Andrea Viale, MD
Andrea Viale, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genomic Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His lab studies stem cells, metabolism, epigenetic reprogramming during the early phase of tumor progression to heterogeneity, and treatment resistance, with a focus on pancreatic cancer. With medicine continuously growing and advancing, Dr. Viale’s group is focused on utilizing novel approaches to improve in vivo modeling of human disease.
Louise McCullough, MD, PhD
Louise McCullough, M.D., Ph.D., is a fellow of the American Heart Association, a member of eight professional societies, including the American Heart Association and American Academy of Neurology, a full Professor and Chair in the Department of Neurology at the McGovern Medical School, and holds the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Distinguished Chair. Her lab studies the cell death mechanisms in the brain following stroke and how they are dependent on sex of the patient, age-related inflammation in both the brain and peripheral tissues after stroke, and the effects of social isolation on immune response to stroke during chronic recovery.
Dr. McCullough’s group is also using bone marrow replacement and manipulation of the microbiome in an attempt to reduce brain injury via age-related inflammation.
Vincent Bernard, MD, PhD
Vincent Bernard, M.D., PhD., graduated from GSBS in 2018. He was in Dr. Anirban Maitra's lab and a member of the Cancer Biology Program. After receiving his Ph.D. at GSBS, he completed his M.D. at the University of Puerto Rico as part of MD Anderson's joint MD/PhD Program agreement with UPR. Vince is currently a resident in Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson, conducting research with Drs. Cullen Taniguchi and Scott Kopetz.
Wenbo Li, PhD
Wenbo Li, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and CPRIT Scholar in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at McGovern Medical School. Dr. Li’s lab focuses on charting the function and regulation of noncoding RNA/DNA in the human genome. He utilizes interdisciplinary techniques to elucidate the molecular functions of enhancer-derived noncoding RNAs, characterize the three-dimensional genome architecture in gene regulation and cancer, and understand the noncoding genome variations and mutations in human cancer.
Valeria Vasquez, PhD
Valeria Vasquez, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School. Her lab focuses on understanding somatosensation and blood pressure regulation through elucidating the structural and molecular basis of the ion channels involved in these processes. To address these, Dr. Vasquez's lab utilizes multidisciplinary approaches including electrophysiology, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and behavioral assays.
Jena Tavormina, PhD
Jena Tavormina, Ph.D., received her degree from GSBS in 2019 and was in the Cancer Biology Program. As a graduate student, she was focused on developing early diagnostic methods for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma using DNA isolated from exosomes. After defending, she transitioned to a career in management consulting at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she worked primarily in the Healthcare and Consumer/Retail practice areas. Recently, she accepted an Associate Director position at Abbvie, where she works on clinical trial acceleration and innovation strategy projects. In her spare time, Jena is a competitive horseback rider and big Houston sports fan.
Jiexi Li, PhD
Jiexi Li, Ph.D., studied in Dr. Ronald DePinho’s laboratory, graduating in May 2023. With an intensive background in epigenetics, embryonic stem cells research, and iPSC studies, Jiexi joined GSBS to study the epigenetic factors that govern colorectal cancer liver metastasis in a gender-specific manner and is now an experienced scientist, skilled in cancer biology and bioinformatics.
David Pellman, MD
David Pellman, M.D., is the Margaret M. Dyson Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Associate Director for Basic Science at the Dana-Farber/ Harvard Cancer Center. His lab works on the mechanism of cell division and how certain cell division errors drive rapid genome evolution. Utilizing molecular genetics, biochemistry, and imaging, Dr. Pellman’s group is able to study spindle positioning, asymmetric cell division, the mechanisms of spindle assembly, cytokinesis, and nuclear envelope assembly, and how they are affected through mutations.
Robert Jenq, MD
Robert Jenq, M.D., is a Deputy Department Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Genomic Medicine and Department of Stem Cell Transplantation in the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His lab examines the impact of the microbiome on cancer treatment, with a particular focus on bone marrow transplantation and cancer immunotherapies. Utilizing patient bio-specimen collections, microbiome sequencing, computational methods, functional assays, and pre-clinical models, his group hopes to develop and translate strategies to target the microbiome to further increase treatment efficacy while reducing toxicities.
Stephanie Leal, PhD
Stephanie Leal, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University. Dr. Leal’s lab focuses on understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying memory processing and how these mechanisms are modulated by emotion and aging. Her group utilizes a combination of sensitive cognitive measures, high-resolution functional imaging techniques, PET imaging and translational applications to study populations with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and late-life depression.
UTHealth - Houston's Health University
