Team | William Hwang Lab

MEET THE TEAM

Simches Research Center 8th Floor

185 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114

whwang1@mgh.harvard.edu

617-726-6906

William L Hwang, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Physician-Scientist, Center for Systems Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, Center for Cancer Research at MGH

Associate Faculty Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Will is an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, Principal Investigator at the Center for Systems Biology and Center for Cancer Research, Attending Physician in the Department of Radiation Oncology Gastrointestinal Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Associated Faculty Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He has had a long-standing interest in the immense temporal and spatial heterogeneity of biological systems and the many insights that can only be gleaned by studying systems at the level of their individual components—single molecules or cells. His work has been honored with numerous awards including the Rhodes Scholarship, P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans, Martha Gray Prize for Excellence in Research, Seidman Prize for Outstanding Thesis, summa cum laude honors from Harvard Medical School, MGH Clinical Research Award, William Shipley Research Award, ASCO/CCF Young Investigator Award, AACR NextGen Star, and Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists.

The Hwang lab is focused on studying tumor-stroma interactions at unprecedented resolution through the development and application of techniques in single-cell and spatial biology, multiplexed imaging, and functional genetic screens to patient-derived specimens, organoids, and mouse models to elucidate mechanisms of (1) therapeutic resistance mediated by genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic factors including cell state plasticity; (2) treatment-mediated remodeling of the spatial microarchitecture of tumors and underlying cancer cell-stromal interactions; and (3) tumor-nerve crosstalk, which plays a critical role in the pathophysiology and morbidity of many malignancies but remains understudied.

Will's hobbies include playing Legos with his son Benny, hanging out at Level99 with his team, going on outdoor adventures (hiking, paddle boarding, kayaking, camping), playing volleyball, cooking, and traveling.

Research Fellows

Peter Wang

NIH T32 Research Fellow

BS from Cornell

PhD from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Peter grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Human Biology, Health and Society. He received his PhD in Immunology from Washington University in St. Louis, where he investigated the transcriptional identity and function of macrophages in peripheral nerve homeostasis and injury for his thesis. His current research focuses on neuroimmune interactions in pancreatic cancer, with an aim towards identifying strategies for improving therapeutic efficacy. His hobbies include basketball, cooking, and exploring nature.

Favorite food: saffron curry with foraged chanterelle mushrooms

Screen Shot 2023-02-22 at 7.45.00 AM.png

Leou Ismael Banla

Research Fellow

BS from Minnesota State University Moorhead

MD/PhD from Medical College of Wisconsin

Ismael grew up in Togo (west Africa) and moved to the US for his undergraduate studies. He completed a BS in biochemistry in Moorhead, Minnesota, following which he moved to Milwaukee, WI for his MD/PhD. His graduate research was in microbiology, studying the genetic determinants of intestinal colonization by Gram-positive bacteria. Ismael is currently pursuing a medical residency in radiation oncology. When Ismael is not thinking about science or medicine, he spends his time video-chatting with his family in Africa, running, listening to podcasts, or listening to passionate sports commentators debate things that do not matter.

Favorite food: Jollof rice

Screen Shot 2023-02-22 at 7.43.36 AM.png

Dan Rosen

Research Fellow

BA/BS from UC Berkeley

MD from Weill Cornell Medical College

PhD from The Rockefeller University

Dan grew up in Los Angeles and attended UC Berkeley for undergrad. After a two-year stint as a high school teacher with Teach for America, he moved to NYC for an MD-PhD at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Rockefeller University. During his PhD, he studied immunology and DNA repair, specifically focusing on double strand break formation and repair in immunoglobulin class switch recombination. After completing an internship in internal medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii, he relocated to sunny Boston where he is currently a resident in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. When Dan is not sciencing or seeing patients, he is most likely running and planning his return to Hawaii.

Favorite food: iced coffee and ice cream

Graduate Students

Jimmy Guo

Harvard BBS PhD Candidate with Andy Aguirre

UCSF MD Candidate

Education: BA from Cornell

Jimmy grew up in sunny Los Angeles. He graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Biological Sciences before starting his MD/PhD at Harvard/UCSF. He currently works on dissecting malignant subtypes in pancreatic cancer, and he's particularly interested in characterizing the novel neural-like progenitor subtype. His hobbies include eating salad, taking unflattering photos of his labmates, and showering three times a day.

