Our People
Jens Lohr, M.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Jens obtained his M.D. from Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany, and was trained as an immunologist at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). He completed a residency in internal medicine at UCSF, and a medical oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care program. He performed postdoctoral work in immunology at UCSF (San Francisco, CA) and in cancer genomics at the Broad Institute (Cambridge, MA). Dr. Lohr is Board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology and hematology and practices as a clinician at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care.
Jens obtained his M.D. from Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany, and was trained as an immunologist at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). He completed a residency in internal medicine at UCSF, and a medical oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care program. He performed postdoctoral work in immunology at UCSF (San Francisco, CA) and in cancer genomics at the Broad Institute (Cambridge, MA). Dr. Lohr is Board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology and hematology and practices as a clinician at Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care.
Julia Frede, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Julia went to university in Heidelberg and did my PhD in Cambridge, UK, where she investigated the dynamics of cell fate in epithelial carcinogenesis using transgenic approaches. She is very interested in clonal evolution and genetic heterogeneity, and, being a cell biologist by training, she is excited to have the opportunity to broaden her expertise, applying genomic approaches and single cell technologies to investigate the mechanisms driving multiple myeloma. When not in the lab, she enjoys running, going to the cinema and drinking coffee.
Julia went to university in Heidelberg and did my PhD in Cambridge, UK, where she investigated the dynamics of cell fate in epithelial carcinogenesis using transgenic approaches. She is very interested in clonal evolution and genetic heterogeneity, and, being a cell biologist by training, she is excited to have the opportunity to broaden her expertise, applying genomic approaches and single cell technologies to investigate the mechanisms driving multiple myeloma. When not in the lab, she enjoys running, going to the cinema and drinking coffee.
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Julia Poller, Medical Student
Julia is a medical student at the University of Heidelberg, Germany and a scholar of the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation. She gained first insight into experimental research at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). Julia is very interested in studying the molecular mechanisms of resistance to CAR-T-Cell treatment in multiple myeloma and joined Dr. Lohr`s lab in 2020. She aspires to be a physician scientist in the future. When Julia cannot be found in the lab, she is usually around food. Next to science and food she also enjoys swimming, hiking and traveling. |
Antonis Kokkalis, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Antonis received his Bachelor degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at University of Thessaly and his M.Sc and Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine at the Medical School of University of Athens. He examined the epigenetic role in cellular differentiation and reprogramming by correlated the genome wide binding profile to gene regulation. Chromatin structure and epigenetics in lymphoma are not well characterized and he is enthused to be correlating with molecular biology and Next Generation Sequencing techniques for better understanding them. During his free time he like running, playing tennis and cooking.
Antonis received his Bachelor degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at University of Thessaly and his M.Sc and Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine at the Medical School of University of Athens. He examined the epigenetic role in cellular differentiation and reprogramming by correlated the genome wide binding profile to gene regulation. Chromatin structure and epigenetics in lymphoma are not well characterized and he is enthused to be correlating with molecular biology and Next Generation Sequencing techniques for better understanding them. During his free time he like running, playing tennis and cooking.
Alumni
Tushara Vijaykumar, Sr. Research Technician
Tushara has broad research experience as a cell biologist and is currently investigating hematologic malignancies particularly to understand the mechanisms of drug resistance in multiple myeloma. She was drawn towards cancer research and studied the mechanism of inhibition of deubiquitinases (DUBs) by isothiocyanates (ITCs) as part of her masters program at Brandeis University. Previously, she worked at the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH) understanding the molecular basis of male reproductive toxicity upon exposure to endocrine disruptors, after completing her Bachelors in Biotechnology from India. Apart from science, she enjoys outdoor activities with friends, creative arts, cooking and traveling.
Tushara has broad research experience as a cell biologist and is currently investigating hematologic malignancies particularly to understand the mechanisms of drug resistance in multiple myeloma. She was drawn towards cancer research and studied the mechanism of inhibition of deubiquitinases (DUBs) by isothiocyanates (ITCs) as part of her masters program at Brandeis University. Previously, she worked at the National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH) understanding the molecular basis of male reproductive toxicity upon exposure to endocrine disruptors, after completing her Bachelors in Biotechnology from India. Apart from science, she enjoys outdoor activities with friends, creative arts, cooking and traveling.
