lebel (Professor at Universite de Quebec A Montreal) and at the Homo erectus site at Caune de l'Arago (Tautavel, Dordogne/Perigord) and the Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon) site at Les Ezyies de Tayac (Dordogne/Perigord) with Dr. Henry de Lumley (Director of the Institute of Human Paleontology and Professor Emeritus at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Dr. de Lumley was also corresponding member of the Academy of Humanities of the Institute of France and former director of the French National Museum of Natural History). As a visiting archeologist he has been to other hominid sites including Lascaux 1 & 2, Pech Merle, La Chapelle-aux-Saints, Le Moustier, La Ferassie and many others in France. He currently works at MU-Peter Shimon Consulting and is known as a Disruptive Digital Darwinist.
Professor Michael Simons, MD
Professor Michael Simons is a Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology at Yale and an Honorary Professor of Medicine at the University College London. He is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS ‘80) and Yale University School of Medicine (MD ’84). Dr. Simons trained in cardiology at Harvard’s Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and in molecular cardiology at NHLBII and MIT. Prior to his current position at Yale and UCL, Dr. Simons held faculty positions at Harvard and Dartmouth. Dr Simons’ research focuses on biology of arterial vasculature and spans basic, translational and clinical areas of investigations. He is widely recognized as one of the pre-eminent experts in the field of cardiovascular biology having published over 375 peer-reviewed papers with an H-index of 90. His carried out some of the earliest studies in angiogenesis and led a number of clinical trials in that area. More recently, his laboratory became of the first to define mechanism regulating endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition and pioneered single cell analysis of normal and diseased vascular tissues and organs combing biological expertise with artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches. Professor Simons has been elected to various honorary societies including Association of American Physicians, American Society of Clinical Investigations, The Interurban Clinical Club, and Association of University Cardiologists. He is also a Fellow of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Physiology and an Honorary Fellow of the University College London.
Professor Michael Simons is a Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology at Yale and an Honorary Professor of Medicine at the University College London. He is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS ‘80) and Yale University School of Medicine (MD ’84). Dr. Simons trained in cardiology at Harvard’s Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and in molecular cardiology at NHLBII and MIT. Prior to his current position at Yale and UCL, Dr. Simons held faculty positions at Harvard and Dartmouth. Dr Simons’ research focuses on biology of arterial vasculature and spans basic, translational and clinical areas of investigations. He is widely recognized as one of the pre-eminent experts in the field of cardiovascular biology having published over 375 peer-reviewed papers with an H-index of 90. His carried out some of the earliest studies in angiogenesis and led a number of clinical trials in that area. More recently, his laboratory became of the first to define mechanism regulating endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition and pioneered single cell analysis of normal and diseased vascular tissues and organs combing biological expertise with artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches. Professor Simons has been elected to various honorary societies including Association of American Physicians, American Society of Clinical Investigations, The Interurban Clinical Club, and Association of University Cardiologists. He is also a Fellow of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, Honorary Fellow of the American Society of Physiology and an Honorary Fellow of the University College London.
Radu Stan, MD
Dr. Stan did his postdoctoral training (1994-1999) at University of California San Diego Medical in the laboratory of George Palade, where he worked on the role of caveolae/lipid rafts and fenestrae in the cell biology of vascular permeability.
He joined the faculty at UCSD as a Project Scientist (1999 ) and Research Assistant Professor (2000) in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine continuing his studies of the molecular mechanisms of vascular permeability and the structures involved. In 2004, Dr. Stan joined the faculty of the Departments of Pathology, and of Microbiology and Immunology at then Dartmouth Medical School (now The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth) as an Assistant Professor and became Associate Professor in 2009. Currently, he is a member of the Heart and Vascular Research Center, Norris Cotton Cancer Center and affiliated with the Immunology COBRE. His laboratory continues to focus on permeability with expanded interests towards translational research in inflammation and cancer.
Dr. Stan did his postdoctoral training (1994-1999) at University of California San Diego Medical in the laboratory of George Palade, where he worked on the role of caveolae/lipid rafts and fenestrae in the cell biology of vascular permeability.