Favorite food: the roasted duck from Hong Kong Eatery if indulging, otherwise a custom bowl from Sweetgreen

Staff

Screen Shot 2023-02-22 at 7.41.17 AM.png

Xunqin (Elizabeth) Yin

Research Scientist

Lab Manager

MD from Qiqihar Medical University

PhD from Howard University

Elizabeth was born and raised in northeast of China. She graduated from Qiqihar Medical University in Clinic Medicine and practiced in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2007, she received her Ph.D. degree in Molecular and Developmental Biology at Howard University, followed by postdoctoral training at Northwestern University and cancer research at Mass General Hospital Cancer Center. She is interested in dissecting the mechanism of drug resistance as well as the interaction of cancer cells with microenvironment to identify new targets for combination chemotherapies. Her hobbies include running, cooking and spending free time with her family.

Favorite food: dumplings and spicy food

Carina Shiau

Associate Computational Biologist

Clinical Research Coordinator

Education: BA from Cornell

Carina hails from Houston, Texas and graduated from Cornell University with a major in Biology, a concentration in Computational Biology, and a minor in Biometry & Statistics. She currently works on developing computational methods for understanding the single-cell spatial transcriptomic landscape of pancreatic cancer. Carina is an avid enthusiast of 18th century fashion trends, art, and watered-down matcha lattes.

Favorite animals: dogs and pigs!

Jennifer Su

Research Technician (co-affiliation with Tyler Jacks)

Education: BS from UCLA

Jennifer grew up in the Bay Area. She graduated from UCLA with a major in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. She currently works on identifying the transcriptional mediators involved in tumor-nerve crosstalk. Her hobbies include eating and sleeping.

Favorite drink: Matcha latte with less ice, regular sugar, and whole milk because she's not lactose intolerant (yet)

Nicole Lester

Research Technician

Education: BS from The College of New Jersey

Nicole grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She graduated from The College of New Jersey with a major in Biology and a minor in Anthropology. Nicole has a particular interest in neuroscience and is excited to better understand tumor-nerve crosstalk. Her hobbies include running, hiking, eating pastries and precision baking.

Fun fact: Nicole was a competitive pole vaulter for 8 years

Rotating & Visiting Graduate Students

Jeanna Mary Qiu

Harvard BBS PhD Candidate with Andy Aguirre

Harvard Medical School Pathways MD Candidate

Education: AB from Harvard College

Jeanna is a MD-PhD student at Harvard Medical School in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD program and Pathways MD program. Originally from New Jersey, she graduated from Harvard College with a concentration in Chemical and Physical Biology and a secondary in Sociology. In her free time, she enjoys playing cello, staying active with yoga/ballet/pilates, and eating desserts.

Favorite food: fried rice

Dennis Gong

Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD Candidate, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology

Education: BS from Johns Hopkins University

Dennis is a PhD student in the Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) program at Harvard & MIT. Before moving to Cambridge, he grew up in Baltimore and went to college at Johns Hopkins where he graduated with majors in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Math. Dennis is interested in developing new technologies to understand treatment resistance and enable precision medicine in cancer. Outside of the lab, he enjoys running, playing chess, and spending time with friends and family.

Favorite food: Beijing roast duck

Saifur Rahaman

Visiting PhD Student from the City University of Hong Kong

Education: BS and MS from University of Chittagong

Saifur is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the City University of Hong Kong, where his research area focuses on cancer genomics and bioinformatics. He is also an assistant professor (on study leave) at IIUC. He grew up in Chittagong, the port city of Bangladesh. He graduated from the University of Chittagong with a BS and MS in Computer Science and Engineering. He currently works on early cancer detection using single-cell multi-omics data of pancreatic precursor lesions/early-stage invasive disease, integrated biomarker development using matched blood and tissue specimens, and combined single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing of different malignant cell subtypes to reveal the genetic determinants of malignant cell state. His hobbies include cooking, movies, and weekend outing.

Favorite food: Indian and Bangla halal cuisine and biriyani. Drink: matcha latte with extra milk and sugar or espresso and milkshake.

