Lab Members

Cullen Taniguchi, M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology
CTaniguchi@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Hypoxia biology, Tumor Microenvironment, Pancreatic Cancer, Radioprotective Agents, Radiation Biology of SBRT
Clinical Interests: SBRT, Pancreatic Cancer, Anorectal Cancer, Hepatobiliary Cancer.
Twitter: @TaniguchiMD

Lauren Colbert, M.D. , MSCR
Assistant Professor
Radiation Oncology
LColbert@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Biomarkers, Microbiome, HPV-related cancers
Personal Interests: 3 wild daughters, horse-back riding, climbing, hiking, and camping
Alma Mater:  Emory University, Hope College
Twitter: @ColbertLe

Meifang Yu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Radiation Oncology- Research
MYu2@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Mitochondrial Metabolism in Pancreatic Cancer, Hypoxia.
 

Robert Fuentes, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Radiation Oncology- Research
NRFuentes@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Hypoxia, Mitochondrial Dynamics, Membrane Signaling, Lipids, Super-resolution microscopy
Personal Interests: Country swing dancing, gaming
Alma Mater: Texas A&M University 

Carolina J. Garcia Garcia, B.S.
M.D./Ph.D. Candidate
Radiation Oncology - Research
CJGarcia1@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Hypoxia Signaling, Radiation Injury and Modifiers, Intestinal Homeostasis, Tumor Microenvironment
Personal Interests: Fishing, snorkeling, cooking, traveling, yoga
Alma Mater: University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez (B.S.), University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine (M.D. in progress), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Ph.D. in Cancer Biology in progress)

Daniel Lin, B.A.
Sr. Research Assistant
Radiation Oncology - Research
dlin4@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Pancreatic cancer, Anal cancer, tumor microenvironment, HIF
Personal Interests: Regular rock-climber, enthusiastic cooker
Alma Mater: Rice University
 

Tara Fujimoto, B.S., RALAT
Sr. Research Assistant
Radiation Oncology - Research
tnfujimoto@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Radiobiology
Personal Interests: Horse-back riding, recreational sports, and reading
Alma Mater:  Wright State University
Twitter: @TNKFujimoto

Nicholas Nguyen, B.A.
Research Assistant II
Radiation Oncology - Research
NDNguyen1@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Mitochondrial dynamics in translational medicine, pancreatic cancer, MRI, and cell culture.
Personal Interests: Aspiring hip hop dancer, interested in entrepreneurship, education, and health policy.
Alma Mater:  Univeristy of California, Berkeley (triple major)
Twitter: @nicdknguyen

Abagail M Delahoussaye , B.S.
Research Assistant I
Radiation Oncology - Research
AMDelahoussaye@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Mouse models in cancer research, In-Vivo imaging, radiation therapy.
Personal Interests: Avid shark fan and into cheesy puns.
Alma Mater:  Texas A&M at Galveston

Ramez Kouzy, M.D.
Research Assistant I
Radiation Oncology - Research
RKouzy@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Translational Research, Clinical Trials, Microbiome, Patient Reported Outcomes, Evidence Based Medicine 
Personal Interests: Coffee, books, and tech enthusiast
Alma Mater:  American University of Beirut
Twitter: @RKouzy

Jae Phan, B.A.
Lab Manager
Radiation Oncology - Research
jlphan@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Pancreatic Cancer, Liquid Biopsies, Microbiome, PRO
Personal Interests: Jiu-jitsu practitioner, YouTuber, musician
Alma Mater:  Rice University

Matthew Cagley, B.S.A.
Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator
Radiation Oncology
mcagley1@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Pancreatic Cancer, Microbiome, Imaging Physics
Personal Interests: Mountain Biking, Fishing, Guitar Playing and Amateur Chef
Alma Mater: University of Texas at Austin

Marimar De La Cruz Bonilla, B.S.
Graduate Research Assistant- GSBS
Experimental Radiation Oncology
Research Interests: Mechanisms of Radioprotection, Mouse models in Cancer Research.
 

Jessica Molkentine, B.S., RLATG
Research Investigator
Radiation Oncology- Research
Research Interests: Radiation modulators (Radioprotectors, Radiation Mitigators, Radiosensitizers), Mouse models in Cancer Research.
 

Peter Cabeceiras, B.S.
Doctoral Candidate
Molecular Pathology
Research Interests: Precise Genome Editing
Personal Interests: Percussion and soccer
Alma Mater:  Rice University

Amelie Albrecht, B.S.
Graduate Research Assistant - GSBS Rotating Student
Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Research Interests: Nuclear actin, chromatin remodeling

Amit Deorukhkar, Ph.D.
Laboratory Manager
Department of Surgical Oncology
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Suman Govindaraju, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Molecular Oncology
Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa FL

Conrad Fernandes, B.A.
Medical Student - Baylor College of Medicine
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Therapeutic Vulnerabilities of Pancreatic Cancer through Metabolism
Personal Interests: Eating out at restaurants, cheering on the Astros/Texans/Rockets
Alma Mater:  Rice University

Amal Musa, B.S.
Medical Student - McGovern Medical School, UT Health
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Clinical research, microbiome, 
Personal Interests: Traveling, eating out at restaurants, reading
Alma Mater:  University of Texas at Austin

Yanqing Huang, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Fellow
Radiation Oncology - Research
yhuang10@mdanderson.org 
Research Interests: Tumor Microenvironment, Tumor Heterogeneity, Hypoxia, Single Cell Sequencing
Personal Interests: Running marathons, scuba diving, and preparing for triathlons
Alma Mater: Texas A&M Health Science Center

Alejandro Estrada, B.A.
Research Assistant I
Radiation Oncology
AMEstrada@mdanderson.org
Research Interests: Mitochondrial Dynamics, Microbiome, Clinical Research
Personal Interests: Basketball, Blogging, Philosophy
Alma Mater: Rice University

Vinit Yarram Reddy
Summer College Student
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Cell Culture, PCR
Personal Interests: Playing soccer, Wikipedia, powerlifting, listening to music
Alma Mater: University of Texas at Austin (currently enrolled)

Ariana Carolina Acevedo-Diaz
Summer College Student
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Hypoxia, cell culture
Personal Interests: Loves to dance, travel, go on road trips, and explore new places to eat 
Alma Mater:  University of Puerto Rico - Bayamon (currently enrolled)

Chidi Mauro Okoro, B.S.
Summer College Student
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Cell culture, subcloning, DNA plasmid extraction
Personal Interests: Enjoys playing the piano, bodybuilding, astronomy, and watching horror/thriller movies
Alma Mater:  University of Texas - Austin

Melinda Wang
Summer College Student - CPRIT
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Liquid biopsies, cell culture
Personal Interests: Avid cooking fan, loves exploring different food scenes and watching movies
Alma Mater: Rice University (currently enrolled)

Rachael Johnson
Summer College Student - CPRIT
Radiation Oncology - Research
Research Interests: Mitochondrial dynamics, cell culture, subclonic, lentivirus production
Personal Interests: Enjoys reading, drawing, and spending time with friends and family
Alma Mater:  Georgetown University (currently enrolled)