Trainees
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