He joined the faculty at UCSD as a Project Scientist (1999 ) and Research Assistant Professor (2000) in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine continuing his studies of the molecular mechanisms of vascular permeability and the structures involved. In 2004, Dr. Stan joined the faculty of the Departments of Pathology, and of Microbiology and Immunology at then Dartmouth Medical School (now The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth) as an Assistant Professor and became Associate Professor in 2009. Currently, he is a member of the Heart and Vascular Research Center, Norris Cotton Cancer Center and affiliated with the Immunology COBRE. His laboratory continues to focus on permeability with expanded interests towards translational research in inflammation and cancer.
Jeremiah (Jake) Stitham, MD, PhD
Dr. Stitham received his BS in Microbiology (summa cum laude) from the University of New Hampshire (2000), his PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology from Dartmouth College (2006), and his MD in Medicine from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada (2010). He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University and Yale Cardiovascular Research Center (YCVRC). His overall research focus has centered around prostanoid receptors, specifically the human prostacyclin receptor (hIP), with interests in molecular-biochemical structure-function analyses, pharmacogenetics, and their relation to cardiovascular disease progression and therapeutic response. Specific contributions to the field include elucidation of the putative prostacyclin ligand binding pocket, determination of critical activation residues, development of the first 3-D molecular homology model of hIP based on the X-ray crystallographic structure of bovine rhodopsin, the discovery and characterization of the first hIP receptor genetic variants, and the association of these variants with coronary artery disease and adverse cardiovascular events. His most recent investigations are aimed at defining the differential physiological and pathophysiological role of prostacyclin and the hIP within specific vascular beds, relating to atherothrombosis in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and coronary artery disease (CAD).
Dr. Stitham received his BS in Microbiology (summa cum laude) from the University of New Hampshire (2000), his PhD in Pharmacology & Toxicology from Dartmouth College (2006), and his MD in Medicine from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada (2010). He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University and Yale Cardiovascular Research Center (YCVRC). His overall research focus has centered around prostanoid receptors, specifically the human prostacyclin receptor (hIP), with interests in molecular-biochemical structure-function analyses, pharmacogenetics, and their relation to cardiovascular disease progression and therapeutic response. Specific contributions to the field include elucidation of the putative prostacyclin ligand binding pocket, determination of critical activation residues, development of the first 3-D molecular homology model of hIP based on the X-ray crystallographic structure of bovine rhodopsin, the discovery and characterization of the first hIP receptor genetic variants, and the association of these variants with coronary artery disease and adverse cardiovascular events. His most recent investigations are aimed at defining the differential physiological and pathophysiological role of prostacyclin and the hIP within specific vascular beds, relating to atherothrombosis in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and coronary artery disease (CAD).
Manojkumar Sumathiselvaraju, B.Tech
Manoj holds an Engineering degree in B.Tech Industrial Biotechnology from the Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai. His undergraduate project, which gave a broad exposure to DNA sequencing technologies, inspired him to choose a career in Genomics. Following his graduation in 2011, he joined C-CAMP's Next-Generation Genomics Facility where he has developed and implemented pipelines for processing and analyzing raw data from the two high throughput sequencing platforms - Illumina's HiSeq and Roche/454's GS FLX+. As a Bioinformatician, he has actively addressed problems that arise in real-time during next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis, and has bench marked and established workflows for open source tools in the areas such as quality filtering, reference mapping, de novo genome and transcriptome assembly, metagenomics and ChIP-Seq analysis within the facility. While he expects more novel technologies to emerge rapidly during this decade, his major interest is to creatively combine the features of existing multiple platforms for common applications to informatically understand and solve some of the challenging problems in Biomedical Genomics through cross-discipline collaborative initiatives.
Manoj holds an Engineering degree in B.Tech Industrial Biotechnology from the Centre for Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai. His undergraduate project, which gave a broad exposure to DNA sequencing technologies, inspired him to choose a career in Genomics. Following his graduation in 2011, he joined C-CAMP's Next-Generation Genomics Facility where he has developed and implemented pipelines for processing and analyzing raw data from the two high throughput sequencing platforms - Illumina's HiSeq and Roche/454's GS FLX+. As a Bioinformatician, he has actively addressed problems that arise in real-time during next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis, and has bench marked and established workflows for open source tools in the areas such as quality filtering, reference mapping, de novo genome and transcriptome assembly, metagenomics and ChIP-Seq analysis within the facility. While he expects more novel technologies to emerge rapidly during this decade, his major interest is to creatively combine the features of existing multiple platforms for common applications to informatically understand and solve some of the challenging problems in Biomedical Genomics through cross-discipline collaborative initiatives.
