Lab Members
Marcia Haigis, PhDProfessor Phone: 617-432-6865 Fax: 617-432-6932 marcia_haigishms.harvard.edu |
Marcia C. Haigis, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, a member of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, and the Ludwig Center at Harvard Medical School. Following graduate training in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Biochemistry, Dr. Haigis studied mitochondrial metabolism during her postdoctoral research at MIT. She has contributed to understanding the role that mitochondrial sirtuins play in metabolism and disease. She has received a number of honors, including the Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar Award, the Brookdale Foundation Leadership in Aging Award, and selection for the National Academy of Medicine's Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Program. |
Shakchhi JoshiHarvard Medical School shakchhi_joshihms.harvard.edu |
As the Mass Spectrometry Director, Shakchhi oversees the maintenance and operation of 3 in-house mass spectrometry instruments. She coordinates run schedules, supervises and trains lab members and collaborators, and provides technical support. Shakchhi is involved in multiple, diverse scientific projects, conducting sample preparation and data analysis for metabolite profiling, stable isotope tracing, and lipidomic profiling. In her role as Lab Manager, she facilitates onboarding, organizes lab events, leads inspections, and ensures the overall smooth operation of the lab. Known Aliases: Sha, Shakichi, Shak, Schackchi, Shakira Favorite Food: Momo
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Jamie Brettjamie_obrettdfci.harvard.edu |
Jamie grew up in the Bay Area, Northern CA, where her high school biology teacher got her to read Loren Eiseley ("The Snout") and set her on the biology research path. Jamie went to Stanford for her undergraduate, where she worked in Anne Brunet’s lab on neural stem cell aging. She stayed at Stanford for her MD/PhD, and in Tom Rando’s lab she investigated skeletal muscle stem cell quiescence, aging, and rejuvenation by exercise. Jamie then traveled to Boston for residency at MGH and Heme/Onc fellowship at MGH/BWH/DFCI. She is interested in sarcomas and metabolism. Fun fact: All of my dogs have had the same name! |
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Erique Castroeriquecastrogmail.com |
Erique completed his PhD at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, where he studied the role of mTORC2 in adipose tissue biology. Currently, he is exploring the communication of Erk-mTOR signaling pathways and metabolism within the tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma. |
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Ji Seul Hanjiseul_hanhms.harvard.edu |
Ji Seul completed his Ph.D at Seoul National University in the lab of Jae Bum Kim. In his doctoral research, he investigated roles of HIF in the regulation of lipid catabolism and thermogenesis in adipocytes. Ji Seul is interested in studying how adipocytes sense and control metabolites upon metabolic diseases. Hobbies: Cooking, traveling |
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James Hanseongjun_hanhms.harvard.edu |
James is a co-mentored post-doctoral fellow in Drs. Marcia Haigis and Arlene Sharpe laboratories. He completed his BSc at McMaster University, and MSc and PhD at the University of Toronto. Under the supervision of Dr. Pamela Ohashi and mentorship/guidance from Drs. Tak Mak and Naoto Hirano, his doctoral research focused on developing strategies to overcome T cell tolerance in the tumor microenvironment. James joined the Haigis and Sharpe labs to further understand how tumor microenvironment and anti-tumor immunity change with aging. Favorite Food: K-bbq, KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), sushi Hobbies: investing (stocks, crypto, etc) & travelling |
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Annie Hsiehannie_hsiehhms.harvard.edu |
Annie is co-mentored post-doctoral fellow in Drs. Marcia Haigis and Bernardo Sabatini laboratories. She completed her M.D. at Tzu Chi University in Taiwan and then she pursued her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University under the supervision of Dr. Chi Dang, where she studied MYC disruption of molecular clock in cancer cells. In collaboration with Dr. Amita Sehgal, she also found drosophila Myc is required in maintaining circadian behavior and metabolism in fruit flies. She then completed her neurology residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and matched into the neuro-oncology fellowship program at MGH/DFCI/BWH. Annie is particularly interested in studying the mechanism of metabolic regulation of neurotransmitters in glioma. Hobbies: traveling, skiing, and trying interesting restaurants My childhood dream: Becoming a congresswoman |
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Songhua Husonghua_huhms.harvard.edu |
Songhua completed his Ph.D at Fudan University in the lab of Shimin Zhao, studying how metabolites regulates metabolism through forming covalent modification to proteins. During his Ph.D, he found a novel protein lipidation, namely tryptophan polyunsaturated fatty-acylation. In his post-doc, Songhua is more interested in immunometabolism, and he also maintains a great interest in SIRT4, the last puzzle of mitochondrial Sirtuins.
