Lab Members
Meet the lab team members and see our Alumni page for past members. We welcome requests for information about our work and collaboration opportunities. Contact the lab to learn more.
Principal Investigator
Shi-Yuan Cheng, PhD
312-503-3043
Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCSD & LICR, Signal Transduction & Tumor Angiogenesis (1999)
I love creative research and collaborating with colleagues within Northwestern and throughout the world. I also enjoy interacting with students and postdoctoral fellows. Outside my office, I enjoy my family, friendships and traveling.
Research Professor
Bo Hu, PhD
Research Associated Professor
312-503-1031
Postdoctoral Fellowship, UCSD, Biochemistry (1997)
I love what I do everyday in the lab and my office. I enjoy my family and traveling.
Xiao (Lisa) Song, MD, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
PhD, Peking University (2016)
My research is focused on studying the roles of RNA alternative splicing in brain tumor development and the intricate interactions between tumors and the immune system, with the objective of developing novel RNA-based therapies for brain cancer. I am also interested in establishing human iPSC-derived glioma models and improving the three-dimensional organoid culture system for studying glioma biology and screening anti-glioma therapeutics.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Qiu He, PhD
PhD, Fujian Medical University (2024)
My research is focused on the heterogeneity in glioma and tumor microenvironment. I am also dedicated to discovering the novel therapeutic targets for glioma.
Deanna Tiek, PhD
PhD, Georgetown University (2019)
I'm curious to learn how post-translational modifications, specifically PAR, regulate the localization and aggregation of RNA binding proteins in drug resistant GBM. Once better understood, it would be interesting to see how specific inhibitors of PTM regulators affect both RBP localization and splicing. In my free time I love exploring new restaurants/coffee shops, and baking/cooking!
Xiaozhou Yu, PhD
PhD, Tianjin Medical University (2022)
I am a nuclear medicine and oncology doctor from China. The focus of my present research is the epigenetic regulation of gliomas. The study of the tumor microenvironment is an area that interests me.
Research Associate
Mansi Gandhi
Student intern
As a premedical student at Nova Southeastern University studying Health Informatics, I am eager to apply my bioinformatics knowledge to the vast amount of glioma data collected. I am looking forward to utilizing various data analysis tools and visualization techniques to create a widely accessible database. I enjoy spending my free time with family and friends, as well as baking and painting!
Derek Sisbarro
I am an undergraduate student at Northwestern studying biomedical engineering. My research has been focused on the effects of cysteine redox changes on cytoskeletal proteins in glioma cells. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and pickleball with my friends.
Runxin Wu
Being a research associate, I study the role of alternative splicing and circular RNA in the tumor microenvironment. I am interested in exploring how these RNA molecules affect the tumor cells and their interactions with the surrounding tissues. I use various bioinformatic skills and experimental techniques to analyze the RNA expression and function in tumor models.
PhD-student
Maya Walker
I am a PhD student in the Driskill Graduate Program at Northwestern University. I am focused on investigating the role of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) in glioblastoma and their potential modulation through alternative splicing events. In addition, I am investigating how alternative splicing impacts the development and progression of IDH-mutant gliomas. My ultimate goal is to uncover new therapeutic targets by better understanding how alternative splicing shapes the tumor landscape. Outside of the lab, I enjoy going to concerts, reading on my kindle, and playing volleyball!