Current Students
Top Row (Left to Right): Karol Nawalaniec, Robert Fisher, Abigail Fisher, Sanjana Bhagavatula, Haiyuan (Henry) Sun, Kaitlyn Alimenti, Owen Sanborn, Erin Hennessey, Jason Weis
Bottom Row: (Left to Right): Erin Cullinane, Ali Gulhan, Margot Barroso Zuppa, David Engel
The students of the GPGG are a diverse group. Each has a strong background in research and helps support the strong community and learning environment.
George Chen (Dries Lab)
George is a sixth year student in GPGG working in the lab of Ruben Dries in the department of Hematology Oncology. The lab focuses on spatial transcriptomics and how this technology can be applied to understand the mechanisms and heterogeneity of triple negative breast cancer. In his free time, George enjoys listening to music and drawing.
David Engel (Waxman Lab)
David is a fifth year PiBS student in the GPGG program. He is a member of Dr. Waxman’s lab on the Charles River Campus. David’s project is focused on the differentiating different forms of fatty liver disease by identifying unique genetic markers through computational analyses. His hobbies include creating things through drawing, digital painting, and wood carving. At the same time, David likes pushing his physical limits with boxing, a good sparring match, and working out
Junxiang Xu (Dries Lab)
Junxiang is a fifth- year GPGG PhD candidate. He is co-mentored by Dr.Ruben Dries and Dr. Joshua Campbell. His research will be focusing on spatial omics and single-cell sequencing on prostate cancer, as well as the application of data analysis software related to them. In Junxiang’s spare time, he likes hiking and other outdoor activities.
Thomas Liontis (Grishok Lab)
Thomas is a fifth-year GPGG PhD student in Dr. Alla Grishok’s lab. He is currently investigating how the endogenous RNA interference pathway regulates viability and life span in C. elegans during loss of the histone methyltransferase DOT-1.1 or reduced insulin/IGF-1 signaling (rIIS). He is performing and analyzing small RNA sequencing to further characterize dot-1.1 and rIIS mutants. When not confining himself to the lab, Thomas can be found playing table tennis, performing some musical instrument, or walking with his family around Arsenal Yards.
Edward C. Ruiz (Dries Lab)
Eddie is a fourth year PhD student in GPGG. His research interests include RNA processing, spatial transcriptomics, and machine learning. He is co-mentored by Dr. Ruben Dries. Outside of the lab, Eddie enjoys watching basketball, exploring the great outdoors, and chilling with his cat. 
Erin Hennessey (Kotton Lab)
Erin is a fourth year PhD student in Dr. Kotton’s lab. She is researching gene therapy solutions for ABCA3-associated childhood interstitial lung disease. Erin’s hobbies include playing piano, attending concerts, and exploring the city with a bubble tea in hand.
Jason Weis (Mazzilli Lab)
Jason is a fourth year PhD student in the labs of Sarah Mazzilli. His work will use a variety of spatially resolved multi-omic assays and computational analyses with the aim of identifying biomarkers indicative of tumorigenesis and disease progression of early lung cancer. Outside of the lab, Jason keeps himself busy with swimming and cycling.
Rachael Thomas (Blower Lab)
Rachael is a fourth year GPGG student in the lab of Dr. Mike Blower. The Blower lab is interested in understanding how cell division changes gene expression in mitotic and meiotic cells, and how the process of transcription affects chromosome segregation. Rachael spends her free time knitting and listening to music, podcasts and audiobooks.
Owen Sanborn (Cifuentes Lab)
Owen is a third year GPGG PhD student mentored by Dr. Daniel Cifuentes in the biochemistry department. The lab’s focus is in mechanisms of RNA regulation involving microRNA, RNA-binding proteins, and RNA modifications. Owen’s project focuses on developing a single cell approach to mapping microRNA activity in developmental trajectories. In his free time, Owen enjoys running in Boston’s parks and trying new foods.
