Contact Us
Investigator / Contact Person
Jonathan Harry Schatz, M.D.
Office
305-243-7742
Email
jschatz@med.miami.edu
Lab Members
Daniel Tsai is a fourth-year MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and a second-year PhD candidate in the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Miami. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he earned his BS in Biology from Duke University. Before moving to Miami, Daniel was a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). His dissertation research focuses on developing novel ligand-based chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) for rare NK/T-cell lymphomas. Beyond the lab, Daniel leads several committees within the MSTP and serves as Advocacy Chair of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA) at the University of Miami.
Austin Newsam is a seventh-year MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and recently completed his PhD in Cancer Biology Program at the University of Miami. Austin is from Newnan, Georgia. He earned his BS in Biology from Georgia State University. His dissertation research focused on RHOA deletion as a driver of CAR-T therapy resistance in DLBCL. Austin serves leadership roles within the American Physician Scientist Association (APSA) and Students Interested in Pathology (SIP) organizations.
Olivia Farag is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Miami. She earned her B.S. in Biology from the University of Tampa. Her research investigates mechanisms of cell cycle regulation in DLBCL and explores new therapeutic strategies targeting cyclin-G associated kinase (GAK). Outside of the lab, Olivia is involved in student government, is currently a Research Commercialization Fellow at the Coulter Center for Translational Research, and a Venture Fellow with DeepWork Capital.
Anna Kingham is a first-year PhD student in the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Miami. She is originally from Delaware and earned her BS in Biology from the University of Delaware. After completing her undergraduate degree, she moved to Boca Raton to pursue an MS in Biomedical Science at Florida Atlantic University, where she also worked as a lab coordinator in the Biology Department. Anna’s PhD research in the Schatz Lab focuses on understanding the role of Cyclin G–Associated Kinase (GAK) during mitotic progression in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). By uncovering the molecular mechanisms by which GAK regulates mitosis, her work seeks to identify potential therapeutic vulnerabilities in DLBCL.
Dhanvantri Chahar is working as an Assistant Scientist, exploring the role of BCL10, an oncogene, in DLBCL. She has previously worked as a postdoc in FRANCE and graduated from the Central Drug Research Institute in India.
Santiago is a first-year PhD student in the Cancer Biology program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. As a member of the Schatz Lab, his research focuses on understanding the B-cell intrinsic mechanisms of resistance to CAR T-cell therapy. Originally from San Francisco, Santiago completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) before moving to Miami.
Paola Manara, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Associate in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan H. Schatz in the Division of Hematology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where she previously completed her PhD in Cancer Biology. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and her Master’s degree in Biology Applied to Biomedical Research from the University of Milan, Italy. She later moved to the United States and worked as a Postgraduate Research Associate at Yale University in Dr. Alessandro Santin’s laboratory, focusing on translational cancer research and targeted therapies for gynecologic malignancies. During her doctoral training in the Schatz lab, she studied how translational control regulates ferroptosis sensitivity and therapeutic responses in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Her current research focuses on identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities in hematologic malignancies, including mitochondrial metabolism, translational stress responses, and mitotic kinase signaling. Outside the lab, she enjoys playing tennis and running.
Abdessamad Youssfi Alaoui is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. His research focuses on integrative multi-omics and genomics analyses of lymphoma, leveraging computational biology approaches to advance our understanding of lymphoma biology. He earned his Ph.D. in AI and Computer Vision from Morocco, where he developed deep learning models for human trajectory analysis and medical image processing. His expertise spans machine learning, computer vision, and bioinformatics.
Venu Venkatarame Gowda Saralamma, Ph.D., is an Assistant Scientist in the Schatz Lab at the University of Miami. Originally from India, he earned his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology and Phytomedicine from Gyeongsang National University, South Korea, and completed postdoctoral research at Yonsei University investigating the role of phospholipase D in tumorigenesis and the tumor microenvironment. His current research examines how genomic complexity in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) shapes immune responses to anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. He leverages multiple mouse models for CAR-T therapy, along with spatial and single-cell transcriptomics, to study the tumor microenvironment and mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in DLBCL.