John Carpten Lab

Rania Bassiouni, Ph.D., is a molecular biologist and genomic scientist with research expertise in breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Dr. Bassiouni earned her doctorate at the University of Central Florida, where she investigated the use of novel peptide therapeutics and nanoparticle delivery systems in treating breast cancer. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Southern California under the mentorship of Dr. Carpten, gaining expertise in leading-edge omics technologies and bioinformatics. Dr. Bassiouni continues to work with Dr. Carpten at City of Hope, where she investigates the molecular and genomic factors that contribute to aggressive disease and treatment failure in both breast and ovarian cancer.

Danyelle Hill, Ph.D., is a clinical translational and genomic scientist with a research focus on Type I uterine endometrial cancer. Dr. Paine earned her doctorate from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, and completed her dissertation at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, where she investigated the therapeutic potential of the epigenetic drug Quisinostat in targeting H3K27M diffuse midline glioma of the pons. She is currently a T32 postdoctoral fellow in DNA damage response research at City of Hope under Dr. Carpten’s mentorship. Her postdoctoral work integrates multi-omics and bioinformatics approaches, aimed at characterizing the molecular and genetic alterations shaping the tumor microenvironment of uterine endometrial cancer. In this work, she has a particular emphasis on understanding disease disparities affecting African American women.

Jing Qian, M.S., has a passion for unraveling the complexities of cancer biology. After earning her master’s degree in translational biotechnology from the University of Southern California, Qian is now pursuing her Ph.D. under Dr. Carpten’s mentorship. Her research harnesses leading-edge spatial transcriptomics and integrative multi-omic profiling to explore tumor heterogeneity, immune–tumor interactions and the genomic alterations that influence therapeutic response. Qian seeks to uncover biomarkers that predict patient outcomes and guide precision therapies. Her goals are to improve treatment effectiveness and offer new hope for patients facing aggressive ovarian cancers.
 

Yuxin Jin, M.S., is a bioinformatician and genomic scientist specializing in computational cancer genomics, with a focus on multi-omics data integration and cancer heterogeneity. She received her master’s in translational biotechnology from the University of Southern California, where she cultivated research interests that included developing her initial genetic ancestry analysis pipeline. During this time, Jin gained extensive experience in next-generation sequencing data analysis and bioinformatics pipeline development. She later joined Dr. Carpten’s lab at City of Hope, where she provides bioinformatics support, conducts ancestry analysis for multiple collaborative projects and integrates large-scale multi-omics data. Her research focuses on ancestry-related genomic variation and molecular mechanisms underlying cancer heterogeneity across diverse cancer types.

Alex Wong serves as Chief of Staff for the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer at City of Hope. In his role, he oversees and coordinates various aspects of research operations, including finance, human resources, research facilities, and other operational areas. He also helps establish connections among research faculty and staff to ensure that City of Hope teams have what they need to advance discoveries in the fight against cancer and diabetes.

Prior to joining City of Hope, Alex spent over a decade at the University of Southern California, where he served as an Administrative Program Director. He began his career at the University of California, San Diego, where he received his BA. He is on track to obtain an MBA from Arizona State University in Summer 2026.

Jian Ye, Ph.D., is an immuno-oncology scientist with a research focus on colorectal cancer. Dr. Ye earned his Ph.D. in developmental biology from Fudan University, where he studied T-cell development, and completed postdoctoral training in mucosal immunology at Northwestern University and the University of Florida. Based in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research, Dr. Ye collaborates closely with Dr. John Carpten and Dr. Marwan Fakih to connect discovery science with clinical investigation in colorectal cancer. His research integrates immunology with advanced multi-omics approaches to generate insights that drive innovation in precision immunotherapy and improve care for patients with colorectal cancer.