Monica Nair, Research Technician
Monica graduated with a B.S. from the University of Rochester in Computational Biology with minors in Spanish and Psychology. In her current position, she enjoys being able to apply her computational biology background to study multiple myeloma treatment resistance and genetic mutations. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, photography, and listening to podcasts. Monica is currently pursuing her MD with a research focus at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
Monica graduated with a B.S. from the University of Rochester in Computational Biology with minors in Spanish and Psychology. In her current position, she enjoys being able to apply her computational biology background to study multiple myeloma treatment resistance and genetic mutations. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, photography, and listening to podcasts. Monica is currently pursuing her MD with a research focus at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
Johannes Waldschmidt, M.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Johannes studied Medicine at University of Freiburg, Germany, University of Uppsala, Sweden, and University of Zurich, Switzerland. He was trained as a hematologist-oncologist at Freiburg University Medical Center where his experimental work has been focused on characterizing the bone marrow microenvironment in multiple myeloma. As scholar of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and research fellow in cancer genomics, he studies patterns of adaptive and genomic resistance in multiple myeloma by genetic interrogation of bone-marrow derived tumor cells, circulating myeloma cells, CAR T cells and cell-free DNA from the peripheral blood. Johannes is one of the recipients of the 2019 Young Investigator Award by the International Myeloma Society (IMS). In 2020, he will return to Germany to establish his own laboratory at Freiburg University Medical Center.
Johannes studied Medicine at University of Freiburg, Germany, University of Uppsala, Sweden, and University of Zurich, Switzerland. He was trained as a hematologist-oncologist at Freiburg University Medical Center where his experimental work has been focused on characterizing the bone marrow microenvironment in multiple myeloma. As scholar of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and research fellow in cancer genomics, he studies patterns of adaptive and genomic resistance in multiple myeloma by genetic interrogation of bone-marrow derived tumor cells, circulating myeloma cells, CAR T cells and cell-free DNA from the peripheral blood. Johannes is one of the recipients of the 2019 Young Investigator Award by the International Myeloma Society (IMS). In 2020, he will return to Germany to establish his own laboratory at Freiburg University Medical Center.
Praveen Anand, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Praveen obtained his PhD from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He worked on developing tools for large-scale computational analysis of protein-ligand interactions during PhD. He subsequently ventured into analysis of RNA-protein interactions using HT-Seq technology at National Center for Biological Sciences (Das Lab, inStem), Bangalore. He secured a B4 fellowship through which he continued to collaboratively work on developing neural network based approaches to identify RNA-binding motifs in Eddy lab at Harvard University. He currently works on developing computational tools and pipeline for analysis of high-throughput datasets on circulating tumor cells (CTCs). He usually spends most of his time playing rapid chess when not in lab.
Praveen obtained his PhD from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He worked on developing tools for large-scale computational analysis of protein-ligand interactions during PhD. He subsequently ventured into analysis of RNA-protein interactions using HT-Seq technology at National Center for Biological Sciences (Das Lab, inStem), Bangalore. He secured a B4 fellowship through which he continued to collaboratively work on developing neural network based approaches to identify RNA-binding motifs in Eddy lab at Harvard University. He currently works on developing computational tools and pipeline for analysis of high-throughput datasets on circulating tumor cells (CTCs). He usually spends most of his time playing rapid chess when not in lab.
Guangwu Guo, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Guangwu used computational approaches to understand the contribution of genomic alterations to the pathogenesis and the development of drug resistance in multiple myeloma, particularly by using "liquid biopsy" approaches. He is currently a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at WuXi NextCODE.
Jake Kloeber, Research Technician
Jake received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester. In his free time he enjoys running, cooking, and drinking coffee. He is interested in becoming a physician-scientist and is currently pursuing his MD-PhD at Mayo Clinic.
Jake received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Rochester. In his free time he enjoys running, cooking, and drinking coffee. He is interested in becoming a physician-scientist and is currently pursuing his MD-PhD at Mayo Clinic.
Charles Seifer, Research Technician
Charlie was a chemistry major at Wesleyan University. He enjoys playing tennis and basketball, food science, and the Nespresso in lab. He is currently attending medical school at the University of South Florida.
Charlie was a chemistry major at Wesleyan University. He enjoys playing tennis and basketball, food science, and the Nespresso in lab. He is currently attending medical school at the University of South Florida.