April Apfelbaum (Postdoctoral Fellow)
April received her BS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Beloit College in 2017, where she worked in the lab of Dr. Amy Briggs studying the role of fpgs genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. She then obtained her the PhD from Cancer Biology PhD program at the University of Michigan in 2022. Working under the mentorship of Dr. Beth Lawlor, April focused on understanding how hijacking of normal developmental pathways lead to heterogeneity and cell state plasticity in Ewing sarcoma. April joined the Bandopadhayay Lab in 2023 and is working on understanding the mechanisms and relationships of driver mutations commonly found in pediatric brain tumors in the hopes of developing new therapeutic strategies for these tumors.
Fun fact: April does not drink coffee or tea (which perplexes Mimi) and loves milk and the whole lab likes to make fun of her for it. She also loves Michigan sports (maybe too much!) and Mimi is determined to introduce her to cricket and Aussie footy (AFL).
Michelle Boisvert (Graduate Student)
Michelle is a graduate student in Harvard’s Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD Program. She received her BA in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019. There, she studied the oncogenic role of certain signaling molecules in the Hedgehog signaling pathway, and became extremely interested in advancing cancer therapy research. In the Bandopadhayay Lab, Michelle is interested in using computational efforts to better characterize pediatric brain tumors.
Fun fact: Michelle is a huge Stephen King fan. She also loves sleeping in, making guacamole, and reading about art history.
Anna Borgenvik (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Anna developed a fascination for cancer biology while working towards her bachelor’s degree at Lund University, Sweden. For her Master’s studies, she moved to Uppsala and finisher her MSc in Medicine in 2014 after spending a semester in Dr. Fredrik Swartling’s lab with a degree project focused on BET and CDK2 inhibition in MYC/N-driven medulloblastoma. She immediately transitioned into a PhD program, still working with Dr. Swartling to continue her work on mouse models and medulloblastoma treatments. In October 2021, Anna defended her PhD thesis (and Mimi had the honor of being her faculty opponent!!). Anna moved to Boston in 2022 to continue her career as a scientist focused on pediatric neuro-oncology and hopes to make a difference for the young patients affected by this diverse group of devastating diseases. In the Bandopadhayay Lab, Anna will be expanding her skills to apply genomic approaches to understand the mechanisms through which gliomas develop, and to develop strategies to overcome therapeutic resistance.
Fun fact: Anna is a gardening nerd on hold, as she does not have a garden in Boston. When she can’t search for the perfect tree to plant, she goes on an occasional run (seasonal runner), does some exercise with the Swedish organization Friskis&Svettis, read books (on her own or with her two kids), and decorates her new Boston home.
Kelly Cai (Research Associate)
Born in Taishan, China and raised in California, Kelly completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles where she graduated with a BS in Molecular Cell Developmental Biology (’23). During her scientific journey, she completed a co-op at Moderna, where she worked on developing cell-based immunoassays to better understand the innate immune activation pathways in response to mRNA and DNA based therapeutics. She also worked in the Jonas Lab, a pediatric hematology oncology-based research group, where she contributed to the development of a new cell transfection method called filtroporation. Despite being terrified of New England winters, Kelly moved across the country to join the Bando Lab for the next installment of her science career. She is excited to be applying single cell sequencing and CloneSifter barcoding technologies in the Bando Lab to better characterize pediatric brain cancers and different modes of drug resistance within tumors.
Fun fact: In her free time, Kelly can be found exploring local climbing gym, running along the esplanade, or perusing the aisles of Trader Joe’s.
Timothy ‘Tim’ Chang (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Tim grew up in sunny SoCal (next to Disneyland!) before going to almost-as-sunny Stanford University where he received his BS in Biological Sciences and studied the effects of maternal inflammation on fetal neurogenesis in Dr. Theo Palmer’s Lab.
While at Stanford, Tim became interested in small RNAs and so he went to the not-as-sunny University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School to pursue an MD/PhD. For his graduate work in Dr. Phillip Zamore’s lab, Tim studied how piRNAs, germline small RNAs that are created from repetitive sequences such as transposons, are created and required for genome stability.