Willa (Yueying) Wei

Visiting MEng Student from Cornell

Education: BASc of Chemical Engineering from University of Toronto

Willa grew up in Tianjin, China. She completed her undergraduate study in Chemical Engineering at University of Toronto before starting her MEng in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. She is passionate about researching and developing treatments for cancers and has a particular interest in computational genomics. She loves hiking and exploring nature in her spare time.

Favorite dog breed: Samoyed. Not only are they nicknamed "the Smiley Dog", but they also love singing and dancing to music!

Affiliated Medical Residents & Undergraduates

Screen Shot 2023-02-22 at 7.47.32 AM.png

Ryan Park

Resident, Harvard Radiation Oncology Program

Primary affiliation: Nir Hacohen

Education: BS/MS from Yale, MD from Harvard

Ryan is a radiation oncology resident and postdoctoral fellow in Nir Hacohen’s lab. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and spent part of his childhood in Seoul before moving to the Northeast for high school. He earned a BS and MS in biophysics and biochemistry at Yale, where he conducted research in neuronal cell biology. He then attended Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, where he applied molecular biology and genomics approaches to the study of T-cell biology and HIV in the laboratory of Bruce Walker as an HHMI fellow. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is currently a resident in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program in the ABR Holman Research pathway.

Screen Shot 2023-02-22 at 7.50.50 AM.png

Diana Shi

Resident, Harvard Radiation Oncology Program

Primary affiliation: William Kaelin Jr

Co-mentored by Kaelin & Sam McBrayer (UT Southwestern)

Education: BS from Princeton, MD from Harvard

Diana grew up in Morgantown, WV. She graduated from Princeton University, followed by Harvard Medical School. She is interested in understanding the biology of IDH-mutant glioma brain tumors and developing new treatments for this disease. Her hobbies include cooking/eating, rock climbing, playing violin, and rooting for Rafael Nadal.

Favorite food: carbs

Amandeep Mahal

Resident, Harvard Radiation Oncology Program

BS from UCLA

MD from Yale

Aman is a radiation oncology resident. He was born and raised in Fresno, California. His upbringing taught him the importance of community and instilled within him the drive to create change, which ultimately led him to a career in medicine. He attended UCLA for his undergraduate studies, Yale for medical school, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for internship, and is currently a resident in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. While not in the hospital, he enjoys being outdoors, exploring new restaurants, traveling, fitness, and anything tech related.

Favorite drink: dirty iced chai latte (even in the winter!)

Alumni

Hannah Hoffman

Past Lab Status: Research Technician with Tyler Jacks

Current Status: Harvard-MIT MD/PhD trainee on the HST track

Education: BS from Dartmouth

Hannah is a trainee with the Harvard-MIT MD/PhD program and HST. She graduated from Dartmouth in 2019 and worked as a research associate at the Koch and Broad Institutes with Dr. Hwang before starting med school. She is broadly interested in applying single-cell and spatial technologies to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in tumor-peripheral nerve interactions. In her free time, she enjoys playing Wordle, mentoring underserved STEM students, and taking very slow jogs around Boston.

Fun fact: her grandmother holds a world record and two US records in sprinting!

Zack Ely

Past Lab Status: MIT Biology PhD Candidate with Tyler Jacks

Education: BS from Vanderbilt, PhD from MIT

Zack grew up in Tennessee and graduated from Vanderbilt University with a major in Molecular Biology and minors in Chemistry and Literature. His graduate work combined genome-editing and bioinformatics to study cancer genetics and tumor immunology, with an aim toward identifying new immunotherapy strategies for pancreatic cancer. At the Hwang Lab, Zack worked to understand the composition of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors at high resolution. Outside of work, Zack likes to hike, and he closely follows the NBA, especially LeBron James.

Fun fact: Zack pioneered a super-loaded two-taco ordering method that maximizes calorie:dollar ratios for orders at Chipotle

Steven Wang

Past Lab Status: Undergraduate Visiting Student

Education: BS from Columbia

Steven grew up in the tropical city of Shanghai, went to boarding school in freezing New Hampshire, and is now studying in New York where the climate is relatively reasonable. At the Hwang Lab, Steven is working on creating PDAC co-culture models of fibroblasts and malignant cells, and he's applying this model to investigate tumor microenvironment-induced drug resistance. Steven likes to game on his oversized laptop, and prefers cost-efficient food options. Steven does not like French food because he never had a good experience eating it.

Favorite food: stir-fried pea shoots and gyudon