2024 SBDS Trainees

Jeffrey Hsu (Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics)

Quantifying the cellular topography of triple-negative breast cancer premalignancy

I am interested in using highly-multiplexed imaging and machine learning to study how spatial cellular patterns in the tumor microenvironment can inform prognostic outcomes in patients.

Primary Mentor: Kevin Janes

Secondary Mentor: Stefan Bekiranov


 

Audrey Kidd (Biomedical Engineering)

Elucidating AP-1 Transcription Factor Network-Mediated Heterogeneity in Melanoma Cell Responses to Targeted Therapy

I am interested in understanding non-genetic heterogeneity within tumors and its effect on resistance to standard-of-care therapies in cancer. My previous work was in characterizing collective invasion of cancer cells undergoing the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT).

Primary Mentor: Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani

Secondary Mentor: Eli Zunder

 


 

Lavie Ngo (Biomedical Engineering)

Computational modeling of cardiomyocyte survival pathways during myocardial ischemia

I use computational and experimental methods to predict and validate mechanisms of cardiomyocyte survival, and am interested in identifying drugs that increase cardiac survival during myocardial infarction.

Primary Mentor: Jeff Saucerman

Secondary Mentor: Stefano Toldo

Mary O'Sullivan (Biomedical Engineering)

Uncovering the Cellular Interactome Drivers of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Response in Melanoma

I am interested in understanding how immune checkpoint inhibitors alter intercellular communication in the tumor microenvironment. Using computational and experimental approaches, I aim to elucidate the interactions that define response to identify targets for improving immunotherapy.

Primary Mentor: Sepideh Dolatshahi

Secondary Mentor: Elizabeth Gaughan

William Shao (Biomedical Engineering)

Understanding the role of mitochondrial fragmentation in colorectal cancer metabolism

I am interested in how cellular metabolism adapts and changes to support tumorigenesis. By combining mechanistic and data-driven models, I aim to identify and distill metabolic patterns, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic strategies.

Primary Mentor: Jason Papin

Secondary Mentor: David Kashatus

Madison Turner (Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology (MIC))

Profiling the tissue microenvironment of Large Granular Lymphocyte (LGL) Leukemia

I am interested in defining cell-cell interactions and gene expression profiles in LGL Leukemia patient tissues. I will be utilizing spatial transcriptomics to profile the tissue microenvironment in patient samples with the goal of identifying more effective therapeutic targets for patient treatment.

Primary Mentor: Thomas Loughran

Secondary Mentor: Sepideh Dolatshahi

Yasmina Zeineddine (Biomedical Engineering)

A Systems  Biology Approach to Investigating Impaired Regeneration in Atrophied Skeletal Muscle

I am developing a computational model of skeletal muscle to simulate disuse atrophy, injury, and regeneration. This project aims to better understand the mechanisms behind impaired muscle regeneration in unloaded muscle and inform treatment strategies for unloaded populations with muscle injuries.  

Primary Mentor: Silvia Blemker

Secondary Mentor: Shayn Peirce-Cottler

Past Year Cohorts

2023 

Gabe Hanson, Biomedical Engineering

Russell Hawes, Biomedical Engineering

Shay Ladd, Biomedical Engineering

Kris Pas, Biomedical Engineering

Jamel Simpson, Biophysics

Lionel Watkins, Biomedical Engineering

Yonatan Degefu, Biomedical Engineering

Candace Lei, Biomedical Engineering

Catalina Alvarez Yela, Biomedical Engineering

2022

Tien Comlekoglu, Biomedical Engineering

Remziye Erdogan, Biomedical Engineering

Mario Garcia, Biomedical Engineering

Emma Glass, Biomedical Engineering

Nathan LeRoy, Biomedical Engineering

Conner Moore, Biomedical Engineering

Contact Us

Connie Pace

Administrator, Systems & Biolecular Data Science Training Program

UVA BME | MR5 Room 2010

Phone: 434 243-7660

clp2uh@virginia.edu