Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Rob Jenq, M.D.
Deputy Department Chair, Genomic Medicine
Assistant Professor, Genomic Medicine
Assistant Professor, Stem Cell Transplantation (joint appointment)

Saira S Ahmed, B.S.
Laboratory Manager
B.S; HT(ASCP)
Originally from: Hyderabad, INDIA
Research interests: Histological techniques

Chia-Chi (Tina) Chang, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Ph.D., The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Originally from: Taiwan
Research interests:

• Microbiome research 
• Graft-versus-host disease
• Graft-versus-tumor
  

Rawan El-Himri, B.S.
Research Assistant II

Annette Frenk, M.S.
Research Assistant I
B.S., University of Houston
M.S. in Engineering Technology, University of Houston
Originally from: Maracaibo, Venezuela
Research interests:

• Microbiome 
• Host interactions
   

Taylor Halsey
Graduate Research Student-GSBS

Eiko Hayase, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine
Originally from: Sapporo, Japan
Research interests:

• Allogeneic immune response
• Gut immunity
• Graft-versus-host disease
• Intestinal microbiome
   

Tomo Hayase, Ph.D.
Computational Scientist

Jennifer Karmouch, M.S., Ph.D.
Research Scientist
M.S. and Ph.D., University of Paris Descartes
Originally from: Seattle, Washington
Research interests: The interplay between nutrition, intestinal bacteria and intestinal barrier function

Mohamed A. Jamal, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Ph.D., University of Madras, India
Originally from: Tamil Nadu, India
Research Interest:

• Microbial culturomics
• Mechanisms of action of mucolytic bacteria on intestinal integrity
• Mechanisms of action of prebiotics and probiotics on gastrointestinal tract.
• Effects of gut microbiome on bone marrow transplant outcomes
  
  

Takahiko Miyama, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., Graduate School of Medicine, Hiroshima University
M.D., School of Medicine, Hiroshima University
Originally from: Hiroshima, Japan
Research interests:

• Immune reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
• Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the cross-talk between gut microbiota and immune system
• Cancer immunotherapy

Miriam R. Ortega, B.S.
Research Assistant I
B.S., The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Originally from: Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Research Interests:

• Human and mouse microbiome interaction with diseases
• 16S sequencing analysis
• Statistical methodology
   

Dung (Kate) Pham, B.S.
Research Assistant II
B.S., Baylor University
Originally from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Research Interests: The effects of radiation and reduced oral nutrition contributing to gastrointestinal toxicity via changes to the gut microbiome

Christopher A. Sanchez, B.S.
Senior Research Data Coordinator
B.S., Texas A&M University at College Station
Originally from: Pearland, Texas
Research interests: Collecting, managing and manipulating data in patients undergoing cancer treatments
 

Wen-Bin Tsai, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Ph.D., University of Kansas Medical Center
Originally from: Taiwan
Research interests:

• Factors influencing the gut microbiome
• Strategies to manipulate the microbiome to enhance therapeutic response