Former Weiss Lab Members

Sophia Zhang

Undergraduate Student | sz276

Sophia Zhang majors in Biological Sciences and Nutritional Sciences in the Class of 2025. She is from California and joined the Weiss Lab in Fall 2023. She is on the pre-med track and plans to attend medical school after graduation. Outside of academics, she enjoys playing with her cat named Boba.

Celine Li

Undergraduate Student | cyl46

A recent grad from Cornell, Celine majored in Human Biology, Health, and Society. She plans on attending medical school following graduation. She is from California and joined the Weiss Lab in Fall of 2022. Outside of academics, she enjoys watching shows, crocheting, playing ultimate frisbee, and hitting the gym.

James Mullmann

Graduate Student | jjm495
James graduated with a B.A. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Physics from Franklin & Marshall College in 2017 before entering the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell. James joined the Weiss and Cerione Labs as a joint-student after being accepted into the combined PhD-DVM program. His project is focused on the roles of SIRT1 and SIRT5 in breast cancer progression.

Irma Fernandez

Graduate Student | irf25
Irma graduated with her B.S. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from UCSD in 2015. While applying to PhD programs, she worked as a Research Associate in the immunology department at Janssen Pharmaceuticals. She joined the Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cell Biology program at Cornell University in 2016 and decided to continue research in the Weiss Lab. Her research is focused on the studying the role of Sirtuin 5 in cancer metabolism.

Amanda Loehr

Graduate Student | arl244
Amanda graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Gettysburg College in 2017 before coming to Cornell to pursue both a DVM and a PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences. Amanda’s research will investigate the molecular etiology and unique chemosensitivity of testicular germ cell tumors.

Justin Bromell

MBG REU program| jjb434

Justin Bromell is a biology major with a minor in environmental science from Conyers, Georgia. He is in his third year of college at Morehouse and is 19 years old. After his undergraduate program, he plans to go to graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. in genetics. His current scientific interests are aging, cancer, and renewable energies. With aging and cancer, he is interested in the genetics and molecular mechanisms behind these and wants to ultimately save lives. CRISPR-cas9 methods of genetic engineering
are of particular interest to him as well. Renewable energies are of great concern to him because the environment is crucial to life’s very existence. Some of his personal interests include nature, and he likes to take walks and grow plants in his free time. He is also a big advocate for social justice, and as a Black man at an HBCU he is constantly looking for ways to pave the way to make opportunities for minorities like himself.

Tanmay Mehta

Undergraduate Student, tsm93@cornell.edu

Tannmay is a Human Biology, Health, and Society major in the class of 2022. He joined the Weiss Lab in the fall of 2019 and has enjoyed assisting in research. He is interested in medical technology and research, and plans to continue his pursuits in medical school after graduation. Outside of the lab, he is involved with his project team and medical service clubs. He also enjoys spending time with his friends and playing the saxophone.

Jorlane De Jesús

UPR-Ponce/CVM exchange student | jd2268

Jorlane is a Puerto Rican rising senior majoring in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce. She is the leader of a student organization that promotes and facilitates the registration of potential bone marrow donors in the US, and aims to increase the chances of life expectancy of cancer patients in the Latino community. Jorlane considers Cancer Biology her main research interest. Outside the laboratory, she is passionate about fantasy and fiction books, calligraphy, worship dancing, community service, and board games.

Anabella Maria Galang

Undergraduate Researcher, adg88@cornell.edu

Anabella Maria Galang is a Biological Sciences major in the class of 2023, and she joined the Weiss lab in the fall of 2019. After graduating, she aspires to pursue a career as a physician scientist through an MD-PhD program. In the rare instance she’s not in the lab or studying, Anabella Maria enjoys climbing, hiking, writing poetry, and baking popovers.

Ravi Dhawan

Undergradute Student, rd423@cornell.edu

Ravi is a Biological Sciences major from Manlius, NY, who is concentrating in Physiology and minoring in History. Part of the class of 2021, Ravi joined the lab in the fall of 2018 and has enjoyed assisting in research. Ravi is interested in orthopedic-geriatric medicine, and the ways in which hospitals can prevent diseases in older adults. After graduation, Ravi plans on pursuing an MD program.

Catalina Pereira

Graduate Student

Catalina received her B.S. in Biology from Mount St. Mary’s University, in Los Angeles in 2013. In 2014 she began her graduate studies in the field of Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology at Cornell University and joined the Weiss lab. In the lab, her research will focuses on understanding the role of the 9-1-1 complex and alternative 9-1-1 complexes during mammalian meiosis.

Michael Downey

Undergraduate Student, msd252@cornell.edu

Michael is a Chemistry and Chemical Biology major in the class of 2020. Originally from the California Bay Area, he joined the Weiss Lab in the Fall of 2017. He hopes to continue to pursue his interests in research and medicine in medical school after graduation. Outside of the lab, Michael is heavily involved with Cornell University Emergency Medical Service and enjoys cooking and listening to music in his free time.

