MEET THE TEAM
Simches Research Center 8th Floor
185 Cambridge St, Boston, MA 02114
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
Associate Director, Radiation Biology & Research Program at MGH
Will is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, Principal Investigator at the Center for Systems Biology and Center for Cancer Research, Associate Director of the Radiation Biology & Research Program at the MGH Cancer Center, Attending Physician in the Department of Radiation Oncology Gastrointestinal Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Associate 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, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Career Development Award, and 40 under 40 in Cancer – Rising Stars and Emerging Leaders.
The Hwang lab is focused on studying tumor-stroma interactions in gastrointestinal malignancies at unprecedented resolution through the development and application of techniques in single-cell and spatial biology, advanced microscopy, and genetic engineering to patient-derived specimens, stromal tumoroids, and mouse models. The lab is particularly interested in elucidating the (1) mechanisms of therapeutic resistance mediated by cancer cell-stromal interactions in the tumor microenvironment; (2) cell state plasticity involved in tumorigenesis and therapeutic resistance; and (3) mechanisms of tumor-nerve interactions, which are remarkably important in the pathogenesis of many cancers but poorly understood.
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, rock climbing, 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
Leou Ismael Banla
Holman Research Fellow (co-mentored by Miles Miller)
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
Dan Rosen
Holman Research Fellow (co-mentored by Nir Hacohen)
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
Beatrice Awasthi
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
BS and M.Eng from Cornell University; PhD from Harvard University
Beatrice, originally from Chicago, spent her early years in the Midwest before moving to upstate New York for her teenage years. She holds a BS in Biological Sciences and M.Eng in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and a PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences from Harvard. Her PhD thesis work focused on using phosphoproteomic/proteomic and transcriptomic approaches to decipher tissue-specific Egfr-driven signaling networks, and she is now most interested in using single-cell approaches to better understand patient- and tissue-specific responses of gastrointestinal tumors to treatment. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time outside, running, biking around Boston, and gardening.
Favorite food: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting
Phuong Nguyen
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
BS/MS from Drexel University; PhD from University of Pennsylvania
Phuong grew up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, before relocating to the US for high school. She earned her BS and MS in Biological Sciences from Drexel University and stayed in Philly for her PhD training at Penn. Her PhD thesis identified a lipid metabolism link between the skin and adipose tissue that is critical for whole-body physiology. Fascinated by the intricacies of inter-tissue crosstalk, she now studies tumor-nerve interaction in pancreatic cancer in the Hwang lab. When Phuong is not pipetting, she enjoys Zumba with friends, local standup comedy, and hunting for quirky animal facts.
Fun fact: Phuong owns a collection of vintage miniature perfume bottles from the past 4 decades.
Graduate Students
Jeanna Mary Arbesfeld-Qiu
Harvard BBS PhD Candidate (co-mentored with Martin Hemberg)
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, NSF Graduate Research Fellow
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
Ella Perrault
PhD Student from Harvard Neuroscience
Education: BA from Northwestern University
Ella grew up in Duluth, MN right on Lake Superior. She graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Neuroscience and French. After graduation, Ella worked as a tech for a couple of years in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Feinberg Medical School in Chicago. Ella's research experience has been mainly focused on investigating chemoresistant mechanisms in GBM; however, she is now most interested in understanding the reciprocal relationships between brain tumors and the nervous system. Her hobbies include taking her dog to the beach, cooking new recipes, and laying in the sun listening to music and eating fruit.
Favorite meal: Pikliz (Haitian pickled slaw) on grilled fish with a side of crispy plantains
Staff
Xunqin (Elizabeth) Yin
Research Scientist
Co-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
Nicole Lester
Research Technician
Co-Lab Manager
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
Jung Woo Bae
Research Technician
Webmaster
Education: BS/MS from Johns Hopkins University
Jung Woo was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. He received his Bachelor's and Master's in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Johns Hopkins University. During his time at JHU, he worked in a C. elegans research lab to uncover novel functions of the protein degradation machinery in meiotic prophase. Outside of lab, he enjoys singing, keeping fit, and reading good poetry.
Fun fact: Jung Woo is a published children’s author!
Rotating & Visiting Members
Hongyoon Choi
Visiting Professor, Seoul National University Hospital
Education: M.D. from Seoul National University College of Medicine, Ph.D. from Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science
Hongyoon Choi grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and obtained his M.D. from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 2010. He received the Korean Nuclear Medicine Board certification in 2015 after completing his residency at Seoul National University Hospital. His research primarily focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence in medical imaging and molecular medicine, with a recent emphasis on spatial biology data. He integrates diverse biological and medical data to discover biomarkers and disease targets through translational studies. By combining spatial transcriptomics with AI, he aims to initiate new theranostics and develop novel biomarkers. During his research, he co-founded Portrai, Inc., a biotech company transforming drug development using large-scale spatial transcriptomics data from human disease tissues. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, swimming, and Nintendo with his two young kids, as well as traveling.
Favorite food: Naengmyeon (Korean cold noodle), Coffee
Jake Adelman
Visiting medical student from George Washington University
Education: BS in Biochemistry and Chemistry from UMass Amherst
Jake grew up in Wayland, Massachusetts and studied chemistry and biochemistry at UMass Amherst. Jake then took a brief professional hiatus, working at DFCI, Tyler Jacks' Lab at MIT, and Repertoire Immune Medicines. During that time, Jake's research focused on developing and optimizing immunotherapy for various cancer subsets. Jake has since started medical school at the George Washington University and will graduate in May 2025. Jake's project with the Hwang lab is TBD but he looks forward to bringing his experience in immunology and molecular biology while learning about single cell and spatial biology. Jake's hobbies include rock climbing, running as far as he can, and making a simple meal far too elaborate.
