Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Administrators
Laboratory Manager
Michelle Kirtley, B.S., MPH.
Michelle graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. degree in Marine Biology and from Florida International University with a M.S. degree in Public Health. Prior to joining the Kalluri Lab in 2017, she worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch where she investigated virulence gene regulation, pathogenic mechanisms, and vaccine candidates for select agent pathogens. Currently, Michelle functions as the laboratory manager for the Kalluri Laboratory and handles reagent purchasing, oversight of the animal colonies, supervision of the laboratory related logistics, monitoring IACUC and IRB submissions and approvals and general laboratory maintenance. Additionally, Michelle participates and aids in several research projects as a research investigator.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Julienne Carstens, B.S., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Julie received her Bachelors in Science from Louisiana Tech University in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2007. Julie completed her dissertation entitled “FGFR1, WNT, TGF-β, and SOX9 Collaborate in the Intricate Progression of Prostate Cancer” at Baylor College of Medicine in 2013, and joined the Kalluri lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2013. Her research focuses on elucidating functional contribution of epithelial plasticity and tumor microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.
Postdoctoral Fellow
intercellular communication mediated by exosomes and to investigate the role of exosomes in immune-oncology.
Karina Vázquez-Arreguín, B.S., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Karina graduated from The University of Houston-Downtown in 2010 with a B.S. degree in Microbiology. Her interests in cancer biology arose during her work at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at UT-Health, where she worked as a Research Assistant in an antibody engineering lab. She then completed her Ph.D. at the University of Utah in 2018, where she focused on the transcriptional regulation in intestinal stem cells and colon cancer using mouse models. In 2019, she joined the Kalluri Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow to study the functional role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer, with specific emphasis on GBM and colon cancer.
Xunian Zhou, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Xunian received her Ph.D. from the School of Biomedical Sciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Dec. 2017. During that time, she investigated the underlying anti-cancer mechanisms of a small molecule in breast cancer model. In 2019, she joined the Kalluri Laboratory as a Postdoctoral Fellow to study the function of tumor stroma and exosomes in cancer.
Graduate Students
Lisa Becker, B.S., M.S.
fibroblasts in initiation and progression of lung cancer. She is currently conducting her Ph.D. in the Kalluri laboratory at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Research Staff
Dara Dowlatshahi, B.S., Ph.D.
Kadeshia Earl, B.S., M.S.
Research Assistant II
Earl received her M.S. degree from Texas Southern University in Houston in 2018 and joined the Kalluri Laboratory as a Research Assistant II in 2019. Her research interests include exosomes biology and the function of exosomes in pregnancy using different mouse models.
Kalluri Laboratory-Based Faculty Researchers
Jamie S. Lin, B.A., M.D.
Instructor
Dr. Jamie Lin received her B.A. in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 and her M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2010. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training at Baylor College of Medicine in 2013 and her Nephrology fellowship as a NIH T32 and F32 research scholar at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2017 Dr. Lin joined MD Anderson as an Onco-nephrology fellow and is currently faculty in the Section of Nephrology, Division of Internal Medicine. In 2019 Dr. Lin joined the Kalluri Lab as a physician-scientist and is pursuing research in diabetic kidney disease, kidney fibrosis and immunotherapy-mediated renal adverse effects.
Jacqueline Parchem, B.A., M.D.
Physician Scientist Trainee
Dr. Jackie Parchem received her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California Berkeley in 2004 and her M.D. from the University of California San Francisco in 2010. She completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCSF in 2014. She trained as Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellow at Baylor College of Medicine and currently is an attending physician in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. In 2015, Jackie joined the Kalluri lab as a Physician Scientist Research Fellow. Her research interests include discovering the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and investigating the function of exosomes in pregnancy and fetal development. In 2017, Jackie was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology/ Maternal-Fetal Medicine at UT Health. Jackie continues to conduct her research in the Kalluri Laboratory.
Alumni
Tomas Dias, B.S., M.S. Visiting Graduate Student
Hunter Elms, B.S. Medical Student - Summer Experience (2016)
Mariangela Natale, B.S., M.S. Visiting Graduate Student
Kathryn Tighe College Student - Summer Undergraduate Research Program (2016)
Tao Wei, B.S., M.D. Visiting Graduate Student (2016)
Donna Lundy, B.S., M.S. SR. Research Assistant (2016)
Jiha Kim, B.S., Ph.D. Instructor (2017)Margo Cain, B.S. Graduate Student (2017)
Mayela Mendt, Ph.D, Postdoctoral Fellows (2017)
Sushrut Kamerkar, B.S., Ph.D. Graduating Student (2017)
Eliot Fletcher, B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D. Graduating Student (2017)
Changsoo Kwak, B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Graduating Student (2017)
Matthew Scheible, B.S. Graduate Student (2017)
Kerri Wolf-Dennen, B.S., M.B.S. Graduate Student (2017)
Paul Kurywchak, B.S. Graduate Student (2018)
Xiaofeng Zheng, B.S., Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow
Yan Wang Research Investigator (2017)
Amanda Haltom, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow (2018)
Josephine “Kebbeh” Darpolor Graduate Research Assistant - GSBS Rotation Student (2018)
Chengyan “Nick” Dong Research Investigator (2018)
Ehsan Ehsanipour Graduate Research Assistant – GSBS (2018)
Paul Kurywchak Graduate Research Assistant – GSBS (2018)
Reshma Bhowmick Research Scientist (2018)
Liv Gansmo, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow (2018)
Li “Lily” Huang Senior Research Assistant (2018)
Robert Hahn Research Assistant I (2018-2019)
Fei Xiao Postdoctoral Fellow (2015-2019)
Kyle Labella Graduate Research Assistant - GSBS (2019)
Elena Ramirez Postdoctoral Fellow (2019)
Debora Ferreira Graduate Research Assistant (2019)
Patricia Phillips Research Assistant (2019)
Jena Tavormina Graduate Research Assistant - GSBS (2019)
Olga Volpert Associate Professor (2019)
Pedro Correa De Sampaio Postdoctoral Fellow (2019)
Sara Lovisa Postdoctoral Fellow (2020)