Junjun Zheng, PhD
Dr. Junjun Zheng obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he developed and implemented spatial informatics applications across interdisciplinary fields for big data mining, complex system modeling, algorithm optimization, and interactive data visualization. He possesses unique expertise in spatial analysis and primarily works for the ImmunoMonitoring core, focusing on multiplex single-cell proteomic analysis (IMC), high-dimensional statistical inference (CyTOF), as well as single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis.
Dr. Yu-Lin Shih
Dr. Yu-Lin Shih received his M.D. degree in 2019. He has several years of clinical practice and research experience. He joined the lab in 2023 and focused on cancer and immunology. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has become a promising therapy in recent years. However, the solid tumor is still a hurdle in CAR T-cell therapy. The remodeling of the microenvironment is the key to eliminate the solid tumor in CAR-T cell therapy. Hence, he is working on the combination of CAR-T cells, antibodies, and even other CAR-immune cells to conquer solid tumors in CAR-T cell therapy.
Alan Hodges
Alan is a current first year graduate student in the MD-PhD program at Texas A&M. He graduated from Utah State University with a BS/MS in Biological Engineering in 2017. He has broad research interests in the field of cancer immunology in the setting of hematologic malignancies. For leisure, he enjoys running, backpacking and watching Aggie athletics.
Sumaira Ali, PhD
I have received my Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Kingston University London in 2014. During my Ph.D. I have developed and characterized the novel monoclonal antibodies against colorectal tumor cells for use in cancer diagnosis and therapy. After my one year of post-doctoral fellowship at Kingston, I moved to the US and joined the New York Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor of Biology where I used to teach Biochemistry and General Biology. I joined Dr. Chen’s Lab in September 2021. I focused on sequencing of hybridoma antibodies and screening for functional activity. I am also looking expression of LILRB2 and NOSH pathway genes in the cancer cells treated with LILRB immunotherapies. I also have expertise in cell culture and molecular biology.
Rachel Dubuque
Rachel Dubuque is a PhD candidate in the Weill Cornell PBSB program and is completing her thesis work here at Houston Methodist. Rachel received her Bachelors in Biochemistry from Michigan State University prior to matriculation in 2021. Her thesis work focuses on optimizing CAR-T therapy for the treatment of solid tumors.
Jie Yang
Jie is primarily working for the ImmunoMonitoring core with duties of antibody conjugation, IHC validation of imaging antibodies, staining CyTOF and IMC samples, sample preparation for staining (rare situations), Helios and Hyperion machine running and maintenance. Jie is also experienced in antibody purification, animal genotyping, sperm and embryo cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization, microinjection before he joined the ImmunoMonitoring core.
Arshiya Parveen, PhD
Dr. Arshiya Parveen received PhD in Life Sciences at the King Georges Medical University of India, where she investigated the neurotoxicity exerted by silica nanoparticles on dopaminergic and cholinergic systems in rats. In Oct 2018, she joined the Houston Methodist Research Institute as a postdoctoral researcher, where she studied molecular pathways that regulate autophagy in tumor-specific immune memory cells, and how deficiency in autophagy leads to defective mitochondrion accumulation, increased oxidative stress and cell death in these cells. In Nov. 2019 she joined University of Houston where she studied role of ER stress genes in regulating the molecular and signaling mechanisms in skeletal muscle growth, atrophy, regeneration and self-renewal and differentiation of satellite cells in myogenic lineage in adult mice. she joined Dr. Shu Hsia Chen’s group in Oct. 2021 and began working on cancer initiating cells, as well as the immunological changes inside the distinct tumor microenvironment, after administration of radiation therapy, chemotherapy.
Yitian Xu, PhD
Yitian received his PhD in Biological Engineering at Cornell University where he studied how Mycobacterium tuberculosis interacts with the immune system. He has been working on tumor metastasis and adaptive immune response since he joined Dr. Shu-hsia Chen’s lab at 2018. He also works for the ImmunoMonitoring core with duties of discussion with customers, sample preparation for staining (rare situations), Helios and Hyperion machine running trouble shoot, data transfer to bioinformatics, data deliver to customers and data discussion with customers.