During his MD/PhD training, Tim became interested in pediatric hematology/oncology and stayed in Massachusetts (he is now accustomed to snow!) for Pediatrics residency at the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center, before joining the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s CAncer and Blood Disorders Center where he is currently training as a pediatric hematology/oncology fellow. Tim joined the Bando Lab in 2023 to study the role of senescence and repetitive elements in pediatric brain tumors.
Fun fact: Tim enjoys learning about trains with his two sons, growing carnivorous plants, playing fantasy baseball (especially getting into advanced stats) and football. He has recently really gotten into listening to audio books – and is constantly looking for recommendations!
Jared Collins (Computational Scientist)
Jared was born and raised in Atlanta, GA where he received his BS and MS in Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology (’23). During his time at Georgia Tech, Jared worked in the lab of Greg Gibson, where he studied the etiology of SLE and Crohn’s Disease. For his Master thesis, Jared explored coherence and incoherence between GWAS and eQTL in Crohn’s Disease. Jared is excited to live in Boston and join the Bandopadhayay Lab’s mission to find better treatments for children with brain tumors.
Fun fact: Jared is a baseball fan is is looking forward to watching Red Sox games at Fenway – although he will still root for the Braves when they visit!
Adam Kebede (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Adam grew up in Ethiopia and moved to Bremen, Germany where he received his B.Sc and M.Sci in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Jacobs University which was his very first exposure to the exciting field of epigenetics. For his PhD, he then moved south to the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg (then to the IGMC in Strasbourg, France) where he worked in the lab of Dr. Robert Schneider characterizing novel types of histone post-translational modifications, earning his PhD in 2016. Adam then moved to Boston for his postdoc in the lab of Dr. Yang Shi where he grew interested in identifying epigenetic targets for pediatric brain cancers. In the Bando Lab, Adam is studying how alterations in chromatin factors lead to pediatric gliomagenesis with the ultimate goal of discovering novel therapeutic approaches.
Fun fact: Outside the lab, Adam is an avid soccer fan and enjoys watching the English Premier League. He can also be found doing crossword puzzles at odd hours.
Ria Kedia (Research Associate)
Ria was raised in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, a place known for its beautiful mountains. She graduated from Williams College with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a concentration in Public Health. During her time at Williams, Ria worked in the Loehlin Lab, where she studied the effects of tandem duplication on gene expression in Drosophilia melanogaster. She also worked in the Dean Lab, where she studied the genetic and molecular basis for seizure disorders in Drosophilia melanogaster. For her Senior Thesis, Ria worked in the Bowman Lab, which is a new lab studying the metabolic adaptions occurring the cardiovascular system of mice during pregnancy. Ria has always had an interest in cancer biology, and will now study the mechanisms through which cellular senescence and repetitive elements may play a role in the formation of Diffuse Midline Gliomas.
Fun fact: Ria is a huge fan of music. She plays the piano, violin, and has just started learning how to play to tabla, a percussion instrument that is originally from the Indian subcontinent.
Sarah Lamson (Research Associate)
Sarah grew up outside of Boston. After high school, she completed her Bachelor of Arts at Dartmouth College with a major in Biology. While in college, she worked in the Shoemaker Lab and wrote a thesis on the interplay between ferroptosis and mitophagy. Throughout college, she also interned in the Moses Lab research the relationship between obesity and triple-negative breast cancer. In the Bandopadhayay Lab, Sarah is studying the characteristics and mechanisms of pediatric brain tumors that have FGFR alterations with the goal of finding new therapeutic strategies. She will also work to apply genomic approaches to study the paths through which infant brain tumors become resistant to chemotherapy.
Fun fact: Sarah likes to explore the outdoors, go to concerts, and do jigsaw puzzles. One day, she hopes to learn how to play the banjo.
