Lab Member

Current Position and a little something about them

Emad Salman Shaikh, MD, MPH

Harrison Roberts

Zhiming Mai

Zhiming was a long time collaborator with the Hasan Lab,

He passed away  in 2024. He will be missed.

Please see our memorial page for more information. 

Tessa van Bergen Msc

Chathuna Sri Anjuna Bodahandi 

Chathuna is a PhD Candidate at The Graduate Center, The City University of NY, New York NY. While in the Hasan Lab, he worked with Caroline on superhydrophobic applications.

Shakir Khan, PhD

2022

 Jimena Nicolás Morala

Jimena is a PhD Candidate at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. With a focus on cell biology, Jimena is working on a program in Molecular Biology.

2022

Demi Wekking

 Demi is a Masters Candidate at The University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

2020- 2023

Caroline Coradi Tonon DDS, MSc, PhD

Professor Zhaohui Zhou (pronounced like Joe), a.k.a. Sunny, received his B.S. in chemistry from Peking University, Ph.D. in bioorganic chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute under Professor Donald Hilvert (now at ETH), and did postdoctoral research in enzymology and biochemistry with Professor Rowena G. Matthews at the University of Michigan. He is an editor of the journals mAbs and Therapeutic Antibodies.

Sunny’s laboratory at Northeastern University works on proteins chemistry, analysis and engineering. One program is the development of light-activated protein-based biologics via bioconjugation of proteins

Jose Quilez Alburquerque, PhD

Jose’s previous research in the Hasan lab focused on evaluating the efficacy of ruthenium(II) complexes in cancer cells and microbes. After earning his PhD from the Complutense University of Madrid, he has now returned to the Hasan Lab as a Research Fellow. 

Akilan Palanisami, PhD

Hanna works as a 3D Imagist Specialist at ZEISS Microscopy in Seattle Washington. Hanna received her PHD from the Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Gothenburg, studying biophotonics

After working for 2 years as a Research Technician at the Hasan Lab, Joseph is now a PhD student in Chemistry at Rice University, at Houston, Texas focused on peptide and supramolecular chemistry.

Xiaodong Ding, MD PhD

Xiaodong  is a researcher at the Department of Gastroenterology at Xin Hua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China.  While at the Hasan lab he worked on projects related to photodynamic therapy of pancreatic cancer and nanotechnology.

Girgis is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. He has over 10 years of experience in tumor targeted nanotechnology. His expertise is in molecular targeted photodynamic-based therapy with the goal of improving tumor delivery, reducing toxicity and maximizing therapeutic benefits. In addition, Dr. Obaid has focused on molecular targeted probes and nanotracers for the quantitative imaging of tumor biomolecules to guide nanoconstruct engineering, treatment design and image guided surgery.

His research  focuses on using photonically-activatable nanoconstructs as a means for regulating drug delivery, treatment regimen design, and spatio-temporal induction of cancer therapy.

Qura Tul Ain is a PhD Candidate at The Islamia University, Pakistan

Susan is a MSAT Senior Specialist at Alexion, Dublin Ireland. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 2016 with an Honours degree in Chemistry and in 2020 with a PhD in Organic Chemistry, Susan worked as a visiting researcher at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Her work at the Hasan Lab included performing invitro and in vivo experiments and biological assays using photodynamic tools. In her current role, she develops process unit operations including chromatography and TFF.

After working as a Research Technician at the Hasan Lab, Marvin is now a PhD Candidate at Tufts University. He works in the laboratory of former Hasan Alumni Dr Srivalleesha Mallidi at Tufts.

Michael Pigula

After attending Boston College for his BS degree, Michael worked at the Hasan Lab as a Research Technician. Now a part of the Schultz Lab at Scripps Research, he is pursuing his PhD.

Tufts University. A frequent collaborator with the Hasan Lab, Valli is now an Assistant professor at Tufts and runs her own lab there (the integrated Biofunctional and Therapeutics Laboratory or iBIT). Her research focuses on utilizing non-invasive acoustic and optical imaging techniques with nanomaterials and biological models to understand the structural, functional, molecular and biomechanical heterogeneity of pathologies such as cancer. She was a Research Fellow and Assistant Professor at the Hasan Lab.

Shubhankar Nath, DVM, PhD

Shubhankar is a Senior Scientist at Sensei Bio, Boston. His specialties are: D Organoids and Characterization • CDX and PDX Tumor Models • PDX Organoid Model for Drug-screening • FACS • RNAi-lentivirus • MSD • High-content imaging • Cell Painting • 3D Image Analysis & Rendering • CRISPR

Imran is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Jerrin Kuriakose, PhD

Baldeep is now studying in Northeastern University Boston, MA

Huang Chiao Huang is an Assistant Professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland. He is also the Newsletter Editor for International Photodynamic Association and American Society for Photobiology. He attended graduate school at the Arizona State University and completed his Ph.D. training in Chemical Engineering with Professor Kaushal Rege in 2012. He then joined the Wellman Center for Photomedicine (MGH/Harvard Medical School, Boston) as a Postdoctoral Fellow to begin photodynamic therapy (PDT) research with Professor Tayyaba Hasan. In January 2018, Huang Chiao established his lab at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on the development and clinical translation of photochemistry-based platform technology for treatment and diagnosis of disease, optical sensing, and tissue engineering. Huang Chiao’s research efforts have been recognized by several awards such as the Tosteson & Fund for Medical Discovery Fellowship and the NIH Pathway to Independence Award.

