Emily Dykhuizen, PI
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Dr. Alisha Dhiman, Senior Research Associate
[email protected]

Alisha is from New Delhi, India. She got her Bachelor’s degree (2004) in Biochemistry from the University of Delhi, India and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Biotechnology (2007) from the University of Hyderabad, India. For her Master’s dissertation, she worked towards development of a chimeric recombinant chitinase enzyme so as to broaden its substrate specificity. Alisha pursued her PhD in Biotechnology (2015) with Prof. Rakesh Bhatnagar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. Her doctoral work focused on understanding the role of two-component signal transduction systems in bacterial pathogenesis and adaptation, and exploring them as scaffolds for antimicrobial development. For her postdoctoral venture, she moved to the US and forayed into cancer research. She joined the Dykhuizen lab in August 2017 where she is working towards decoding the role of a commonly mutated gene PBRM1 in renal cancer, in order to understand its tumor suppressive function, clinical significance and potential therapeutic applications.
Dr. Rinky Raghuvanshi, Post-doctoral Research Associate
[email protected]
[email protected]

Rinky Raghuvanshi is from Haryana, India. She got her Bachelor’s degree (2012) in Biotechnology and Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry (2014) from Kurukshetra University, India. After her master’s degree, she worked (2015-2016) as an assistant professor in chemistry department of Guru Nanak Khalsa College, India. In June, 2016 she joined Defence Research and Development Organisation, India, where she worked on high altitude medicinal plants. She pursued her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry with Dr. Sandip B. Bharate at CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative medicine, India. During her PhD (2018-2022), she worked on developing new multitargeted preclinical leads for Alzheimer’s disease employing library screening and rational drug design approaches. She joined the Dykhuizen lab in Feb. 2023 and her work is focus on developing and synthesizing chemical tools and inhibitors for BAF complexes.
Dr. Masataka Nakano, Post-doctoral Research Associate
[email protected]

Masataka Nakano, originally from Kanazawa, Japan, completed his Bachelor’s (2012), Master’s (2014), and PhD (2017) degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kanazawa University, under the guidance of Prof. Miki Nakajima. Following graduation, he served as an assistant professor in the same department, advancing research on post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms—including microRNA, A-to-I RNA editing, and m6A modification—that impact drug metabolism. Around 2020, he expanded his research focus to chromatin remodeling. Masataka joined the Dykhuizen lab from April 2022 to March 2023 and rejoined in November 2024, now concentrating on the role of SWI/SNF complexes in prostate cancer progression.
Guanming (Ming) Jiao, PhD Candidate, MCMP
[email protected]

Ming (Guanming) is from Zhengzhou, China. He got his Bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from Shanghai University in 2019. During his undergraduate, he worked with Dr. Junjie Xiao in the aging and regeneration lab. The research was about colorectal cancer and cardiac diseases. He joined Dykhuizen lab in June 2020. He is currently working on the role of bromodomains in renal cancer.
Dr. Brayden Paul Strohmier, PharmD, PhD Candidate, MCMP
[email protected]

Brayden hails from the small town of Brookville, IN. He earned his PharmD degree in 2020 at Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy. During his PharmD education, he worked with Dr. Jean-Christophe Rochet on two projects: (1) analyzing neuroprotective gene expression changes from patients who had Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body dementia and (2) investigating new ways to analyze rat behavioral changes in Parkinson’s disease. Later, Brayden found a passion in cancer research and joined the Dykhuizen lab in December 2020. He is currently working on the cellular effects of inhibiting BRD9 in prostate cancer cells and how those effects may change the resistance patterns of the prostate cancer to chemotherapeutics.
Jude Tetteh Quarshie, PhD Student, MCMP
[email protected]

Jude is from Accra, Ghana. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Technology from KNUST, Ghana. He then pursued a Master's degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Ghana where he explored the effect of cryptolepine (a plant-derived compound) on canonical WNT signaling in colorectal cancer. He joined the Dykhuizen Lab in December 2023 with an interest in chemical biology and cancer research.
Sukhman Kaur, PhD Student, PULSe
[email protected]

Sukhman is from Panjab, India. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biotechnology from Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. She is a PhD student in Purdue University Interdisciplinary Life Sciences (PULSe) Program and joined the Dykhuizen lab in April 2024. In the lab, she is working on trying to understand the role of mSWI/SNF complex during neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer.
Ayush Goel, SERB-Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellow (ANRF), PhD Candidate, IIT Kanpur, India
[email protected]