Jiabin Tang, PhD
Dr. Tang is a scientist with over ten years of experience in cellular, molecular and chemical biology, genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. He graduated from Beijing Genomics Institute and received his postdoctoral training from Harvard and Purdue University. He has worked in the areas of signal transduction in cancer cells, and has developed kinase biosensors using chemical biology and proteomics techniques. Before joining the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center, He applied Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) on mitochondrial disease diagnosis at MEDomics. This is the first lab focused on CLIA Next Generation (NextGen) sequencing for personalized medicine. At MEDomics, he developed a high resolution method to detect large fragment insertion and deletion in different mitochondrial genome copy. Currently, as an excellent oncogenomics scientist with extensive experience in NGS and data analysis, he is leading scientist in drug target and biomarker discovery through NGS techniques. Additionally, he has carried out optimization of NGS protocols and troubleshooting for various library preparations, including automatic systems. Subsequently, work efficiency has improved five-fold for library preparation and the sequencing costs were reduced by 20%. Dr. Tang has extensive interest in developing new assays for infant genetic disease screens and personalized medicine diagnosis using genomic techniques. He is motivated by taking more responsibility and making more contributions to improving human health.
Dr. Tang is a scientist with over ten years of experience in cellular, molecular and chemical biology, genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. He graduated from Beijing Genomics Institute and received his postdoctoral training from Harvard and Purdue University. He has worked in the areas of signal transduction in cancer cells, and has developed kinase biosensors using chemical biology and proteomics techniques. Before joining the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center, He applied Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) on mitochondrial disease diagnosis at MEDomics. This is the first lab focused on CLIA Next Generation (NextGen) sequencing for personalized medicine. At MEDomics, he developed a high resolution method to detect large fragment insertion and deletion in different mitochondrial genome copy. Currently, as an excellent oncogenomics scientist with extensive experience in NGS and data analysis, he is leading scientist in drug target and biomarker discovery through NGS techniques. Additionally, he has carried out optimization of NGS protocols and troubleshooting for various library preparations, including automatic systems. Subsequently, work efficiency has improved five-fold for library preparation and the sequencing costs were reduced by 20%. Dr. Tang has extensive interest in developing new assays for infant genetic disease screens and personalized medicine diagnosis using genomic techniques. He is motivated by taking more responsibility and making more contributions to improving human health.
Florencia Tevy, PhD
Amazed by the work of Darwin and Mendel (and the fact that these two never met each other), Florencia Tevy started studying genetics in Argentina. She then moved to the University of Bologna in Italy, where she starting working in Drosophila biology. For her PhD, Florencia searched for transcriptional networks associated to heart development in fly models, in order to gain insights into the cues that led to congenital heart diseases in humans. For her postdoctoral work, Florencia moved to sunny Barcelona, to develop Drosophila models to study the impact of glycogen content in neurons under physiological conditions and disease. She also studied the role of glycogen in stress and aging by combining her research in the fly with that in in vitro and mouse models. During this period, Florencia got more interested on the similarities and differences between the mechanisms that underlie physiological aging, and aging associated to age related diseases with the ultimate aim to understand how individual body time is determined. Florencia has recently started her own lab in the Universidad Mayor in Chile, and the main focus of the lab is to study the aging process in physiological conditions and disease, with particular emphasis in transcriptional networks and the crosstalk between the coding and noncoding transcriptomes. With these studies, Florencia and her group of collaborators, hope to contribute to clues as to how individual body time is determined and hope to contribute to unravel the cues for a healthy aging.
Amazed by the work of Darwin and Mendel (and the fact that these two never met each other), Florencia Tevy started studying genetics in Argentina. She then moved to the University of Bologna in Italy, where she starting working in Drosophila biology. For her PhD, Florencia searched for transcriptional networks associated to heart development in fly models, in order to gain insights into the cues that led to congenital heart diseases in humans. For her postdoctoral work, Florencia moved to sunny Barcelona, to develop Drosophila models to study the impact of glycogen content in neurons under physiological conditions and disease. She also studied the role of glycogen in stress and aging by combining her research in the fly with that in in vitro and mouse models. During this period, Florencia got more interested on the similarities and differences between the mechanisms that underlie physiological aging, and aging associated to age related diseases with the ultimate aim to understand how individual body time is determined. Florencia has recently started her own lab in the Universidad Mayor in Chile, and the main focus of the lab is to study the aging process in physiological conditions and disease, with particular emphasis in transcriptional networks and the crosstalk between the coding and noncoding transcriptomes. With these studies, Florencia and her group of collaborators, hope to contribute to clues as to how individual body time is determined and hope to contribute to unravel the cues for a healthy aging.