Favorite Food: Hot Pot, sushi Favorite Movie & Actors: King of Comedy, Stephen Chow |
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Shelly Kalaorashelly_kalaorahms.harvard.edu |
Shelly is a co-mentored postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Drs. Marcia Haigis and Steve Gygi. She completed her MSc at the Technion - Israel of Technology, under the supervision of Dr. Arie Admon, where she focused on immunopepetidomics, a method to identify antigens presented by the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) complex using Mass Spectrometry. She then pursued her PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science under the supervision of Dr. Yardena Samuels, studying antigens presented by melanoma tumors and the associated immune response. During her PhD, she identified various types of antigens, including mutated antigens (neoantigens) and antigens derived from intratumoral bacteria. In her postdoctoral research, Shelly is interested in utilizing different proteomic approaches to study immunity. She employs a chemoproteomic apoproach to investiagte the redox state of immune-related proteins and uses small cysteine-covalent molecules to modulate their function. Shelly is the Merck Fellow of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation and has received the Gene Lay Institute Fellowship Award. Hobbies: Traveling and going to the arcade |
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Liam Kelleyliam_kelleyg.harvard.edu |
Liam did his undergraduate research in the laboratory of Bryan Ballif at University of Vermont, where he studied blood group systems. He is currently researching the interaction between tumor metabolism and urea cycle dysfunction in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, he is interested in studying the contributions of proteomic changes to cancer metabolism. Hobbies: Editing Wikipedia
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Kiran Kurmikiran_kurmihms.harvard.edu |
Kiran completed his Ph.D at Mayo Clinic in the lab of Taro Hitosugi, studying how oncogenic signals modulate mitochondrial metabolism. Kiran's current work focuses on areas of immunometabolism, primarily investigating various cell-intrinsic metabolic processes that can influence the performance of immune cell function with the goal of exploiting these alterations for clinical intervention. Kiran is a Gilead Sciences fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation. Favorite food: chicken chihuahua from Taco Bell
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Zongyu Lizongyu_lihms.harvard.edu |
Zongyu was born in Tianjin, China, and he believes that Tianjin has the best breakfast in the world. He completed his undergraduate degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing and his Ph.D. at Yale University as the first student in Dr. Rachel Perry’s Lab. He joined Haigis Lab because he is interested in LC/MS-based metabolomics, and he wants to apply this technique to various types of lymphocytes. Fun Fact: Zongyu is a black belt holder in Taekwondo, but now he totally forgets how to use this martial art. |
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Eleanor Minogueeleanor_minoguehms.harvard.edu |
Originally from Ireland, Eleanor completed her undergraduate degree at Trinity College Dublin, where she first developed an interest in immunometabolism. She then earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge under the mentorship of Dr. Randall Johnson, focusing on the impact of hypoxia-induced metabolites on CD8+ T cell fate and function. Eleanor's current work in the Haigis lab focuses on unraveling the role of T cell metabolism in anti-tumor immunity. Hobbies: Traveling, hiking, rowing, and trying to convince immunologists that oxygen is cool. Favorite food: Bread. |
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Lydia Raineslydia_raineshms.harvard.edu |
Lydia completed her PhD at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH under the mentorship of Dr. Stanley Huang. There she studied how stress responses regulate immunosuppressive polarization of macrophages through metabolic and epigenetic means. For her Postdoc, Lydia is interested in understanding how tumor-immune cell communication influences immune evasion and pro-tumoral function through maniuplation of tumor or immune cell metabolism.
Fun fact: I once accidentally headbutted a shark
Hobbies: I love hiking, video games, and collecting house plants (I currently own over 30 varieties!)
