Lab Members
Swarnali Acharyya completed her postdoctoral training in cancer metastasis with Dr. Joan Massagué at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She joined Columbia University as Assistant Professor in 2014. Dr. Acharyya is currently an Associate Professor with tenure (since July 2023) at Columbia University.
Collaborator
Anup K. Biswas completed his postdoctoral training in cancer biology with David Johnson at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. He joined Columbia University as an Associate Research Scientist in 2014 and is currently an Assistant Professor in CUIMC Pathology and Cell Biology.
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Wanchao Ma has an M.S. in Biochemistry from Jilin University in China and has worked in Columbia University for over 20 years. He joined our laboratory as a Senior Staff Associate in 2014.
Angela Chow received her B.S. degree in Health Science at Stony Brook University. Angela joined our laboratory in 2022 as a Technician.
Courtney Coker has an M.S. degree in Medical Biology from Long Island University CW Post. Courtney joined our laboratory as a Staff Associate in 2014.
Deirdre Cossman has an MLS in Library Science from St. John’s University. She uses her knowledge of patient care and understanding of treatments, as well as her experience as a breast cancer survivor to enhance her work as a volunteer and patient advocate. Fond of research and passion in young breast cancer investigators, Deirdre has been able to share her insights and provide objective input into the research of the Acharyya lab team investigating cancer metastasis at Columbia University.
Leran Chen is a recent graduate of the MA in Biotechnology program at Columbia University. She is passionate about advancing research in cancer biology. Leran joined our laboratory in 2024.
Thomas Lo is an undergraduate student at the University of Chicago studying Biology and Neuroscience. He is excited to be exploring brain cancer metastases. Thomas joined the lab in 2024 as a summer research intern.
Liantianyun (Hanna) Zhu received her B.S. in Pharmacology from the University of Toronto. She previously conducted research on Alzheimer's Disease and began her Master's program at Columbia University in September 2023. Hannah joined the lab in the summer of 2024.
Alumni
Stephanie Calluori is from Barnard College and worked as a summer researcher in our laboratory. She published a co-author paper on cachexia while in our lab. She is involved with Columbia Public Health Club, CU Bioethics Society, and CU Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She is currently working at the National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH.
Vanessa Chin graduated from Barnard College in 2019 with a degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology. While part of our lab, she worked on investigating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Vanessa is currently a medical student at UMass Chan Medical School.
Seoyoung Han has a B.A. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. in Biotechnology from Columbia University. Seoyoung worked for her Masters thesis in our laboratory and then stayed in the laboratory during her gap year before medical school. She has published her second-author paper in Cancer Discovery in our laboratory. She is currently in her final year of medical school at Jacobs School of Medicine at Buffalo, New York.
Rohaan Hegde is from Mumbai, where he received his IB diploma from BD Somani International School. He graduated from Columbia University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. During his time at Columbia University, Rohaan worked in our laboratory and co-authored a paper on cancer cachexia. He is passionate about scientific innovation aimed at sustainability and conservation projects. Rohaan also works with the Kamal Udwadia Foundation on social impact projects aimed at empowering women and improving healthcare and nutrition in rural India. He is currently a research executive at Ispos, London, England.
Ahmad Rushdi Shakri, Ph.D, studied the role of ZIP14, a metal ion transporter in pancreatic cancer-induced cachexia, employing both mouse models and clinical specimens. Rushdi completed his Ph.D from Jamia Millia Islamia and International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), India. His doctoral work was focused on development of malaria vaccines and their pre-clinical evaluation, followed by their translational and clinical development. Rushdi published two first-author papers on cachexia in our laboratory. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the University of South Florida doing malaria research.
Timothy James Zhong received his B.A. in Biochemistry from New York University. After graduating, Timothy worked as a Research Associate in the Protein Development Team in the Department of Therapeutic Proteins at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. While at Regeneron, he worked on purification, characterization, and distribution of novel antibodies and proteins related to a wide range of diseases - from cancer immunotherapy to Zika viral proteins. Timothy completed his Ph.D. in Pathobiology and Mechanisms at Columbia University Medical Center in 2021 with three published papers. He is currently an Associate Medical Director at Cadent Health.
Gang Wang obtained his Ph.D. from Peking University in 2015 and joined our laboratory as a postdoctoral research scientist to study the mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis-induced cachexia. He published his co-first author paper in Nature Medicine in 2018 om our laboratory. Gang is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Weill-Cornell Medicine.
Hanna Scholze was an undergraduate student researcher in our laboratory from 2017 to 2018, contributing to work on cachexia and lung cancer metastasis. She published two papers in our laboratory. In July 2021, Hanna began her MD/PhD training with the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She plans to specialize in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and to pursue research on long-term effects of cancer therapies in children and young adults.
Yifan Tai received a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from Purdue University in 2018. Yifan joined our laboratory in 2020 as a Technician for his Master's thesis in Biotechnology at Columbia University. He is currently in his Ph.D. program at McGill University, Montreal.
Yifan Gu received a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from University of Delaware and a Master's in Biotechnology from Columbia University. Yifan joined our laboratory in 2023 as a Technician. He started his Ph.D. program at Ohio State University in Fall 2024.
David Pan is a New Jersey native double majoring in Biological Sciences and Chemistry at Cornell University. On campus, he is a member of the Cornell Lion Dance team and a biochemistry TA. He likes to longboard, karaoke, and play basketball with friends for fun. His favorite Ghibli movie is When Marnie Was There.