Joohee Lee (Research Associate)
Joohee was born in South Korea and grew up in Delhi, India. After high school, she moved to the United States to complete her BS at UMass Amherst, focusing on biology. During her time at UMass, Joohee worked as an undergraduate research assistant in two labs: the Pallas and the Govind Lab. In the Pallas Lab, she researched the influence of early sensory experience on GABAergic signaling, and the maintenance of visual refinement throughout adulthood. In the Govid Lab, she investigated irreversible electroporation as a method to induce cell death in tumor cells, and studied macrophage function in adjusting the tumor micro-environment. In the Bando Lab, Joohee will be contributing to efforts to understand evolution of pediatric gliomas, with the goal of identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities associated with this.
Fun fact: Joohee loves traveling and exploring new places, but she hates flyings. She speaks three languates, and has a pet Shihtzu. She also loves cooking Indian food, and claims the best Butter Chicken in the lab – a skill that makes Mimi jealous as Mimi cannot cook!
Sean Misek (‘Adopted’ Postdoctoral Fellow)
Sean was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After graduating high school, Sean decided to travel the world, but didn’t make it very far — he only made it as far as East Lansing, Michigan where he earned a BS in chemistry at Michigan State University. Sean earned a PhD in physiology from Michigan State University where he studied drug resistance in melanoma. He is now interested in identifying new therapeutic vulnerabilities in pediatric gliomas.
Fun fact: Sean is from Michigan, the greatest state on earth – although Mimi thinks he should reassess this now that he has had the chance to visit Melbourne.
Merve Ozdemir (Research Associate)
Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Merve moved to California in 2019 for her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, form which she received her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular & Cell Biology and in Comparative Literature. During her time at Berkeley, Merve worked in the lab of Michel DuPage, where she studied the effects of regulating H3K27me3 on regulatory T-cell behavior, and wrote her undergraduate honors thesis titled ‘Investigating the role of EN101 and Hsp90 in Foxp3 regulation’. In 2023, Merve moved to Boston and joined the lab of Birgit Knoechel, where she worked on a project to characterize the tumor microenvironment in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) using single cell sequencing approaches. Now part of the Bando Lab, Merve is excited to join the efforts in better understanding and improving therapies for pediatric brain cancers.
Fun fact: Merve loves literature and languages! Outside of the lab, she can often be found reading, writing or learning a new language. She hopes to be a published author one day.
Sangita Pal (Senior Scientist)
Sangita, hailing proudly from West Bengal, India, took an interesting path to where she is today. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine on Kolkata, she decided to cross over to the other side of the world – to the USA – for her graduate studies. She received her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, under the supervision of Dr. Jessica Tyler. However, true to her adventurous spirit, Sangita took a scenic deter through Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan during her PhD for a few years due to a lab relocation, where she uncovered the molecular mechanism behind the decline in genomic stability due to replicative aging in budding yeast. Sangita’s postdoctoral work led her to DFCI, where, under the mentorship of Rameen Beroukhim, she spent countless days (and years!!) identifying genetic and chemical dependencies in mismatch repair-deficient (chemotherapy resistant) recurrent gliomas, with the goal of identifying new targeted therapies. Now, as part of the DFCI Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma Program, and as part of the Bando Lab, Sangita is diving headfirst into the world of pediatric low-grade gliomas, with the hope of finding new therapeutic targets tailored to individual tumor biology, and ultimately achieving better treatment outcomes for kids.
Fun fact: Sangita can claim to be an avid Disney fanatic and has proved that ‘Frozen’ can be watch more than 40 times (she lives with a four-year-old-empress)!! (Mimi aside – the four-year-old-empress is very cute)
Fun fact 2: Sangita has undergone some unknown LOH, losing her Indian genes associated with enjoyment of spicy food. She can still prepare savory Indian dishes very well (credit goes to her family recipes and long training in following detailed protocols) but rarely eats them herself!!