Matthew Guo

Research Technician, mg943@cornell.edu

Matthew joined the Weiss lab as an undergraduate student in the fall of 2016. He graduated from Cornell with a degree in Biological Sciences in December 2019 and has returned to work as a research technician before matriculating to medical school in the fall of 2020. Matthew has enjoyed researching in the Weiss lab because of the amazing people he gets to work with every day.

Suzin Webb

Lab Manager, smw266@cornell.edu

Suzin received her B.S. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Genetics & Developmental Biology from Cornell University in 1992 and also earned a M.A. in Biology and Medicine from Brown University in 2002. Using the tools of molecular genetics, she has worked in a variety of settings to address issues in human, animal, and plant biology. Suzin serves as the laboratory manager of the Weiss Lab and enjoys supporting the work of all of the researchers. When not at work she stays busy taking care of her four dogs.

Vanessa Ale

Technician III

Graduated from Cornell CALS in 2019 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. I look forward to eventually returning to school and earning a PhD. I have not decided on a specific field to pursue, but I’m enjoying the process of discovery. One day in the far future, I can see myself as a biology instructor. When I’m not in the lab I enjoy dancing, martial arts, fishing and playing magic the gathering.

Brenna Remick

Undergraduate Student, bcr43@cornell.edu
Brenna is a Biological Sciences major in the class of 2019. She joined the Weiss lab in the fall of 2016 and intends to continue researching during her undergraduate years. After graduating from Cornell, she plans to go to graduate school to work toward a PhD in biochemistry.

Elizabeth Moore

Graduate Student and Lab Animal Veterinary Resident, esm84@cornell.edu
Elizabeth graduated with a B.S. in Biotechnology from the University of Kentucky in 2008. She then completed a DVM at Cornell University in 2012 and is currently a veterinary resident in laboratory animal medicine with the Cornell Center for Animal Resources and Education. She is concurrently pursuing a PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences.

Darshil Patel

Graduate Student, drp99@cornell.edu
Darshil graduated with his B.S. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UCLA in 2012 and decided to continue with his graduate education at Cornell University. He joined in the field of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and decided to continue research in Weiss Lab. His primary study in lab is focused on understanding the role of Hus1 and its protein interactions in regulating DNA damage repair. Currently, he is interested in elucidating the role of different 3’UTR isoforms of Hus1 and how they regulate its gene expression.

Yashira Negrón

Graduate Student, ylnegron@gmail.com
Yashira received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus in 2012. Then, she began the graduate field of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University and on May 2013, joined Weiss lab. Her research is focused on studying the role of Sirtuins in cancer metabolism by using knockout mice.

Tim Pierpont

Graduate Student, tmp68@cornell.edu
Tim graduated with a BS from Delaware State University in 2011 and began the Biochemical, Molecular, and Cellular Biology field degree program at Cornell University later the same year. After initial lab rotations he joined the Weiss lab in May of 2012. His work in the lab focuses on elucidating the role DNA damage response pathways and stemness properties play in the development and treatment sensitivity characteristics of testicular germ cell tumors.

Eric Zhang

Undergraduate Student, ericrz700@gmail.com
Eric is a Human Biology, Health and Society major in the class of 2019. He joined the Weiss lab in the Fall of 2016. After graduating from Cornell, he hopes to attend dental school.

Qiming Jin

Graduate Student, qj44@cornell.edu
Qiming Jin graduated with a B.S in bioengineering (biotechnology) from UC San Diego in 2015 and began the Master of Engineering program of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University in 2016. He joined the Weiss lab in the August of 2016 and he focused on studying chemo sensitivity of testicular germ cell tumor. He believes that the underlying mechanism of unique chemo sensitivity in testicular germ cell tumor can be beneficial for understanding germ cell cancer.

Luca Fortuna

Veterinary Student
Luca is a veterinary student from the Royal Veterinary College in England, and he joined the Weiss Lab for the summer of 2017 to complete a research project as part of the Cornell Veterinary Leadership Program. He has an intercalated degree in comparative pathology, and after graduating he hopes to specialize in internal medicine.

Ellen Hong

Undergraduate Student, sh798@cornell.edu
Ellen is a Biological Sciences major in the class of 2017. She joined the Weiss lab in the fall of 2013 and intends to continue with research in her undergraduate years at Cornell. Although she is not sure of what she wants to do after Cornell, she is thinking of going to graduate school to work towards a PhD.