Joe continues to be a frequent collaborator with the Hasan Lab.

Yan Baglo, PhD

(Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Maryland, Maryland) 

Yan Baglo received her Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, Trondheim) in 2014. Her Ph.D. research focused on photodynamic therapy and photochemical internalization in bladder cancer and was supported by Central Norway Regional Health Authority since 2011. In 2015, Dr. Baglo further secured a two-year Postdoc Research Fellowship from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU and joined Professor Tayyaba Hasan’s laboratory as a research fellow at Wellman Center for Photomedicine (MGH/Harvard Medical School, Boston).  Her research involved in imaging-based combination strategies for optimal photodynamic therapy in cancers, and nanotechnology-enabled photosensitizer delivery. Dr. Baglo continued her postdoctoral training at Wellman under mentorship of Assistant Professor Tianhong Dai, conducting antimicrobial blue light research, prior to joining UMD in 2018.

Mans Broekgaarden, PhD

(ERC Starting Grant project leader)

at INSERM, Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.

Passionate about using his experience in molecular cell biology, experimental oncology, and biophotonics to contribute to the bench-to-bedside translation of novel nanoscale therapeutics for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.

Ahmed Alkhateeb, PhD

Director, Oncology External Innovation at Sanofi, MA

(Director of Clinical Development)
Erasca, Boston.

Highly motivated, passionate, and creative clinical scientist with broad experience in oncology, fibrosis, alternative therapies to antibiotics treatment, and diagnostic methods for detecting antibiotic resistance. Proficient in biochemical, immunological, microbiological, molecular biology, and imaging techniques. Experienced in GCP and clinical and regulatory documentation (including investigator brochures, clinical study reports, clinical protocols, and FDA briefing packages). Successfully participated in several industry and academic collaborations. Strong communication and problem-solving skills with the ability to adapt in multicultural and diverse environments. Board Member, Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Women in Science (MASS AWIS) since 2014.

Joyce Y Liu

(Attending Physician)
Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, China

Rehab Amin, PhD

(Assistant Professor)
National Institute of Laser Enhanced Science (NILES) Cairo University, Egypt

Rehab Amin is the Co-Founder of Nano Gate, a Cairo-based nanotechnology startup company. She is a Professor of nanobiophotonics at Egypt’s National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences (NILES) at Cairo University, where her academic interests include nanotechnology, microbiology, biotechnology, and biosafety and biosecurity. She earned a Ph.D. from NILES in biomedical applications of laser technology and was a Fulbright visiting scholar at Harvard University. Dr. Amin is an advisor for PandemicTech (Austin, Texas, USA), a virtual technology incubator that supports innovators and innovations confronting pandemic infectious disease threats.

Kohei Watanabe, PhD

Chun-Te (Patrick) Chiang, PhD

Sultan Sibel Erdem, PhD

Ashwini Ghogare, PhD

(CEO and Head of Artificial Intelligence and Automation in Drug Discovery)
 Millipore Sigma, Boston.  My team is pioneering 🚀 AI and data-driven drug discovery with AIDDISON, our AI-powered drug discovery solution fueled by more than 30 years of validated experimental R&D data.

Ruth Goldschmidt, PhD

Toshihiro Kushibiki, PhD

(Assistant Professor)
Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

The Evans Lab’s research is focused on the development and clinical translation of optical tools to address challenges in biomedical research and clinical medicine. We use optical spectroscopy, imaging, and microscopy methods to detect, measure, and quantify what is otherwise invisible to address unmet needs in the care of patients.

We take an interdisciplinary, team-based approach in our research, combining physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, computer science, and clinical expertise. Our efforts are focused in :

Tissue Oxygen Sensing: “Smart” Bandages and Wearable Devices

Advanced Microscopy: Coherent Raman Imaging, Nonlinear Absorption, and Lifetime Microscopies

(Director of Business Development, Technology Innovation and Development Office)
Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA

A Ph.D. in Cell Biology, experienced researcher and business development and licensing professional. I currently manage a high-value portfolio of technology assets. In delivering financial terms that are favorable for the institution and simultaneously support the success of the commercial partner, I leverage my deep understanding of scientific research and development, and business development. I work closely with my clients to value technology assets, define the development required to create additional value, and guide pathways and timelines to market.