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 I
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

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

Zhijing (Jay) Zhang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
zjzhang@mdanderson.org
Originally from China
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago
Research Interests: Histone modifications, DNA
methylation, neuroscience

Former Lab Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

Graduate Students