Student
Anthony Aceto
MS Student
Email: aja75@pitt.edu
Anthony holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology with a specialization in Biochemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout his undergraduate studies, he developed his research skills by investigating the biochemical mechanisms underlying aging. Currently, he is expanding his academic pursuits in computational biology, employing machine learning to further understand the nature of drug resistance in cancer. In the laboratory, Anthony embraces a high level of independence as he endeavors to master both wet and dry lab techniques.
Ryan Boro, PharmD,
Thesis MS candidate, in Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology track
Email: rrb51@pitt.edu
Ryan earned his PharmD from Duquesne University in 2012. After taking time to consider his research interests, he started his graduate studies in Fall of 2020. These interests include drug discovery, infectious disease, computer science, and entrepreneurship. While he finds identities limiting, he would say the role he hopes to achieve with his studies would be a “scientist-entrepreneur”, conducting research with the intention of commercialization of discoveries.
Sihan Li
PhD candidate in Biochemical Pharmacology Track
Email: sil51@pitt.edu
Sihan earned his B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Fudan University School of Pharmacy in Shanghai, China and M.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Sihan’s research focuses on high-throughput sequencing data analysis in cancer genomics.
Ji Youn Park
MS student
Email: jip72@pitt.edu
Ji Youn holds a B.A. in Biology from Syracuse University, where her passion for toxicogenomic data analysis ignited. Her focus centers on uncovering meaningful biological signals using advanced computational methods, ultimately advancing our understanding of the adverse health effects caused by various compounds.
Haolin Wang
MS student
Email: haw244@pitt.edu
Haolin earned his B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Yantai University in China. In undergraduate period, he focused on treatment of cancer drugs. He is interested in cancer therapy mechanism and genomics. He focuses on CRISPR technology and gene sequencing.
Xiaofei Wang
PhD candidate in Biochemical Pharmacology Track
Email: xiw141@pitt.edu
Xiaofei earned her B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Wuhan University in China. Subsequently, she enrolled in the master’s and PhD programs at Pitt. Xiaofei’s research interest is integrating molecular biology and high-throughput sequencing analysis to explore RNA-protein interactions.
Yifei Wang
PhD candidate in biomedical pharmacology track
Email: yiw125@pitt.edu
Yifei earned her B.S. degree in Pharmacology major from Stony Brook University in 2018. She joined Dr. Da Yang’s lab in 2018 Fall as a master student and then 2020 Fall as a PhD student in Pitt. Yifei’s research focus on lncRNA studies, CRISPR screening and immunology studies; she also explored in the field of molecular biology and cancer biology. She has published several peer-reviewed publications in different scientific journals. Beyond the interesting research she is performing; Yifei also enjoys hiking; working out; good movies; reading and board games.
Jiaxuan Xie
Undergraduate student
Email: jix102@pitt.edu
Jiaxuan is pursing B.S. in computational biology and minor in chemistry at University of Pittsburgh. Jiaxuan’s current project is focusing on chromatin binding of MYC mutants with a future research goal in bioinformatic or pharmacological fields.
Yueshan Zhao
PhD candidate in Biochemical Pharmacology Track
Email: yuz183@pitt.edu
Yueshan completed her undergraduate studies in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University in China. Following that, she pursued her master’s and PhD studies at Pitt. Yueshan is focused on utilizing CRISPR screens and sequencing data to pinpoint potential breakthroughs in the field of drug development.
Jason Zheng
Undergraduate Student Majoring in Biological Sciences
Email: jaz82@pitt.edu
Jason is an undergraduate student participating in mentored research. He is obtaining a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in Spring of 2025. His future goal is to have a career in healthcare. Jason’s research interests are broad, but he has been learning the interdisciplinary complexity of bioinformatics/pharmacology with a focus on sequencing technology.
Post-doc
Dhamotharan Pattarayan
PhD, Post-Doctoral Associate
Email: dhp21@pitt.edu
Dhamo has been working as a post-doctoral research associate in Dr. Da Yang’s lab since 2020. He earned his M.Tech in Biotechnology and PhD degree from Anna University, Chennai, India. His research work focuses on tumor immunology, dsRNA, and investigating therapeutic resistance mechanisms in cancer cells.
Yue Wang
PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: yuw90@pitt.edu
Yue earned her BS (2016) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Subsequently, she obtained her MS (2018) and PhD (2023) in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology and Biochemistry track) from University of Pittsburgh. She has authored over ten peer-reviewed publications including lead authorship in the top scientific journals. Her research focuses on integrating high-dimensional pharmacogenomic datasets to study and overcome chemo-/immunotherapy resistance in cancer. Beyond her scientific pursuits, a great day of Yue’s life typically involves cats, books, hikes, games, and bubble tea.
Staff
Zehua Wang
PhD, Research Scientist
Email: zew11@pitt.edu
Zehua earned his PhD degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Yunnan University School of Life Sciences in China. He has multiple years of research experience in biochemistry and molecular biology related to cancer projects. His research interest focuses on the molecular mechanism of cancer by establishing and integrating the high-throughput sequencing data in DNA, RNA, and protein levels.
Yu Zhang
Staff.Laboratory Research Technician I
Email: yuz279@pitt.edu