Faculty and Staff
Raghu Kalluri, M.D., Ph.D.
Core Director
Dr. Kalluri’s research focuses on mechanisms of cell-environment interactions, with a specific emphasis on extracellular vesicles (EVs). His laboratory has developed and optimized numerous methods for the study of EVs, and he is considered among the world’s foremost experts in the field. He has made substantial contributions to the extant guidelines on clinical translation and commercialization of EVs, and his work in this space has culminated in four completed Phase I clinical trials. Dr. Kalluri provides scientific oversight and management of the core and its service to the community.
Meagan Conner, Ph.D.
Core Principal Scientist
Dr. Conner is a neuroscientist with extensive experience in EV research methodologies. Her research has culminated in the design of a pre-clinical engineered exosomes-based treatment for glioblastoma multiforme. Dr. Conner guides core users in the selection of appropriate methodologies for their projects and oversees quality assurance/quality control, as well as service scheduling and core throughput. Dr. Conner ensures that the core and its personnel maintain compliance with institutional and safety regulations.
Shreyasee Kumbhar, Ph.D.
Core Senior Scientist
Dr. Kumbhar is a trained cell biologist with expertise in flow cytometry, nanoimaging and spatial analysis of EVs. Dr. Kumbhar oversees fluorescence activated EV analysis and sorting using antibodies. Dr. Kumbhar is responsible for all conventional and spectral flow cytometers: analyzers and sorters, designing and testing flow cytometry panels and performing and analyzing flow cytometry experiments for the core including immunophenotyping experiments related to EVs.
Sarah Patel, B.S.
Core Scientist
Ms. Patel is an expert in different EV isolation techniques and an expert in large-scale generation of EVs for therapeutics studies, as well as being well versed in western blotting, ELISA and other analytical techniques such as Nanosight Particle Detection, BCA measurement and quantitative PCRs. She is constantly being trained in new methods of isolation, characterization and analysis of EVs that will support the needs of all EVcore users.
Anaïs Comptdaer, M.S.
Core Scientist
Ms. Comptdaer performs multiple EV isolation techniques, including size-exclusion fast performance and high performance chromatography. Anaïs is an expert in various EV characterization methods, including western blotting, micro(BCA) protein assays, Qubit and Nanosight quantification and DNA/RNA extraction and analysis, as well as single EV imaging via transmission electron microscopy.
Bingrui (Brian) Li, Ph.D.
Core Bioinformatician
Dr. Li is a computational biologist and bioinformatician specializing in machine learning/artificial intelligence and bioinformatics, with extensive experience in multi-omics data analysis and computational methodology development. His research has yielded algorithms for identifying cancer-specific exosomes from biological fluids, enabling non-invasive cancer diagnosis based on exosomal protein signatures. Dr. Li reviews and approves all numerical results and data analyses issued to EVcore users to ensure accuracy and consistency. Dr. Li can support large-scale downstream analysis of EV related omics-data (proteomics, genomics, epigenomics, lipidomics, etc.) on an hourly basis, upon request.
Mary Catherine Bordes, B.S.
Core Administrative Director
Ms. Bordes oversees administrative operations of the core, including budgeting, billing, staffing and reporting for institutional and funding agency review. She additionally organizes the education and training activities of the core, including seminars, workshops and observerships.