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.

Luisa Quezada Ziesse is a Ph.D. student in the Quantitative Biomedicine program at Rutgers University. She completed her bachelor’s in Biomathematics at Rutgers University. She’s interested in utilizing mathematical and computational approaches to understand and predict disease evolution. In this lab, she’s working on studying spatial transcriptomics and cfRNA through computational tools. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, watching movies, playing video games, and drawing. 

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 Research Teaching Specialist I in the De lab. She is 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.

Vignesh Venkat is an undergraduate student in Computer science, Mathematics and Cognitive Science at Rutgers. He is interested in applying AI/ML to cancer genomics and transcriptomics.

Dr. Real Sumayya Abdul Sattar is a highly motivated postdoctoral scientist with an excellent background in cancer and molecular biology. She has completed her PhD from India in cancer biology. 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. Her research is centered around the utility of cell-free nucleic acids as biomarkers and CRISPR-based non-invasive diagnosis. Her long-term research goals involve becoming an independent researcher and developing a comprehensive panel of non-invasive cancer biomarkers which would translate into better clinical outcome of cancer patients.

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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