Mentorship Certified
Lijuan Feng
Assistant Professor
- Email: l.feng@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Our lab studies how disease-associated histone mutations disrupt chromatin and epigenetic regulation, contributing to developmental disorders, brain inflammation, and cancer. We take a multidisciplinary approach that combines biochemical and genomic assays, molecular genetics, cell biology, and both Drosophila and mouse models to investigate how these mutations impair development and drive tumorigenesis. Current projects focus on neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer-associated histone mutations, chromatin–immune crosstalk, and the discovery of chromatin-associated factors. Through this work, we aim to uncover fundamental mechanisms of chromatin dysregulation and identify new therapeutic targets.
Key words
Chromatin, Epigenetics, Gene Regulation, Cancer, Developmental Disorders, Brain Inflammation
Jennifer Foltz, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: jennifer.a.foltz@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Computational and Systems Biology
Immunology
Cancer Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Research summary
My research interests lie in integrating and applying novel computational biology techniques with mechanistic experimental immunology to understand drivers of response and resistance to NK cell therapies for cancer
Key words
natural killer cells, computational biology, single-cell sequencing, immunotherapy, nk cells
Mathieu Garand, PhD
Instructor
- Email: garand@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
General
Research summary
My research investigates neonatal immune responses after surgery and their connection to congenital heart disease. Clinical trial to study immune responses in pediatric pulmonary valve transplant recipients, both living and cryopreserved.
Key words
congenital heart disease, viral infection, immune responses, transcriptomic, biomarkers, immunophenotyping
Aimilia Gastounioti, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: a.gastounioti@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Cancer Biology
Research summary
Translational research in the intersection of computational breast imaging, artificial intelligence, and informatics towards improving breast cancer screening
Key words
breast cancer, computational imaging analytics, machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence, big data, data science, precision medicine
Nicole Gilbert, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: gilbert@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Research summary
We study host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in the female reproductive and urinary tracts, with a focus on the vaginal microbiome and UTIs
Key words
urinary tract infection, vaginal microbiome, women's health, host-pathogen interactions, mucosal immunology
Malachi Griffith, PhD
Associate Professor
- Email: mgriffit@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Cancer Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Research summary
Improving our understanding of human disease biology and the development of personalized medicine strategies using genomics and informatics technologies
Key words
genomics, bioinformatics, data mining, immunogenomics, precision medicine, personalized medicine, cancer vaccines, and cancer research