Daniela Tirziu, PhD
Dr. Tirziu received her Ph.D (Magna cum laudae) in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the Romanian Academy of Sciences and Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology “Nicolae Simionescu”. During her postdoctoral training with Dr. Michael Simons, at Dartmouth Medical School, her research focused on the mechanism of vascular remodeling in cardiovascular disease associated with atherosclerosis and ischemia. Currently, Dr. Tirziu is a Research Scientist in Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale Medical School and Yale Cardiovascular Research Center. Dr. Tirziu’s laboratory is interested in the growth regulatory mechanisms generated by the inter-cellular crosstalk in the heart and their relationship with myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure. Specific contributions to the field include elucidation of the molecular mechanism of endothelial-dependent regulation of myocardial hypertrophy and the role of microRNAs in the metabolism of branched chain amino acids during the growth response.
Dr. Tirziu received her Ph.D (Magna cum laudae) in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the Romanian Academy of Sciences and Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology “Nicolae Simionescu”. During her postdoctoral training with Dr. Michael Simons, at Dartmouth Medical School, her research focused on the mechanism of vascular remodeling in cardiovascular disease associated with atherosclerosis and ischemia. Currently, Dr. Tirziu is a Research Scientist in Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale Medical School and Yale Cardiovascular Research Center. Dr. Tirziu’s laboratory is interested in the growth regulatory mechanisms generated by the inter-cellular crosstalk in the heart and their relationship with myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure. Specific contributions to the field include elucidation of the molecular mechanism of endothelial-dependent regulation of myocardial hypertrophy and the role of microRNAs in the metabolism of branched chain amino acids during the growth response.
Ephriam Trakhtenberg, MS, PhD
Dr. Trakhtenberg received an MS in Biological Studies from Stanford University and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Presently, he is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Professor. Larry Benowitz, at the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Trakhtenberg did his PhD in the laboratory of Professor. Jeffery Goldberg who is currently Director of Research at the Shiley Eye Center, UCSD. During his PhD work, Dr. Trakhtenberg discovered that a multifunctional protein Set-beta suppresses axon growth through nuclear activity regulating gene expression, and that shifting Set-beta’s subcellular localization to cellular membrane promotes axon regeneration. He was awarded Predoctoral Fellowship by the American Heart Association, Best Research Award by the Lois Pope Life Foundation, and several Travel Awards. His current research is focused on studying the molecular mechanisms of axon regeneration, and the use of gene therapy for promoting optic nerve regeneration to improve vision lost in diseases such as glaucoma and the optic nerve stroke.
Dr. Trakhtenberg received an MS in Biological Studies from Stanford University and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Presently, he is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Professor. Larry Benowitz, at the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Trakhtenberg did his PhD in the laboratory of Professor. Jeffery Goldberg who is currently Director of Research at the Shiley Eye Center, UCSD. During his PhD work, Dr. Trakhtenberg discovered that a multifunctional protein Set-beta suppresses axon growth through nuclear activity regulating gene expression, and that shifting Set-beta’s subcellular localization to cellular membrane promotes axon regeneration. He was awarded Predoctoral Fellowship by the American Heart Association, Best Research Award by the Lois Pope Life Foundation, and several Travel Awards. His current research is focused on studying the molecular mechanisms of axon regeneration, and the use of gene therapy for promoting optic nerve regeneration to improve vision lost in diseases such as glaucoma and the optic nerve stroke.
Alex Truong, MS
Alex Truong finished both his Bachelor of Arts in Biology with specialization in Quantitative Biology and Master of Science in Bioinformatics at Boston University. He has a passion for both applied sciences and pure mathematics, and is hoping to improve his relationships with both in a way only a true academic two-timer can: with love, caution, and utmost care. As he searches for his specific niche of interest in the scientific community, he continues to explore the wide range of topics available in the computational sciences. He has interned at Boston Children's Hospital in the Informatics Department to assist in determining critical first steps in developing DNA-level drug targets for autism treatment, and has worked closely with faculty and staff at the Boston University School of Medicine to develop a hypothetical three-dimensional model of iPLA2beta, a phospholipase that is suspected to have intimate ties to Parkinson Disease. Alex is currently working in the Research Computing Group at Harvard Medical School.
