Lab Members

Current Lab Members and Research Interests

Principal Investigator

Sharon Y. R. Dent, Ph.D. (formerly Sharon Y. Roth)

Professor
sroth@mdanderson.org
Originally from Garland, Texas
B.Sc. University of North Texas
Ph.D. Rice University
Research Interests: Functions and regulation of histone
modifying enzymes; epigenetics

Boyko S. Atanassov, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
batanass@mdanderson.org
Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria
M.S. Sofia University Biology School
Ph.D. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences/NIH
Research Interests: Chromosomal instability, chromatin
modifiers, DNA repair

Jill S. Butler, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
jsbutler@mdanderson.org
Originally from Jasper, IN
B.S. University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
Ph.D. Indiana University School of Medicine,
Indianapolis, IN
Research Interests: Regulation of protein function
by post-translational modifications, MLL
methyltransferase activity in noncancerous cells
and leukemia cells

Yi-Chun (EJ) Chen
Ph.D. Student
yi.chun.chen@uth.tmc.edu
Originally from Taipei, Taiwan
B.A. Kaohsiung Medical University - Biology, Taiwan
M.S. National Cheng Kung University - Immunology
and Microbiology, Taiwan
Research Interests: Transcriptional regulation of
histone acetyltransferase in neuronal development
and degeneration

Renée Chosed, Ph.D.
Odyssey Postdoctoral Fellow
rjchosed@mdanderson.org
Originally from Houston, TX
B.S. Trinity University - Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, San Antonio, TX
Ph.D. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center at Dallas - Biological Chemistry
Research Interests: Non-histone substrates for the Set1
methyltransferase from yeast and regulation of the yeast
COMPASS complex

Laboratory Manager

Madelene M. Coombes

Research Lab Coordinator
mcoombes@mdanderson.org
Originally from Houston, TX
B.A. Austin College - Chemistry, Sherman, TX
M.S. The University of Texas GSBS - Biochemistry
& Molecular Biology, Houston, TX
Research Interests: Chromatin modification and
transcription in yeast and mammalian cells

Calley Hirsch, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
clhirsch@mdanderson.org
Originally from Canada
B.Sc. University of Saskatchewan
Ph.D University of Saskatchewan
Research Interests: The role of histone modifying
enzymes in embryonic stem cells and differentiation

Eunah Kim (Officially Eun Ah Kim)
Graduate Student
eun.ah.kim@uth.tmc.edu
Originally from South Korea
B.A. Hanyang University, South Korea
M.S. Hanyang University, South Korea
Research Interests: Mapping of modification of
nucleosome in hematopoietic stem cell

Evangelia Koutelou, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
ekoutelou@mdanderson.org
Originally from Athens, Greece
B.S. University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
Ph.D. University of Crete, Heraklion – Stowers Institute
for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO
Research Interest: Chromatin remodeling complexes in
mouse development

John Latham
Ph.D. Student
john.a.latham@uth.tmc.edu
Originally from Madison, WI
B.A. Kansas State University - Biochemistry,
Manhattan, KS
Research Interests: Functional interactions of histone
modifying complexes, yeast kinetochore structure
and function

Rebecca W. Lewis
Research Assistant II
rwlewis@mdanderson.org
Originally from: Ask me about it – it’s complicated.
B.S. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
B.A. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Elizabeth McIvor
Research Assistant II
eimcivor@mdanderson.org
Originally from Calgary, Canada
B.S. Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Research Interests: Molecular biology, microbiology,
epigenetics

Marek Napierala, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor
mnapiera@mdanderson.org
Originally from Poland
M.S. University of Adam Mickiewicz - Biotechnology,
Poznan, Poland
Ph.D. Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy
of Sciences - Biochemistry, Poznan, Poland
Research Interests: DNA and RNA structure, genomic
instability, triplet repeat expansion disorders, regulation
of gene expression, epigenetics

Urszula (Ula) Polak, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
upolak@mdanderson.org
Originally from Poznan, Poland
Poznan University of Medical Sciences
M.Sc. of Pharmacy, Poznan University of Medical
Sciences, Poland
Ph.D. of Medical Sciences, Poznan University of Medical
Sciences, Poland
Research Interests: Cell cycle and cell death, stem cells,
molecular biology, microbiology

Louis S. Ramagli, Ph.D.
Sr. Research Scientist
lramagli@mdanderson.org
Originally from Miami, FL
B.S. Samford University, Birmingham, AL
M.S. University of Southern Mississippi,
Hattiesburg, MS
Ph.D. The University of Texas Medical Branch,
Galveston, TX
Research Interests: Causes and manifestations of
genome instability

Andria Schibler
Ph.D. Student
andria.schibler@uth.tmc.edu
Originally from Springfield, OH
B.S. Suffolk University - Biology, Boston, MA
Research Interests: Yeast

Marenda Wilson-Pham, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
marwilson@mdanderson.org
Originally from Houston, Texas
B.S. Dillard University, New Orleans, LA
Ph.D. The University of Texas Health Science Center
at Houston
Research Interests: Understanding the effects of Ubp8p
and Dam1p on histone and non-histone proteins in
S. cerevisiae

Former Lab Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

Graduate Students