Sahand Hormoz (PI)

Sahand obtained his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University working with Michael Brenner. His postdoctoral studies were conducted jointly as a theorist at the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics (UCSB) with Boris Shraiman, and as an experimentalist in the lab of Michael Elowitz at Caltech. Sahand is Associate Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard University. He is faculty of the department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School and the department of Data Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is also an associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and affiliated with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Harvard Cancer Center. He is a faculty member of the System, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology PhD program and the Harvard Biophysics graduate program.

Isiaha Price (Graduate student)

I am a graduate student in the department of Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology. Most of my previous research and education has been at the crux of molecular and evolutionary virology and bioengineering/tech development. I am continuing that in the Hormoz lab, where I am setting up a pipeline for the experimental evolution of HIV for eventual use in gene therapy. During my free time, I enjoy hiking, caving, and watching Netflix.

Christoph Budjan (Postdoc)

I am interested in how cells make decisions about their fate and specifically, how these cell fate decisions are coordinated in space and time to make up embryos. I am using human pluripotent stem cells grown under defined conditions to create three-dimensional (3D) structures, which model many aspects of human embryonic development. These models are highly tractable and allow me to access cell states which have precluded detailed study due to technical and ethical limitations. By reconstructing development in a dish, we hope to better understand how embryos build themselves.

Javier Escabi (Graduate student)

I use population genetics theory and stochastic processes to study the origins and evolution of blood cancers. I am currently developing a computational method to infer the times at which the cancer causing mutations arise in individual patients and the rates at which they grow using the observed pattern of neutral, background mutations obtained through bulk whole genome sequencing of peripheral blood cells. I will apply this method to a large cohort of patients to directly measure the distribution of the times at which blood cancer mutations arise. In my free time, I can be found either playing the piano or playing basketball.

David Jacobowitz (Graduate student)

I develop experimental and computational techniques for the transcriptional profiling of cells in situ. I use pre-existing single-cell RNAseq datasets to design single-molecule FISH experiments that can efficiently determine a cell’s gene expression state, and I am excited to apply these technologies to tissue organization and development. When not in lab, I enjoy consuming copious amounts of caffeinated beverages and getting lost in Boston.

Renee Rubio (Lab manager)

I am the Research Operations Manager for the Data Science Department at DFCI, providing management, support, and guidance to the Hormoz Lab as well as all other wet and dry labs within the department. I have worked at Dana Farber for 16 years! In my free time I love hiking in the woods with my dog, and am a chauffeur to my two middle school daughters who are passionate about soccer and ballet.

Farzan Vafa (Postdoc)

My background is in theoretical physics and mathematics. I am working on directly observing the proliferation and differentiation of primary cells. More broadly, I am interested in the application of ideas from geometry and topology to biology. In my free time, I enjoy reading, racket sports, and listening to all kinds of music.

Shishir Adhikari (Postdoc)

I am a postdoc at Hormoz Lab. I am interested in complex systems. I work on circadian rhythm in stem cells and data-driven modeling of biological systems. I like hiking, rock climbing, cooking, camping, and photography. Recently, I have been trying to learn how to play chess.

Jingyuan Hu (Postdoc)

I am interested in developing theories and computational tools to decipher high-dimensional omics data. Specifically, I employ statistical modeling to grasp the stochastic nature of single-cell bacterial transcriptomes. When I'm not in the lab, I enjoy exploring worlds, whether they're tangible or digital.

Christina Noonan (Administrator)

Christina (Nina) Noonan is the labs Administrator. Outside of work, Nina enjoys spending time with her family. She loves watching her son play football and hockey and also loves watching her two girls dance.

cnoonan@ds.dfci.harvard.edu

You Kyeong Jeong (Postdoc)

I am building DNA recording systems based on CRISPR gene editing techniques. I’m implanting the highly optimized CARLIN system on the endogenous mRNA that could be transferred intercellularly. In addition, I am trying to develop new barcoding systems that can act as a stopwatch for external stimuli and the cell cycle. My ultimate goal is to let DNA tell us every biological incident that happened! In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, reading, watching photos and videos of my cat in Korea, and dancing.

Sung Chul Hong (Biostatistician)

I provide quantitative insights to improve design and understand results of experiments conducted by the lab members and researchers outside of DFCI. More specifically, I use various computational tools and machine learning methods to pre-process data, conduct statistical analysis, and provide visualization. My focus is in applying unsupervised ML methods in oncological practices, and I love giving yelp reviews and playing board games in my down time.

Seong Ho Pahng (Graduate student)

I am a graduate student in the Chemistry and Chemical Biology program. I develop models of biological processes and analyze simulated data from them. I do it because these models provide testbeds that help us plan new experiments. Outside the lab, I like to run, cheer for Celtics, and play with Pico.

Senjuti Gayen (Lab technician)

I am a recent college graduate with degrees in Biology and English. Presently, my focus revolves around deciphering cellular determinations of fate using three-dimensional representations that recapitulate human embryogenesis from pluripotent stem cells. I am collaborating with Christoph in this pursuit, with hopes of elucidating and recreating the intricate and complex signals cells experience during development in a dish. Outside of the lab, you'll find me engaged in volunteer work, working on my novel, composing short stories and poetry, experimenting with cooking, or attempting to make things, such as with ceramics or crochet.

Claire Shao (Lab technician)

I am a recent college graduate with a background in chemistry. Currently, I work on improving virus-based gene delivery systems via directed evolution. I also work with Christoph on modeling aspects of embryonic development using three-dimensional structures grown from pluripotent stem cells. When I’m not in lab, I enjoy long walks around the city and working through an ever-growing reading list.

Xuanqi Zhang (Postdoc)

I am working on generating high throughput data of cell cycle and spatial cell-cell interactions. I am interested in gaining insights into and finding predictable models to understand cell cycle, cell fate, cell interaction as well as tissue structure complexity from data. Outside the lab, I like science fiction and hiking.

Christie Yang (Lab technician)

I’m a recent college graduate with a background in biochemistry. I am currently investigating the directed evolution of HIV and related virus-based gene delivery systems with Isiaha. I am also interested in bacterial single cell RNA sequencing. Outside the lab, I enjoy playing the guitar, designing punny greeting cards, and night walks in the rain with friends!

Pico (Lab mascot)

Pico is a science loving dog as per his namesake. He can often be found looking out the window and contemplating the next great scientific discovery. When not helping his dad with his research, he loves to chase balls and find sticks to eat.

Lab Alumni

  • Haoran Cai. Former visiting student. Now grad student at MIT.

  • Max Nguyen. Former lab technician. Now grad student at Princeton.

  • Shaon Chakrabarti. Former postdoc (with Michor Lab). Now Assistant Professor at NCBS, India.

  • Duluxan Sritharan. Former graduate student (Biophysics). Now senior scientist in pharmaceutical Industry.

  • Shichen (Sean) Liu. Former lab technician. Now grad student at Caltech.

  • Anthony Henriquez. Former lab technician. Now software engineer at Bio-Rad.

  • Margaux Dastor. Former postdoc. Now scientist at Vector Biopharma.

  • Stuart Sevier. Former postdoc. Now president and co-founder of IMI.

  • Huiran Yeom. Former postdoc. Now Assistant Professor at the University of Suwon, South Korea.