April Blong

Clinical Fellow, ablong@cornell.edu
April hails from Iowa. She graduated from Iowa State University (go Cyclones!) with a BS in Animal Science & Dairy Science as well as a Microbiology minor. Having always wanted to be a veterinarian, she stayed at ISU to complete her DVM in 2009. From there she complete a rotating internship at North Carolina State University, followed by an emergency and critical care specialty internship at the University of Georgia. Her travels finally brought her to Cornell when she matched for a residency in small animal emergency and critical care medicine in 2011, and subsequently completed in 2014. That same year she joined the Weiss lab as a Cornell Clinical Fellow. During her fellowship she is planning on completing a second residency in nutrition while performing research on the role of Hus1 and p53 on metabolism.

Joanna Mleczko

Graduate Student, jmm582@cornell.edu
Joanna Mleczko completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany in 2010 before joining the Weiss Lab in 2012. Joanna came to Cornell after completing the Cornell Leadership Program for Veterinary Students in 2008, where she became interested in biomedical research. In the Weiss Lab, her focus is on studying the molecular interactions between non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and the Fanconi-Anemia pathway with the ATR pathway. The ultimate goal of her project is to help elucidate potential cancer drug targets.

Amy Lyndaker

Postdoctoral Research Associate, amh72@cornell.edu
Amy (Hauser) Lyndaker graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2003 with Honors in Biological Sciences (B.A.) and a minor in Chemistry. She became interested in DNA repair while doing research at Goucher with Lesley Brown trying to develop a DNA mismatch repair assay in E. coli. She went on to complete a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology in Eric Alani’s laboratory in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University in February 2009, where she studied the role of the Slx4-Rad1-Rad10 complex and the Msh2-Msh3 and Sgs1 DNA repair proteins in double-strand break repair in yeast. Amy became interested in the interplay between DNA damage checkpoint signaling and DNA repair and came to do her postdoctoral work in the Weiss lab, studying both the roles of the 9-1-1 DNA damage checkpoint complex during mammalian meiosis and the role of the DNA damage response during testicular tumorigenesis in the mouse. She recently returned from a position as Assistant Professor of Genetics in the Department of Biology at Ithaca College, and is excited to return to the Weiss Lab.

Pei Xin Lim

Graduate Student, pl382@cornell.edu
Pei Xin received his B.S. in Biology from Purdue University in 2009. Shortly after, he joined the graduate field of Genetics and Development at Cornell University and found his scientific dwelling in the Weiss lab. His research focuses on elucidating the molecular interactions of HUS1 with DNA repair factors with the ultimate goal of formulating novel antitumor therapeutics. Pei Xin plans to publish papers and defend his thesis in the near future. After graduating, he plans to pursue a career in biomedical industry.

Jack Stupinski

Technician, jas377@cornell.edu
Jack graduated from Cornell University in 2010 with BA in Biology from the College of Arts and Sciences. Following graduation, he joined City Year New York as a Corps Member, spending a year as a full-time volunteer serving NYC’s underserved student populations. He returned to Ithaca in the Fall of 2011 and joined the Weiss Lab. Jack’s research focuses on mammalian sirtuins SirT5 and SirT2 as they relate to cancer progression, and he also contributes to ongoing studies of Hus1 and its role in lung tumorigenesis. In the Fall of 2013 Jack will pursue his MD at Weill Cornell Medical College in NYC.

Minxing Li

Graduate Student, ml582@cornell.edu
Minxing graduated with a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Toronto in May 2007. She joined the field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology (BMCB) at Cornell University for graduate study in August 2007. After one year rotation, she joined the Weiss lab in May 2008. Minxing works on the mammalian protein ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), which is essential for organismal survival and the maintenance of genome integrity. She is interested in the cellular and physiological consequences of RNR deregulation. More specifically, she investigates the effect of RNR deregulation on redox homeostasis and the nucleotide pools in cells, as well as the mutagenic and tumorigenic effects of RNR deregulation in mice. Since leaving Weiss Lab, Minxing has taken a postdoc position at Rutgers University.

Claire Anderson

Technician, cma237@cornell.edu
Claire graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Kenyon College in 2010. After graduation, she spent a year performing research in a human genomics lab while on a Fulbright Grant at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Claire joined the Weiss lab as a technician in July 2011, where her research now focuses on characterizing the genomic integrity of murine testicular tumors. Beginning in the Fall of 2013 Claire will pursue a graduate degree in genetic counseling at Johns Hopkins University.

Zanah Francis

Undergraduate Student, zkf2@cornell.edu
Zanah is a biology major concentrating in Microbiology. She joined the Weiss Lab in the fall of 2013 and intends to pursue research throughout her undergraduate years. After graduating Zanah plans to continue to do research and eventually attain a PhD in Microbiology or Virology.

Charlton Tsai

Undergraduate Student, ct456@cornell.edu
Charlton is an undergraduate biology major in the Class of 2016 who hails from the small town of New Paltz, NY. He joined the Weiss Lab in the fall of 2013 and hopes to eventually begin a research project of his own. Following his time at Cornell, he hopes to obtain a medical degree and become a practicing physician.