Ayush is from Uttar Pradesh, India. He received his Bachelor’s degree (2018) in Zoology (Hons.) from the University of Delhi, India and a Master’s degree in Genetics (2020) from the University of Delhi, India. He worked as a Summer Visiting Fellow during his Master’s at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram with Prof. Satish Khurana to study the effects of pSRC and pFAK inhibitors on expression of SDF-1α in cultured mice ST-2 cells. His Master’s dissertation work focused on studying dMyc-mediated molecular pathways that play a role in mitigating neurotoxicity in Drosophila Parkinson’s disease model. Ayush is currently pursuing his PhD with Prof. Bushra Ateeq and Prof. Hamim Zafar in the Molecular Oncology Lab at Biological Sciences and Bioengineering department, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India. His doctoral work focuses on molecular characterization of the role of CDK12 in prostate cancer. He has joined the Dykhuizen lab in August 2024 as a SERB-Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellow where he is working towards exploring genetic vulnerabilities to design effective therapeutic approaches against CDK12-mutant prostate cancer.
Current Undergraduate Researchers
Brett Andrew Anderson
Gabriella Grace Conjelko
Gabriella Grace Conjelko
Previous Members
Shelley Woloshuk Lab Manager 2019-2024 Retired
Surbhi Sood Graduate Student 2019-2024 NIEHS- Postdoc with Dr. Wade
Shabana Noreen Visiting Research Scholar 03/2024-09/2024 PhD Candidate at University of Campania
Shenell Brown Post-bacculaureate 2023-2024 PhD Student at UIC Medicinal Chemistry
Sam King Undergraduate 2020-2024 MD/PhD program at OHSU
Sandra Ordonez Graduate Student 2018-2024 Stanford University-Postdoc with Dr. Dassama
Mallory Kay Roach Undergraduate 2019-2022 PhD Student at UNC Biological and Biomedical Sciences
William James Platt Undergraduate 2019-2022 Physician Assistant Student at Indiana University
Sijie Wang Graduate Student 2016-2022 Stanford University- Postdoc in Dr. Bogyo
Aktan Alpsoy Graduate Student 2015-2020 Institute of Cancer Research, London- Postdoc with Dr. Kristian Helin
Chad Maschinot Postdoctoral Researcher 2018-2020 Research Scientist at Perfinity Biosciences
Elizabeth (Libby) Porter Graduate Student 2014-2019 Stanford University- Postdoc with Dr. Casey Gifford
Jane Stewart Lab Manager 2013-2018 Retired
Katelyn Connelly Graduate Student 2013-2018 NIH- Postdoc with Dr. Laufey Amundadottir
Ben Carter Postdoctoral Researcher 2017-2018 Clinical Assistant Professor in Biochemistry, Purdue University
Basudev Chowdhury Postdoctoral Researcher 2015-2017 Dana Farber- Postdoc with Dr. James Griffin
Christina Marian Postdoctoral Researcher 2013-2014 Technical Content Specialist at Five Prime Content Strategy
Rob Wilson Undergraduate 2014-2015 MIT- Graduate Student with Dr. Angela Koehler
Surbhi Sood Graduate Student 2019-2024 NIEHS- Postdoc with Dr. Wade
Shabana Noreen Visiting Research Scholar 03/2024-09/2024 PhD Candidate at University of Campania
Shenell Brown Post-bacculaureate 2023-2024 PhD Student at UIC Medicinal Chemistry
Sam King Undergraduate 2020-2024 MD/PhD program at OHSU
Sandra Ordonez Graduate Student 2018-2024 Stanford University-Postdoc with Dr. Dassama
Mallory Kay Roach Undergraduate 2019-2022 PhD Student at UNC Biological and Biomedical Sciences
William James Platt Undergraduate 2019-2022 Physician Assistant Student at Indiana University
Sijie Wang Graduate Student 2016-2022 Stanford University- Postdoc in Dr. Bogyo
Aktan Alpsoy Graduate Student 2015-2020 Institute of Cancer Research, London- Postdoc with Dr. Kristian Helin
Chad Maschinot Postdoctoral Researcher 2018-2020 Research Scientist at Perfinity Biosciences
Elizabeth (Libby) Porter Graduate Student 2014-2019 Stanford University- Postdoc with Dr. Casey Gifford
Jane Stewart Lab Manager 2013-2018 Retired
Katelyn Connelly Graduate Student 2013-2018 NIH- Postdoc with Dr. Laufey Amundadottir
Ben Carter Postdoctoral Researcher 2017-2018 Clinical Assistant Professor in Biochemistry, Purdue University
Basudev Chowdhury Postdoctoral Researcher 2015-2017 Dana Farber- Postdoc with Dr. James Griffin
Christina Marian Postdoctoral Researcher 2013-2014 Technical Content Specialist at Five Prime Content Strategy
Rob Wilson Undergraduate 2014-2015 MIT- Graduate Student with Dr. Angela Koehler