Nada Kalaany Lab

Natasha was born in Potsdam, NY and grew up in rural upstate NY.  She began her science education in 1997, and after an extended detour that culminated in a degree in Art; she completed her science education with a B.S. in biology from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2010.  As an undergrad she discovered a passion for research and enjoyed presenting her work in national conferences.  Upon graduation this early enjoyment of research lead her to pursue a career in a research setting.  In February 2011 she began her science career as a research assistant in the Kalaany Lab and has worked with the team to manage the mouse colony and facilitate on going work with multiple projects. 

Onur is from Adana, Turkey. He got his B.S degree in molecular biology and genetics from Izmir Institute of Technology. During his undergraduate education, he developed an irresistible passion for  stem cell science. His interests started with hematopoietic stem cells and unexpectedly evolved into intestinal stem cells during his journey to Sabatini Lab, during the summer of 2010. His current project focuses on the correlation between obesity, intestinal stem cells and cancer progression. Besides, he loves taking photographs of his joyful friends, going out, reading and talking about philosophy. 

Tamara is originally from Lebanon.  She joined the Kalaany lab as a postdoctoral fellow in August 2011.  She received her B.S. degree in Biology from the American University of Beirut and her Ph.D. in Genetics from Dartmouth College.  Currently her work in the Kalaany lab focuses on defining the mechanisms underlying the association of obesity and its accompanying metabolic syndrome with pancreatic cancer incidence and progression.  Outside of the lab Tamara enjoys volleyball, traveling and dancing.

Clare is a first year graduate student at Harvard Medical School, in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program. Clare graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in biochemistry. Throughout college, she worked on adhesion between E. coli and surfaces with different chemicalproperties. However, her research interests took an unexpected turn once she experienced working on cancer and obesity using mammalian cells and mice as tools. In addition to science, Clare enjoys traveling, books, classical music and European history.

Maggie received her PhD in molecular genetics from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and then worked for 2 years as a visiting scholar at Beijing 302 Hospital. Before joining the Kalaany lab, Maggie was a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF, working on PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling in liver tumorigenesis. Outside the lab, Maggie enjoys mountain biking, hiking, Pilates and Yoga.