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Jaime SchneiderJaime_Schneiderdfci.harvard.edu |
Jaime was born and raised in Florida, completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Northwestern University, and her MD and PhD degrees at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After training in internal medicine at MGH, she matriculated into the hematology/oncology fellowship program at DFCI and is particularly interested in thoracic oncology. She joined the Haigis lab to study mechanisms of metabolic and proteostasis dysregulation in cancer and the interplay between oncogenesis and aging. Spirit animal: The Dachshund |
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Conghui YaoConghui_Yaohms.harvard.edu |
Conghui completed her PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, where she worked on LC/MS based metabolomics of cancer cells. In her postdoc, Conghui is interested in studying how immune cell functions are comprised in the tumor microenvironment. |
Hyunji Anhyunjiang.harvard.edu |
Hyunji is a Ph.D. student in the BBS program and is co-mentored between Drs. Marcia Haigis and Miao Cui laboratories. Born and raised in South Korea, she completed her BSc and MSc at University of Seoul. She studied plasmonic nanoparticles for bio-sensing and bio-imaging during her master’s under the supervision of Dr. Inhee Choi. After that, she worked as a research trainee in the lab of Dr. Luke P. Lee at Harvard Medical School, where she developed her interest in biomedical research. She is currently interested in exploring heart regeneration from metabolic perspectives. Outside the lab, Hyunji writes books about city plants and enjoys bouldering, live music, playing board games, and being in nature. Fun fact: She majored in horticulture in undergrads, but her home plants never survive long. (Good with outside garden) |
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Yutong Daiyutong_daifas.harvard.edu |
Yutong (Mary) received her bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She did her undergraduate research in the Johnson Lab, working on antibody-polymer conjugates for cancer treatments. She is currently interested in integrating chemical methods to study metabolite signaling. Hobbies: traveling, playing board game! |
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Xutong Gongxutong_gongfas.harvard.edu |
Xutong is a PhD student in the Immunology program and is co-mentored between Drs. Marcia Haigis and Vijay Kuchroo laboratories. She completed her BS/MS at Johns Hopkins University, where she studied mitochondrial metabolism in CD8 T cell exhaustion under the supervision of Dr. Erika Pearce. She is currently interested in investigating the epigenetic and metabolic drivers in T cell aging. Hobbies: horror movies, jigsaw puzzles |
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Sheila Johnsonsheilajohnsonfas.harvard.edu |
Sheila received her B.S. in Biochemistry from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her undergraduate research in the lab of Dave Pagliarini was focused on identifying enzymes and precursors involved in coenzyme Q biosynthesis. She is currently interested in exploring how alterations in T cell metabolism improve antitumor immunity. Favorite show: Avatar: The Last Airbender |
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Ayantu Temesgenayantu_temesgenhms.harvard.edu |
Ayantu grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before moving to the US for her undergrad studies. She completed her BS/MSc in Biochemistry at Brandeis University, where she studied under Prof Dorothee Kern investigating the differential regulation and evolution of two tyrosine receptor kinases, Src and Abl. After college, she joined the cell pharmacology team at C4 therapeutics where she further developed her interests in translational oncology. She joined the Harvard-MIT MD/PhD program in 2019 and is currently pursuing her PhD in Immunology. She is broadly interested in the intersection of immunity, metabolism and cancer and is exploring the effect of different lipids on CD8 T cell function. Enjoys (not necessarily good at!): dancing, kickboxing, sushi, late night existential conversations (+ sushi) Fave (ish) shows: HTGAWM, most Netflix limited series Fave(ish) books: Americanah, The Vanishing Half Comfort shows: Friends, Community, Jo Koy standups |
Jinpeng Chen |
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Joseph Crowleyjoseph_crowleyhms.harvard.edu |
Joe graduated with a BA in Biology with a Minor in Environmental Studies from College of the Holy Cross. As a research assistant in the lab, his focus is on mass spectrometry. He also assists multiple postdocs in their research through bench work and analysis, works as an animal technician, as well as other administrative duties. Favorite Food: Squirrel Hobbies: Archery, bicycling, hunting. |
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Madiha Irshadmadiha_irshadhms.harvard.edu |
Madiha graduated from Williams College with a BA in Biology and a concentration in Neuroscience. She collaborates with Dr. Annie Hsieh as a research assistant in the laboratory, investigating the metabolic regulation of neurotransmitters in glioma. She also spends part of her time working for the Sabatini lab. Hobbies: Watching true crime documentaries and online shopping Favorite Animal: Cats |