Alex Truong finished both his Bachelor of Arts in Biology with specialization in Quantitative Biology and Master of Science in Bioinformatics at Boston University. He has a passion for both applied sciences and pure mathematics, and is hoping to improve his relationships with both in a way only a true academic two-timer can: with love, caution, and utmost care. As he searches for his specific niche of interest in the scientific community, he continues to explore the wide range of topics available in the computational sciences. He has interned at Boston Children's Hospital in the Informatics Department to assist in determining critical first steps in developing DNA-level drug targets for autism treatment, and has worked closely with faculty and staff at the Boston University School of Medicine to develop a hypothetical three-dimensional model of iPLA2beta, a phospholipase that is suspected to have intimate ties to Parkinson Disease. Alex is currently working in the Research Computing Group at Harvard Medical School.
Ravi Chandrasekara Venkatesan, PhD
Jon Wilkins, PhD
Dr. Wilkins has a background in Physics and Biochemistry, and currently works in Evolutionary Theory. He received his PhD in Biophysics from Harvard University in 2002, was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 2002-2005, and was a Professor at the Santa Fe Institute from 2005-2011. In 2011, Jon founded the Ronin Institute, which aims to create a new model for academic research outside of the traditional university system. The Ronin Institute includes scholars from around the world and across the entire spectrum of academic fields. Jon's research focuses on three primary areas. The first is the population genetics of geographically structured populations and the effect of selection on the structure of genealogies. The second is genomic imprinting and the causes and consequences of intragenomic conflict more broadly. The third is the evolutionary origins of strong nonlinear interactions among genes in complex traits and complex disease, and particularly how these interactions are shaped by selection for robustness. In addition to his research, Jon writes a blog (Lost in Transcription) and a webcomic (Darwin Eats Cake). Jon is also a poet, whose first book, Transistor Rodeo, came out in 2010.
Dr. Wilkins has a background in Physics and Biochemistry, and currently works in Evolutionary Theory. He received his PhD in Biophysics from Harvard University in 2002, was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows from 2002-2005, and was a Professor at the Santa Fe Institute from 2005-2011. In 2011, Jon founded the Ronin Institute, which aims to create a new model for academic research outside of the traditional university system. The Ronin Institute includes scholars from around the world and across the entire spectrum of academic fields. Jon's research focuses on three primary areas. The first is the population genetics of geographically structured populations and the effect of selection on the structure of genealogies. The second is genomic imprinting and the causes and consequences of intragenomic conflict more broadly. The third is the evolutionary origins of strong nonlinear interactions among genes in complex traits and complex disease, and particularly how these interactions are shaped by selection for robustness. In addition to his research, Jon writes a blog (Lost in Transcription) and a webcomic (Darwin Eats Cake). Jon is also a poet, whose first book, Transistor Rodeo, came out in 2010.
David A. Winkler, PhD
Dr. Winkler is a Senior Principal Research Scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. His research interests have mainly involved computational molecular design and complex systems. He employs computational methods developed for small molecule drug design and control of stem cell fate and applies them to materials and nanoparticle modelling and design. His current research interests are: self-assembly, self-organization, gene networks, and emergent properties of complex systems; DNA origami and programmable matter; design of small molecule agents to reprogram stem and somatic cells; development of biomaterials, and prediction of interactions of materials with cells and tissues; computational nanotoxicology; development of machine learning methods for combinatorial materials discovery using Bayesian methods. Dave was awarded traveling fellowships to Kyoto and Oxford and a Newton Turner Fellowship in 2009. He is a past Board Chairman of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, past President of Asian Federation for Medicinal Chemistry, is a member of the Board of Science & Technology Australia (STA), and sits on the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Chemistry. He has published almost 200 scientific papers, book chapters, and patents and is on the Editorial Board of the journals ChemMedChem, Perspectives in Drug Discovery, and BMC Biophysics.