Nico Poux (Graduate Student)
After being spoiled with daily access to baguettes, Nico’s family decided to move from Paris to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010, where the sourness of the bread would provide him an opportunity for real character growth. As a leukemia survivor, Nico developed an early interest in cancer biology. He received his BS in Biology from Stanford in 2019 and did his undergraduate research in Irving Weissman’s lab, developing fluorescence-based tools for lineage tracing. Nico joined the MIT-Harvard MD/PhD program in 2020 to pursue a career in Pediatric Oncology and became a Bando Lab member as a BBS PhD student in 2023. Nico is thrilled to leverage molecular biology techniques to better understand mechanisms of pediatric brain tumor growth and maintenance.
Fun fact: Despite holding the Poux family record for the largest number of mosquito bites in a single night (63!), in the 12 years since receiving his bone marrow transplant, Nico has only been bitten once by a mosquito. He is proud to have exacted revenge on the mosquito that broke his bite-less streak.
Jenna Robinson (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Jenna grew up in a small village in the middle of England before moving for her undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge. Here she studied natural sciences and became interested in the intersection between biology and chemistry. Jenna then moved to Imperial College London to complete her biology in chemical biology, where she focused on how DNA structure changes as ovarian cancer cells develop drug resistance. Her project involved lots of genomics, synthesis of fluorescent DNA probes and many long days in dark microscopy rooms. Now in the Bando Lab, Jenna is interested in the evolution of pediatric brain cancers and how epigenetic and microenvironment changes can activate/deactivate oncogenic mutations.
Fun fact: In her spare time, Jenna loves to dance and has spent an unbelievable number of hours learning Beyonce’s dance routines. She also enjoys painting, reading and long walks.
Apichaya ‘Proud’ Sethaudom (Research Associate)
Proud grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, before moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for college, where she realized she would rather be too hot than too cold. At the University of Michigan, Proud studied Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and was first introduced to research while working in Dr. Ruma Banerjee’s lab to study epigenetic changes in colon cancer cells following hydrogen sulfide exposure. The summer before her senior year, Proud interned with Merck’s Oncology Discovery team to develop a cell line for studying the synthetic lethal nature of paralogs in cancers. After graduation, following her interest in cancers and their molecular basis, Proud joined the Bando Lab where is she studying derivers of Diffuse Midline Gliomas.
Fun fact: Proud refuses to use Fahrenheit and pounds as units of measure, and she did not know how to count American coins until 2024. On a different note, she loves listening to jazz/bossa nova, and she likes to collect cute papers and postcards from her travels!
Kee Kiat ‘Aaron’ Yeo (Affiliated Faculty)
Aaron was born and raised in Kuantan, a small beach town on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. He went to college in Malaysia before moving to Philadelphia. Aaron received his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in 2011. He completed his internship and pediatric residency training at Children’s National Medical Center, before immersing himself in pediatric hematology/oncology training followed by subspecialty Pediatric Neuro-Oncology training at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles/University of Southern California. Aaron is an Attending Pediatric Neuro-Oncologist at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
Alexander ‘Alex’ Zhang (Research Associate)
Alex received his BS in Biology and a minor in business in 2023 from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. While at Brandeis, he worked in Dr. Avi Rodal’s lab and studied the effects of valency and the cellular environment on liquid-liquid phase separation using Drosophilia endocytic proteins. In the Bando Lab, Alex is working to identify novel genetic dependencies in pediatric low-grade gliomas, and to optimize efficacy of small-molecule MAPK pathway inhibitors across pediatric gliomas.
Fun fact: Alex likes taking long walks, working out, and climbing so he can eat more food.
Daren Zhang (Research Associate)
Daren was born in New York and moved to Hong Kong when he was five, where he lived for 12 years. In 2019, he moved to Atlanta, GA to attend Emory University, where he received his BS in Biology with a minor in Anthropology (’23). At Emory, Daren worked in Dr. Yang’s lab, where he investigated ferroptosis and neurineural invasion in pancreatic cancer cell lines. In the Bando Lab, Daren is studying the cellular consequences associated with TP53 reactivation in Diffuse Midline Gliomas, with the goal of identifying therapeutic strategies.
Fun fact: Daren has two Shiba Inus names Kuro and Bolin whom he loves very much. He also has a twin sister!