Kelsey Poisson

Student Researcher, kep72@cornell.edu
Kelsey graduated from Cornell in 2013 concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology. After joining the Weiss lab in the fall of 2010, she began her independent research project in August 2011. Her research involves characterizing the roles of the checkpoint protein HUS1 in DNA repair at the molecular level. Kelsey will matriculate to Wake Forest School of Medicine to pursue her MD in the Fall of 2013.

Gabriel “Gabi” Balmus

Postdoctoral Researcher, gb272@cornell.edu
Gabi completed his baccalaureate degree at Stefan cel Mare National College and his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Agricultural Studies and Veterinary Medicine Ion Ionescu de la Brad in his native Romania before joining the Weiss Lab in 2006. Gabi briefly worked as a postdoctoral associate before pursuing a PhD in the Field of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at Cornell University. He completed his degree in the Spring of 2012. Gabi is interested in the DNA damage response, focusing particularly on interactions between the DNA damage checkpoint pathways directed by Atm and Atr. Gabi recently joined the laboratory of Prof. Steve Jackson at the University of Cambridge.

Erin Daugherity

Clinical Fellow, ekr2@cornell.edu
Erin graduated with a B.S in Animal Science from Cornell University in 1997. After spending 2 years working as a research associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, McArdle Labortaory for Cancer Research, she attended veterinary school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received her DVM in 2007. She then returned to Cornell University to complete a residency in laboratory animal medicine with the Center for Animal Resources and Education (CARE). As a resident, she joined the Weiss Lab and completed a Clinical Fellowship in October 2012. Her research focuses on fatty liver disease and its progression to hepatocellular carcinoma. Erin is now a full-time Clinical Laboratory Animal Veterinarian at Cornell, with continued work in the Weiss Lab.

Kelly Hume

Assistant Professor, krh73@cornell.edu
See Kelly’s Clinical Sciences page

Nedra Holmes

Clinical Fellow, nlg2@cornell.edu
Nedra received her B.S. in Animal Science from Cornell University in 1996. She spent two years in clinical cytogenetics at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and four years in molecular biology research at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Princeton University before she received her Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from the Royal Veterinary College, London, UK in 2006. Nedra completed her small animal rotating internship at the Cape Animal Referral and Emergency in MA, and worked as a staff veterinarian at DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital in Portland, OR before returning to Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA), where she completed her Imaging residency in July 2012. She joins the Weiss laboratory for a two-year Clinical Fellowship. Her interest lies in molecular imaging, particularly PET/CT.

Cindy Luan

Undergraduate Student
Cindy is a junior biology major concentrating in Genetics and Development. She joined Weiss Lab in Fall 2012 and is investigating interactions between the NHEJ and FA pathways involved in DNA damage repair. After pursuing undergraduate research, she hopes to attend medical school and specialize in neonatology.

Sharon Guzman

Student Researcher

Aaron Oswald

Undergraduate Student
Aaron is an undergraduate Biology major in the class of 2014. He joined the Weiss Lab in the summer of 2011 and has been investigating the response of the checkpoint proteins Hus1 and ATM to genotoxic stress. Aaron plans to continue in research and to go to medical school, with the goal of practicing primary care.

David Karambizi

Undergraduate Student
David is a bio major in the class of 2014. He was born in Rwanda, grew up in the Ivory Coast, and emmigrated to the United States at the age of 13. His research focuses on the involvement of the DNA damage response protein ATM and how it is involved in cancer progression, specifically in the liver and pancreas. He aspires to attain an MD or MD/PhD and hopes to practice medicine in underdeveloped countries around the world.

Christina Jeon

Undergraduate Student
Christina is a Junior majoring in Biological Sciences at Cornell. She joined the Weiss lab in August 2011 and intends to start a project when she returns in Spring 2013. After graduating, she may spend more time in research before applying for medical school to become a pediatric surgeon.

Peter Westcott

Undergraduate Student
(Cornell Hughes Summer Scholar)- Graduated May 2008, with high honors.

Rinti Mukherjee

Undergraduate Student
(Cornell Presidential Scholar) – Graduated May 2009, with honors.

Young Lu

Undergraduate Student
(Cornell Presidential Scholar) – Graduated May 2009.

Ja Ryung Cho

Undergraduate Student
Graduated Class of 2010.

Kathy Miller

Research Support Specialist

Yoonjung Lee

Volunteer

Chris Bennett

Administrative Assistant

Huizi Chen

Undergraduate Student

Graduated May 2005

Min Zhu

Graduate Student

Awarded Ph.D. in January 2007 in Field of Comparative Biomedical Sciences for her work on “Essential roles for the mouse checkpoint protein Hus1 in the maintenance of genomic integrity and DNA damage responses.”