MEMBERS
FACULTY
Wei Sun, MD
Research Assistant Professor
Medicine-Cardiology
sunw2@upmc.edu
Steven Woodcock, PhD
Scientific Operations Officer, VMI
Research Assistant Professor
Medicine-Cardiology
srw22@pitt.edu
POSTDOCS / FELLOWS
Sanya Arshad, PhD
arshads@pitt.edu | 412-383-1270
I joined the Chan lab at a Post-Doctoral Associate in 2020. I am a PhD from King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, India. During my PhD, I worked on assessing the prevalence of FVIII inhibitors in congenital hemophilia A and correlating its presence with mutations and cytokine profiles of these patients. I worked as a Research Assistant at Mass General Cancer Center, Boston for a year and gained experience in Next Generation Sequencing on Illumina platform. Currently, I am working on understanding the role of endothelial frataxin deficiency in Friedreich’s ataxia by utilizing in-vitro and in-vivo models.
In my free time I enjoy cooking, going on drives and playing with my Cats.
Chen-Shan (Julia) Woodcock, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar (T32)
jcsw17@pitt.edu | 412-383-1270
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Anna Kirillova
RESEARCH STAFF
Yassmin Al Araj
Clinical Research Coordinator
Adam Handen, MS
Computational Specialist
handena@pitt.edu | 412-648-2094
Hee-Jung (Janice) Kim, BS
Janice graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry from the Carnegie Mellon University. She is excited to focus more on research as a research technician in Chan’s lab and is planning to attend medical school in the future. In her free time, she enjoys film photography, art, and good pastries.
Conan Rooney
Laboratory Technician
Conan is a 2020 graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s of Science in biology and a minor in chemistry. He is interested in evaluating cellular and molecular mechanisms that are associated with tumor formation and progression. In his free time, Conan enjoys writing music, fishing, and he is an avid Steelers fan.
Miranda Tai, MS
Laboratory Technician
taiy@upmc.edu | 412-383-1270
Miranda recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a master degree in Biomedical Engineering. She is interested in the roles and functions of microRNA and long-noncoding-RNA in pulmonary hypertension.
In her spare time, Miranda enjoys art, music, playing badminton, kayaking, and exploring new places as well as trying out new (yummy) food!
Ying Tang
Research Specialist IV, Senior Lab Manager
yit3@pitt.edu | 412-648-2094
Ying has extensive experience in the development of viral vectors and the application of stem cells for gene and cell therapy, especially for musculoskeletal disease and injury. She has played a major role in the following projects: 1) recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-based gene therapy for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); 2) bone regeneration including the use of gene-enhance human mesenchymal stem cell with biomaterial scaffolds; 3) the development of techniques in small animal experiments and imaging.
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Her research is focused on the field of gene transfer and stem cell modification utilizing AAV, lentivirus and retrovirus. She is currently investigating: 1) the response of pulmonary and peripheral blood vessels to hypoxic and ischemic injury; 2) strategies for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH).
In these projects, small animals, such as transgenic and double-knock out mice, are bred, genotyped and treated for pulmonary and peripheral blood vessel related diseases. Imaging techniques frequently used in these animal experiments include micro-CT for bone imaging. Imaging techniques employed in cell-based experiments include dot blot, western blot and other immunostaining procedures.
Annie Watson, MPH
Clinical Research Coordinator
watsonam3@upmc.edu | 412-647-4964
Annie spent many years doing bench work in genetic laboratories and later completed an MPH at the University of Pittsburgh. Afterwards, she became a clinical research coordinator. She is interested in expanding the pulmonary hypertension biorepository to facilitate future studies. She is elated to be part of the Chan lab, as it provides an opportunity for her to learn more about the clinical trial process and the development of novel therapies. In her free time, Annie likes kayaking, running, watching movies and attending Pittsburgh cultural events.
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Harsh Hiwase
Undergraduate Researcher
Karshana Kalyanaraman
Undergraduate Researcher
Will Girard
High School Student
Will Girard is a junior at Hampton High School who is interested in pursuing a course of study in biomedical sciences. In his free time, Will enjoys playing snare drum in the marching band, ultimate frisbee, parliamentary debate, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.He is excited to contribute to and be a part of Dr. Chan’s lab at the University of Pittsburgh.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Erica Carson
Administrative Coordinator
carsonec@upmc.edu | ecc50@pitt.edu
412-383-6030