Favorite food: Wagyu beef burger from Brassica
Undergraduates
Jared Ni
Undergraduate student from Harvard University
Jared grew up in rainy Seattle and is currently a Junior at Harvard concentrating in Computer Science with a secondary in Biology. He is interested in developing and applying computational methods to understand cancer cell morphology and aid the development of potential treatments. Outside the lab and school, he enjoys hiking, playing board games, and taking photos of buildings and nature.
Favorite food: Soup dumplings and egg tarts
Ivan Li
Undergraduate student from Tufts University
Ivan was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in San Diego, California. He is a junior at Tufts University currently studying Biochemistry. His research interests are, broadly, developing targeted therapeutics and is currently exploring protein editing and its applications to developing safer cancer treatments. When he isn't attending lectures and labs, Ivan enjoys playing badminton, watching documentaries, and competing with friends on Wii Sports and Mario Kart.
Favorite foods: Spicy beef noodle soup, boiled pork and chive dumplings
Alumni
Hannah Donner
Past Lab Status: MD/PhD Rotation Student
Education: BS in Biological Engineering from MIT
Hannah is an MD-PhD student in the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD program. She grew up in Bethesda, Maryland and graduated from MIT with a BS in Biological Engineering in May 2024. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, cooking new recipes, and biking around Boston.
Fun Fact: Hannah was a NCAA D3 diver in college.
Willa (Yueying) Wei
Past Lab Status: 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!
Deniz Olgun
Past Lab Status: Undergraduate summer student
Education: BA in Neuroscience and Computer Science from UVA
Deniz grew up in quiet Southwest Virginia and is currently a sophomore at UVA majoring in Neuroscience and Computer Science. He is interested in multiomics and computational imaging analysis of tumor-nerve invasion. Outside the lab, he coaches a youth robotics team and in his free time, he enjoys playing poker, pool, baking, and kayaking around Shenandoah.
Favorite desserts: künefe and chocolate mousse
Carina Shiau
Past Lab Status: Associate Computational Biologist, Clinical Research Coordinator
Current Status: MD student at Harvard Medical School
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!
Jimmy Guo
Past Lab Status: Harvard BBS PhD Candidate with Andy Aguirre
Current Status: MD student at UCSF
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
Ashley Lam
Past Lab Status: Visiting PhD Student from University College London
Education: BSc in Biomedical Sciences from UCL
Ashley grew up in Shanghai, she graduated from UCL with a BSc in Biomedical Sciences, before starting her PhD in UCL. She currently works on dissecting the role of mtDNA copy number in cancer, and developing 3D in vitro biomimetic breast cancer models. Her hobbies include (only recently) trying to cook Chinese food, listening to podcasts, and true crime documentaries.
Fun fact: Ashley is a secret candy crush master, currently sitting at level 7703.
Saifur Rahaman
Past Lab Status: 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.
Jennifer Su
Past Lab Status: Research Technician with Tyler Jacks
Current Status: Harvard BBS PhD student
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)
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
Ryan Park
Past Lab Status: Resident, Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. Primary affiliation: Nir Hacohen
Current Status: Faculty, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Education: BS/MS from Yale, MD from Harvard
Ryan is currently faculty at the MD Anderson Medical Center, and was 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.
Diana Shi
Past Lab Status: Resident, Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. Primary affiliation: William Kaelin Jr
Co-mentored by Kaelin & Sam McBrayer (UT Southwestern)
Current Status: Faculty, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
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
Current Status: Resident, Harvard Radiation Oncology Program
Education: 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!)
Faculty Collaborators
Tyler Jacks
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Martin Hemberg
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Andrew Liss
Massachusetts General Hospital
Lei Zheng
Johns Hopkins University
Cristina Ferrone
Massachusetts General Hospital
David Ryan
Massachusetts General Hospital
Helen Shih
Massachusetts General Hospital
Brandon Mahal
University of Miami
Aviv Regev
Broad Institute, Genentech
Fei Chen
Broad Institute
Ramnik Xavier
Broad Institute
Theodore Hong
Massachusetts General Hospital
Motaz Qadan
Massachusetts General Hospital
David Miyamoto
Massachusetts General Hospital
Henning Willers
Massachusetts General Hospital
Alan Pollack
University of Miami
David Ting
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mari Mino-Kenudson
Massachusetts General Hospital
David Ginty
Harvard Medical School
Jennifer Wo
Massachusetts General Hospital
Keith Lillemoe
Massachusetts General Hospital
Samuel Klempner
Massachusetts General Hospital
Clemens Grassberger
Massachusetts General Hospital
Jerome Cros
Hopital Beaujon INSERM France
Andrew Aguirre
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Carlos Fernandez-del Castillo
Massachusetts General Hospital
Timothy Wang
Columbia University
Vikram Deshpande
Massachusetts General Hospital
Daniel Haber
Massachusetts General Hospital
Colin Weekes
Massachusetts General Hospital
Jashodeep Datta
University of Miami
Martin Aryee
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute