Meet the Team

I am a surgical oncologist and an assistant professor in The Ohio State University College of Medicine. My research interests span both clinical and basic science arenas with the goal of improving survival in patients with cancer. In the laboratory, I actively seeking ways to expand and improve the efficacy of T-cell based immunotherapies for the treatment of metastatic cancer, specifically the adoptive transfer of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), which represents an attractive treatment option for patients with a variety of solid tumors.

I am an associate professor in The Ohio State University College of Medicine and a tumor immunologist with 28 years of experience in the fields of tumor immunology, antibody immunotherapy and neovascular-targeting therapies. My research focuses on identifying novel oncotargets in the tumor microenvironment and developing corresponding targeted therapies, including immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy and gene therapy.

I am an assistant professor in The Ohio State University College of Medicine and a cancer biologist with extensive experience in basic and translational studies of therapeutic response. With a deep interest in molecular mechanisms of cellular response to stress, including stress induced by therapeutic treatment, I specifically investigate stress response phenotypes that enhance tumor cell immunogenicity.

I am a postdoctoral fellow in The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. My postdoctoral research involves the identification of novel synergistic drug combinations to treat melanoma and breast cancer, and gain mechanistic insight into their activity on tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. My research utilizes clinically relevant models such as PDXs (patient-derived xenografts) and PDOs (patient-derived organoids). I also investigate the mechanisms underlying drug-induced immunogenicity to develop novel approaches for augmenting immunotherapy through rational combinations. I am a member of the American Association of Cancer Research and the Society of Melanoma Research. My research is supported by the prestigious Pelotonia Fellowship Award for the years 2021-2023.

I have a background in stem cells, cancer metabolism, biotechnology, and cellular and molecular biology. I joined the lab as a research scientist in May 2021. I am interested in the crosstalk between cancer metabolism and immunometabolis, as well as the role of immune cells during cancer progression and metastasis.

I am a general surgery resident and a postdoctoral research fellow whose research focuses on the role of preoperative exercise on the tumor microenvironment and inflammation in hepatobiliary, pancreatic and gastric cancer. I am taking a lead role in the randomized clinical trial analyzing the utilization of preoperative medical and physical optimization of patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery for abdominal cancers. I am also interested in investigating clinical outcomes following minimally invasive surgery in hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery. I am in the process of earning a Master of Medical Science degree with a focus in clinical trials.

I am a research assistant for the Translational Oncology and Therapeutics Research Group. I am from Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in molecular cellular developmental biology. My primary function is to help with lab maintenance, oversee the handling of the mice and to assist his lab members when needed. 

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Translational Oncology and Therapeutics Research Group. My research area is focused on developing a non-invasive technique to expand and improve the efficacy of T-cell-based immunotherapies using the peripheral blood mononucleated cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for metastatic solid tumor treatments.

I am a research scientist at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. I am an expert immunologist and have extensive experience studying innate lymphocytes, such as NK cells, and innate-like T cells, such as NKT cells and MAIT cells. Of significant therapeutic importance in infectious, autoimmune diseases and cancers, my research has identified molecular and metabolic pathways associated with tolerance induction in innate-like T cells. My long-term research goal is to develop therapeutic approaches that will allow us to modulate host immune response, specifically to overcome anergy and hypo-responsiveness to improve patient outcomes.

I am the laboratory manager for the Translational Oncology and Therapeutics Research Group. My detailed experience and expertise in research methods, laboratory administration and management are invaluable to the group, for which I oversee daily lab operations, manage lab growth, and work to develop and utilize the latest strategies to manage workflow within the group.

I am a senior research associate working in Dr. Alex Kim’s lab. I am involved in elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which Twist-1 promotes epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) events involved in colorectal and peritoneal metastasis.

I am a research scientist who has taken a leadership role in analyzing biostatistical and biomedical research studies from the Translational Oncology and Therapeutics Research Group lab. With my extensive experience in clinical and biological research, I bring nationally recognized expertise in data analysis to the team. My specialties include machine learning, data mining and bioinformatics, including clustering, classification, bulk RNA sequencing, single cell RNA sequencing, viral origin and evolution analysis.

I am a postdoctoral scholar in the Translational Oncology and Therapeutics Research Group. My area of specialization is cancer molecular signaling and elucidation of signaling pathways in various cancers. My research focuses on understanding the role of IWS1 in the development and progression of retroperitoneal liposarcoma at the molecular level, as well as its role in tumorigenesis through alternative splicing.

I received my PhD degree from Fudan University, China, where I studied the role of NETs in sepsis and cancer progression. I joined Dr. Huang’s lab in October 2021. I am interested in the mechanisms of NETs formation and the interplay between NETs and cancer cells..