Cancer Ecology Center team members
The scientists working in the Cancer Ecology Center are dedicated to understanding the ecology of cancer, how cancer metastasizes and evolves therapy resistance and developing new therapies for patients suffering from cancer.
Ramakrishna Prasad Alur, PH.D.
Lab Manager
Ramakrishna oversees the day - to day running of the lab and is studying cell cycle dynamics of the PACC state.
Kevin truskowski
Ph.d. candidate, cmm
Kevin studies the mechanisms of PACC state dormancy to “hide” from stress.
Michael loycano
Ph.D. candidate, CMM
Michael is studying cell cycle regulation during the polyaneuploid transition.
Chi-Ju Kim, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow
Chi-Ju is working to map the life history of the PACC state and understand role of extracellular vesicles in tumorigenesis.
Ella SANVEE
Research Technician
Ella is supporting the lab on various projects, including identifying molecular mechanisms of endocycling.
Maggie Yang
UNDERGRADUATE student
Maggie is working on multiple projects to understand the role of the PACC state in tumorigenesis.
Anna Gonye
Ph.D. candidate, CMM
Anna is investigating how the polyploid DNA is organized the PACC state.
Mikaela Mallin
ph.d. candidate, cmm
Mikaela is testing the capacity of cells in the PACC state to initiate metastasis.
George butler, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow
George uses his computational modeling skills to explore adaptive polyploidization in cancer.
Shilpa Nair Research Technician
Shilpa is screening for compounds that intercept the PACC state.
Louis Rolle
Research Technician
Louis is supporting the lab on various projects, including the longitudinal imaging of cells in the PACC state.
PAST MEMBERS
Haley Axelrod
Amber DeGroot
Liang Dong
Elizabeth Ferrer
Kengo Horie
Laurie Kostecka
Sabrina Mendez
Kayla Myers
Prince Parsana
Gonzalo Torga
Ken Valkenburg
Emma van der Toom
Jelani Zarif
Richard Zieran
Melvin li
ph.d. candidate, pharmacology
Melvin’s work focuses on mitochondrial structure and function in the PACC state.
Luke Loftus
Ph.D. candidate, cmm
Luke is developing therapeutic strategies to target the PACC state.
Chen-Fan (Bryan) Lee, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow
Bryan is studying the control of RNA expression of cancer cells in the PACC state and how it is linked to cell cycle.
Madison Purkerson
PH.D. Candidate
Pharmacology
Madison is exploring signaling pathways in the PACC state.