Lauren Ayers (Kotton Lab)
Lauren is a third-year PhD student in the Kotton Lab. Her research interests include lung developmental biology and regenerative medicine, and her research will utilize iPSC-derived alveolar epithelial type I (iAT1) cells. Outside of the lab, Lauren enjoys rowing, cycling, cooking, and spending time with her family (including her cat, Potato).
Kaitlyn Alimenti (Blower Lab)
Kate is a third-year PhD student in Dr. Michael Blower’s lab. During division, a cell undergoes drastic structural changes that coincide with alterations to gene expression. Kate is interested in understanding how mitotic transcriptional silencing promotes proper chromosome segregation. In her work, Kate is developing new ways to integrate CRISPR systems with techniques from cell biology and biochemistry. Outside of the lab, Kate enjoys exploring the outdoors, cooking, and cheering on Boston sports teams.
Ali Gulhan (Farrer’s Lab)
Ali is in his second year of a PhD program, conducting research in Dr. Lindsay Farrer’s lab within the Department of Medicine, Biomedical Genetics. His studies focus on the genetic factor influencing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. In his free time, Ali enjoys practicing archery, visiting archaeological sites, and reading mythic narratives.
Joseph Grieco (Zachariou’s Lab)
Joseph is a second-year PhD student in Vanna Zachariou’s lab in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biophysics. The Zachariou lab focuses on therapeutics for chronic pain conditions and investigates signaling pathways and transcriptional adaptations in the brain’s reward center that mediate addiction-like and antinociceptive behaviors. In the lab, he is interested in utilizing various biochemical and molecular biology techniques to investigate mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and signal transduction in the reward pathway and in dorsal root ganglia in models of neuropathic pain, aiming to identify more effective therapeutics for chronic pain. He also has a dog named Chubby, and love to take him for walks to the park and along the beach.
Abigail Fowler (Tay Lab)
Abby is a second-year PhD student in the Tay Lab. Abby’s project will utilize spatial-omics and single-cell RNA sequencing to study microglia heterogeneity and the blood-brain barrier. Outside of the lab, Abby enjoys cycling, experimenting with sourdough baking, and playing board games.
Karol Nawalaniec (Grishok Lab)
Karol is a second-year PhD student working in the lab of Dr. Alla Grishok in the department of Biochemistry. His project focuses on the role of nuclear Dicer and small RNAs (sRNAs) in oncogenic gene upregulation in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Outside the lab, I enjoy exploring the outdoors, gardening, plant-keeping, and routing for the Boston Celtics and Connecticut Huskies.
Sanjana Bhagavatula (Monti Lab)
Sanjana is a second-year PhD student in Dr. Stefano Monti’s lab. Her research will use a variety of computation analyses to understand the molecular mechanisms by which aging contributes to the etiology of head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinomas. Outside of the lab, Sanjana enjoys running, baking sourdough bread, and traveling.
Emily Kirchner (Mews Lab)
Emily is a second-year PhD student in the lab of Dr. Philipp Mews. Her work focuses on the role of metabolic enzymes on epigenetic regulation and chromatin organization, specifically in neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders. Outside of the lab, Emily spends her time in the yoga studio and running along the Charles.
Erin Cullinane (Mazzilli Lab)
Erin is a second-year PhD student in the Mazzilli lab. The lab’s focus is to develop models aimed at unraveling the regulatory mechanisms of epithelial and immune interactions involved in the progression of premalignant lesions, specifically focusing on understanding lung squamous cell carcinoma. Outside the lab, Erin can often be found baking in the kitchen or attending concerts. She also loves to hike and spend time with her family.
Margot Barroso Zuppa (Leshchiner Lab)
Margot is a second- year PhD student in Dr. Leshchiner’s lab. Her research interests include aging, cancer genomics, and novel therapeutics. Outside the lab, Margot enjoys running along the Charles River and dancing Cuban salsa.
Haiyuan (Henry) Sun (Hawkins Lab)
Henry is a second-year PhD student in the lab of Dr. Finn Hawkins. The Hawkins Lab is interested in how the human lung is maintained and responds to injury with a particular focus on the airway epithelium and disease of the airways. Outside of the lab, Henry enjoys running, baking, and tossing a frisbee.
