Lab Members

Francesca Cole 

Principal Investigator
fcole@mdanderson.org
B.A., in Biological Sciences, Hunter College of the City University of New York
Ph.D., in Biomedical Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University
Research Interests: Homologous recombination and germ line mutagenesis
Other Interests: Snorkeling
Favorite PCR machine: Medusa

Laura Denton

Senior Administrative Assistant
lmdenton@mdanderson.org 
Research Interests: Grant and fellowship submission and compliance  
Other Interests: Dancing  
Favorite PCR machine: Venus

Isabella Ferranti

Research Assistant I
ibferranti@mdanderson.org
B.S. in Physics, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX
Research Interests: Homologous recombination and DNA repair
Other Interests: Creative technology and interactive art
Favorite PCR machine: Captain

Melissa Frasca

GSBS Ph.D. Student
mnfrasca1@mdanderson.org
B.S. in Biology, Saginaw Valley State University,  University Center, Michigan 
Research Interests: Homologous recombination and homolog pairing
Other Interests: Music and attending concerts
Favorite PCR Machine: Athena

Ericka Humphrey

Research Assistant I
eshumphrey@mdanderson.org
B.S. in Animal Science, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX
M.S. in Biology, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL
Research Interests: DNA repair and recombination in relation to cancer progression
Other Interests: Painting
Favorite PCR machine: Jackpot

Rhea Kang, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
rskang@mdanderson.org
B.A. in Biology, B.S. in Nutritional Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Ph.D. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Research Interests: Temporal and molecular mechanisms of homologous recombination
Other Interests: Live theatre
Favorite PCR machine: Genie

Lakshmi Paniker

Research Investigator
lpaniker@mdanderson.org
B.S. and M.S. in Zoology, University of Kerala, India
M.S. in Biology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL
Ph.D. in Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, India
Research Interests: Double-strand break repair and meiotic hot spot characterization
Other Interests: Gardening
Favorite PCR machine: Mojo

Tolkappiyan Premkumar

GSBS Ph.D. Student
tpremkumar@mdanderson.org
B.tech and M.tech in Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India
Research Interests: Homologous recombination 
Other Interests: Cycling, robotics and programming
Favorite PCR Machine(s): The ones in the lower rack