Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Rodrigo Romero, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Genetics
Assistant Member, James P. Allison Institute™
Dr. Romero is a cancer biologist studying how disruptions in cell identity enable tumor evolution and therapy resistance. His research focuses on lineage plasticity, a process by which cancer cells transition between cellular states to evade treatment and adopt more aggressive phenotypes. His laboratory combines next-generation mouse models and organoid systems with functional genetics and single-cell and spatial genomics to uncover the molecular rules governing cell fate decisions in cancer. Before joining UT MD Anderson in 2026, he trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and earned his Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Research Assistants
Manav Agarwal, M.S.
Research Assistant II
Manav supports ongoing studies using organoid and mouse models to investigate mechanisms of lineage plasticity in cancer. He performs molecular and cellular assays, assists with genetic perturbation experiments and contributes to the maintenance and characterization of the lab’s experimental systems. He obtained his B.S. from the Florida Institute of Technology and his M.S. from New York University (NYU).