Dr. Winkler is a Senior Principal Research Scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. His research interests have mainly involved computational molecular design and complex systems. He employs computational methods developed for small molecule drug design and control of stem cell fate and applies them to materials and nanoparticle modelling and design. His current research interests are: self-assembly, self-organization, gene networks, and emergent properties of complex systems; DNA origami and programmable matter; design of small molecule agents to reprogram stem and somatic cells; development of biomaterials, and prediction of interactions of materials with cells and tissues; computational nanotoxicology; development of machine learning methods for combinatorial materials discovery using Bayesian methods. Dave was awarded traveling fellowships to Kyoto and Oxford and a Newton Turner Fellowship in 2009. He is a past Board Chairman of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, past President of Asian Federation for Medicinal Chemistry, is a member of the Board of Science & Technology Australia (STA), and sits on the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Chemistry. He has published almost 200 scientific papers, book chapters, and patents and is on the Editorial Board of the journals ChemMedChem, Perspectives in Drug Discovery, and BMC Biophysics.
John Wu
Mr. John Wu is the Chief Financial Officer for the CBSA. Mr. Wu possesses over 25 years of progressive financial management experiences in a variety of industries, including biopharmaceutical, medical devices and diagnostics, high tech, manufacturing, and investment banking. He has built and led high performance finance teams for startup companies as well as multinational companies in the US, Europe, and Asia. John was previously Vice President of Finance at Wuxi Nextcode, a genomics research and service company, with overall financial management for the company's businesses outside of China. Prior to that, he held financial leadership positions at Oxford Immunotec, Philips, 3Com, Merrill Lynch, and United Technologies. John received his MBA from the University of Chicago and his MA in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Mr. John Wu is the Chief Financial Officer for the CBSA. Mr. Wu possesses over 25 years of progressive financial management experiences in a variety of industries, including biopharmaceutical, medical devices and diagnostics, high tech, manufacturing, and investment banking. He has built and led high performance finance teams for startup companies as well as multinational companies in the US, Europe, and Asia. John was previously Vice President of Finance at Wuxi Nextcode, a genomics research and service company, with overall financial management for the company's businesses outside of China. Prior to that, he held financial leadership positions at Oxford Immunotec, Philips, 3Com, Merrill Lynch, and United Technologies. John received his MBA from the University of Chicago and his MA in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Weimin Xiao, MD, PhD
Dr. Xiao earned his Medical degree in 1994, and his Ph.D. in Pathophysiology in 2003. His previous research in China focused on uncovering mechanisms of ischemic heart disease and septic shock using a combination of basic molecular and cellular biological methods and experimental animal models (1994-2004). He then came to University of Houston, and studied eye development and diseases using both wet-lab and dry-lab experiments. Currently Dr. Xiao is a member of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) research network where he integrates and analyzes high-throughput genomic and clinical datasets. Dr. Xiao is also actively involved in a number of different projects including: Marmoset genomic analysis; small RNA/mRNA expression and their roles in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and breast, liver and skin cancers, among others. He has over 6 years experience working with experts in computer science and engineering to solve biomedical problems. He can fluently communicate with researchers of varied scientific disciplines. His main research goal is to uncover novel pathophysiological mechanisms of disease initiation and progression using integrated multidisciplinary scientific methodologies.
Dr. Xiao earned his Medical degree in 1994, and his Ph.D. in Pathophysiology in 2003. His previous research in China focused on uncovering mechanisms of ischemic heart disease and septic shock using a combination of basic molecular and cellular biological methods and experimental animal models (1994-2004). He then came to University of Houston, and studied eye development and diseases using both wet-lab and dry-lab experiments. Currently Dr. Xiao is a member of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) research network where he integrates and analyzes high-throughput genomic and clinical datasets. Dr. Xiao is also actively involved in a number of different projects including: Marmoset genomic analysis; small RNA/mRNA expression and their roles in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and breast, liver and skin cancers, among others. He has over 6 years experience working with experts in computer science and engineering to solve biomedical problems. He can fluently communicate with researchers of varied scientific disciplines. His main research goal is to uncover novel pathophysiological mechanisms of disease initiation and progression using integrated multidisciplinary scientific methodologies.
Chandri Yandava, PhD
Dr. Yandava earned his PhD in Biochemistry from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and a Master degree in Computer Sciences from Boston University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yandava was responsible for developing genetic markers, used in the development of human genetic linkage maps as a member of Cooperative Human Linkage Center. He was member of the team that identified one of human deafness genes. Dr. Yandava worked at Brigham and Women’s hospital and was an Instructor at the department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. His work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital involved in the genetic association studies and pharmacogenomics of asthma. Then he worked as Bioinformatics Scientist at Ceres Inc., California for 5 years. Then Dr. Yandava joined the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT as Bioinformatics Scientist. He worked on annotations and genetic studies of many bacteriophage, bacterial and fungal genomes. He was involved in the Human Microbiome Project. Later he worked at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) as Bioinformatics Scientist and worked on neurological disorders (autism and Angelman syndrome) and later joined Boston University. Dr. Yandava is currently working at WuXiNextcode as a Senior Bioinformatician.
