Cancer Genomics and Systems Biology Laboratory

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Current members

Dr. Subhajyoti De is an associate professor at Rutgers Cancers Institute and the PI of the laboratory. Subho did his undergraduate in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, before receiving a PhD from the University of Cambridge and completing postdoctoral research at Harvard School of Public Health. He is driven by how the knowledge of the cancer initiation and progression could be utilized for better detection and treatment of cancer. He enjoys solving puzzles, traveling with family, and reading.

Christine Bellafronte is the Program Administrator for the group in the Center for Systems and Computational Biology. She has been with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey for the past 23 years. Chris handles all the administrative matters for the group and is happy to help anyone with any problems they may have. She enjoys spending time with family and friends.


Dr. Xiaoju Hu is a postdoctoral fellow who joined the lab in 2019. She previously completed her PhD in Genomics at University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is a bioinformatic scientist interested in using next generation sequencing techniques to understand the cancer instability. She is now using bioinformatic and genomics approaches to determine the functional significance of genomic landscape in predicting drug response.

Dr. Bassel Ghaddar has recently completed his doctoral research in the lab before continuing his medical training as part of the Rutgers-Princeton MD-PhD Program. He applies quantitative analyses and machine learning approaches to single-cell genomic sequencing data to study cell-cell and cell-microbiome interactions in tumor microenvironment. Bassel enjoys sports, hiking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Antara Biswas is a postdoctoral fellow in the De lab interested in using both experimental approaches and computational tools to explore intra-tumor heterogeneity and diverse cell states driving tumor progression at single cell level. During her PhD at National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, India, she used cellular assays and omics approaches to map the gene regulation network and cancer specific pathways mediated by JMJD6, a bifunctional histone demethylase and hydroxylase associated with poor survival, specifically in women with breast cancer.

Ahmad Salman Sirajee is a Ph.D. student in the Molecular bioscience program at Rutgers University. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Microbiology from the University of Dhaka. He is very interested in applying computational power to solve biological problems, particularly in detecting diseases and finding suitable therapeutic approaches. In this lab, he is currently working on analyzing sequencing data to study cell-cell and cell-microbiome interactions in the tumor microenvironment. He enjoys watching football (soccer) matches, playing sports such as cricket, table tennis, etc., and traveling.

Debajyoti Kabiraj joined the group as a postdoctoral associate in 2023. He earlier earned Ph.D. in Evolution Biology from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. He is a computational biologist who focuses his study at CINJ on the emergence, evolution, progression and potential treatment of cancer.

Kaitlin Zajac is a sophomore at Rutgers University-New Brunswick studying Biotechnology. She is an undergraduate research assistant at the De lab, and a member of the Rutgers University Women’s Rowing Team and the Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity. Kaitlin enjoys weightlifting, cooking, reading, writing poetry, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Real Sumayya Abdul Sattar has completed her PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia, India. During her PhD she identified methylation dependent downregulation of LIFR and YAP genes which acted as tumor suppressors in Indian female breast cancer patients. Her main research interest includes molecular analysis of cancer associated genes to explore their potentiality as molecular biomarkers for early screening, diagnosis, and prognosis of cancer. She is also interested in studying the epigenetic events in cancer. 

Sophia Bhalla is a medical student at RWJMS. She completed her undergraduate degree in religion from Princeton University before earning a research-based M.S. from the Brody School of Medicine. She is interested in surgery and translational research and aspires to use scientific advancements to improve patient care. Sophia enjoys writing, yoga, and going to the beach with friends.

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Former members

Dr. Vinod Yadav (2013-15) - research scientist, Morphic Therapeutic

Dr. Kyle Smith (2013-16) - research scientist, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Dr. Anchal Sharma (2016-19) - scientist, Elli Lilly                                             

Dr. Vinod Singh (2018-19) - postdoc, University of Gothenburg

Dr. Chuan Jiang (2016-17) - biomedical scientist, China 

Abdul Balaparya (2016-17) - Medical scribe, Boston Children's Hospital 

Leila Aghili (2012-15) - research associate, University of Colorado 

Arnav Rastogi (2018-20) - student, University of Chicago

Halle Sarkodie (2018-20) - MD student, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Ivy Tran (2018-19) - student, Rutgers University

Elise Merritt (2018-21) - MD student, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine

Jay Virani (2021-22) - student, Rutgers University

Kristian Eppley (2021-22) - student, Rutgers University

Dr. Vijay Singh (2021-22) - Product Manager, Immunochem India

Sycamore Herlihy (2022-22) - DIMACS student

Elm Markert (2022-23) - DIMACS student



A note for interested candidates

We are an interdisciplinary group. Members of our lab come from diverse backgrounds, with training in computer science, mathematics, engineering, genomics, and molecular biology.