Dr. Yandava earned his PhD in Biochemistry from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and a Master degree in Computer Sciences from Boston University. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yandava was responsible for developing genetic markers, used in the development of human genetic linkage maps as a member of Cooperative Human Linkage Center. He was member of the team that identified one of human deafness genes. Dr. Yandava worked at Brigham and Women’s hospital and was an Instructor at the department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. His work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital involved in the genetic association studies and pharmacogenomics of asthma. Then he worked as Bioinformatics Scientist at Ceres Inc., California for 5 years. Then Dr. Yandava joined the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT as Bioinformatics Scientist. He worked on annotations and genetic studies of many bacteriophage, bacterial and fungal genomes. He was involved in the Human Microbiome Project. Later he worked at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) as Bioinformatics Scientist and worked on neurological disorders (autism and Angelman syndrome) and later joined Boston University. Dr. Yandava is currently working at WuXiNextcode as a Senior Bioinformatician.
Pengwei Yang, MD, MS
Dr. Yang is a Principal Investigator at the CBSA. Dr. Yang is a Senior Computational Statistician at WuXi NextCode. His recent research focuses on developing statistical and machine learning methods for large-scale integrative analysis of high-throughput genomic data and natural language processing. Previously Dr. Yang worked at Johnson and Johnson, Amgen and Biogen, where he had gained extensive research and analytic experience in technology applications for drug discovery. Dr. Yang earned his medical degree from Shanghai Medical University, and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Master’s degree in general/experimental psychology from Central Michigan University.
Dr. Yang is a Principal Investigator at the CBSA. Dr. Yang is a Senior Computational Statistician at WuXi NextCode. His recent research focuses on developing statistical and machine learning methods for large-scale integrative analysis of high-throughput genomic data and natural language processing. Previously Dr. Yang worked at Johnson and Johnson, Amgen and Biogen, where he had gained extensive research and analytic experience in technology applications for drug discovery. Dr. Yang earned his medical degree from Shanghai Medical University, and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Master’s degree in general/experimental psychology from Central Michigan University.
Guo-Cheng Yuan, PhD
Dr. Yuan earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Mathematics from University of Maryland at College Park in 1999. Following several years of transition, he began a career in computational biology by taking a postdoctoral position at the Bauer Center of Genomic Research at Harvard University in 2004. He is currently an Associate Professor of Computational Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health. His research has been focused on developing statistical and computational methodologies for genomic data analysis and integration, with the aim to understand systems-level gene regulatory mechanisms. He present research topics include: (1) Developing methods for gene regulatory network inference by integrating genomic and epigenomic data; (2) Developing methods for characterizing the combinatorial chromatin state from ChIPseq data; (3) Developing methods for single-cell gene expression data analysis; (4) Developing methods for interrogating the connection between genomic and epigenomic variations; (5) Using systems biology approaches to characterize the gene regulatory networks underlying stem cell maintenance and cell-fate transition; (6) Using systems biology approach to characterize the biological functions of genetic variants associated with cancer and lung diseases. His group collaborates closely with both basic biologists and clinicians in Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Yuan earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Mathematics from University of Maryland at College Park in 1999. Following several years of transition, he began a career in computational biology by taking a postdoctoral position at the Bauer Center of Genomic Research at Harvard University in 2004. He is currently an Associate Professor of Computational Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard School of Public Health. His research has been focused on developing statistical and computational methodologies for genomic data analysis and integration, with the aim to understand systems-level gene regulatory mechanisms. He present research topics include: (1) Developing methods for gene regulatory network inference by integrating genomic and epigenomic data; (2) Developing methods for characterizing the combinatorial chromatin state from ChIPseq data; (3) Developing methods for single-cell gene expression data analysis; (4) Developing methods for interrogating the connection between genomic and epigenomic variations; (5) Using systems biology approaches to characterize the gene regulatory networks underlying stem cell maintenance and cell-fate transition; (6) Using systems biology approach to characterize the biological functions of genetic variants associated with cancer and lung diseases. His group collaborates closely with both basic biologists and clinicians in Harvard Medical School.