Ajay Goel Lab

Yoh Asahi, M.D., Ph.D. is a Global Scholar in Ajay Goel Lab.

Hongxia Duan, M.D. graduated from Tongji University in Shanghai, China. During university period, she researched mechanisms of inflammation and neoplastic transformation. Upon graduated, she worked as a medical oncologist in Jiangsu province, China. At City of Hope, she plans to further explore the mechanisms of occurrence and development of digestive system tumors and develop potential treatments. Besides working, she enjoys photography and cycling. 

Taru Jain has completed her post-graduation from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, India, in Biotechnology. Before joining Dr. Goel's lab, she worked as a Research Associate at Unichem Laboratories focusing her work on developing novel molecules targeting colon and breast cancer. In her current role, Taru is dedicated to continuing her research on the early detection of gastrointestinal cancer and helping to improve early diagnostic techniques.

In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, going for long drives, and listening to music.

Yuan Li is a lab member in Goel lab at City of Hope.

Jessica Liu is a high school student at Westridge School for Girls and a research intern in Ajay Goel Lab. She is passionate about spending time on volunteer projects surrounding international humanitarian work and enjoys baking and reading.

Alessandro Mannucci, M.D. graduated from San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy. During his university years, he researched hereditary syndromes that cause colorectal and endometrial cancer (including Lynch syndrome) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Upon receiving his M.D., he worked as a gastroenterology and endoscopy resident at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy. Dr. Mannucci's research focuses on hereditary cancer syndromes and mechanisms of early detection and prevention. At City of Hope, he hopes to understand the early events that lead to colon cancer development and immune evasion. Besides research, he enjoys mountaineering, reading, and traveling.

Takayuki Noma, M.D., graduated from Tokushima University of Medicine in Japan. In Japan he worked as a digestive surgeon.

He played rugby football at university and enjoys fishing and cooking.

Takumi Onoyama, M.D., Ph.D., obtained his medical degree (M.D.) and doctorate (Ph.D.) from Tottori University. Before joining City of Hope, Dr. Onoyama worked as a gastrointestinal physician and Endoscopist in Tottori, Japan.

Dr. Onoyama's research focuses on the development of biomarkers for the early detection of gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular emphasis on pancreaticobiliary carcinoma. Additionally, he aims to predict the response to chemotherapy in these cases.

Courtney Quan is a research associate and lab manager in the Ajay Goel lab. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant for a genome-wide association study where she identified genetic variants associated with hyperemesis gravidarum. Outside of work, Courtney enjoys reading and running.

Shalini Shah graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During her undergraduate years she worked as a research assistant for an Alzheimer's and Dementia clinical trial and later went on to work in a lab where she researched the role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in neurodegenerative disease. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and cooking/baking.

Katsutoshi Shoda, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan, as a gastrointestinal surgeon at Yamanashi University before joining City of Hope. He obtained his Ph.D. from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, and his research focused on the biomarkers relevant to treatment using liquid biopsies in gastric cancer. In addition to his research, he enjoys watching sports such as soccer and baseball and listening to soul music.

Silei Sui graduated from Dalian Medical University with a Ph.D. in oncology and worked on the molecular mechanism and clinical significance of colorectal cancer before joining City of Hope. After graduation, she worked as a visiting postdoctoral under the guidance of Ajay Goel, Ph.D., M.S., at City of Hope. She aims to identify clinical biomarkers for improving the survival and treatment effect of colorectal cancer based on a multi-omics NGS approach.

Sui is skilled in Python, R, and machine learning and experienced in the biological analysis of genome sequencing, transcriptional sequencing and single-cell sequencing data.

Outside of work, she enjoys fitness and listening to music.

Caiming Xu, M.D., Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow under the guidance of Ajay Goel, Ph.D., M.S., at City of Hope. He obtained both his M.D. and Ph.D. in surgery at Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, China. His Ph.D. research focuses on molecular mechanism of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and acute pancreatitis. He revealed that the infiltration of immune cells may represent a possible target in the treatment of PDAC.
 
His research interest focuses on identifying novel biomarkers and targeting molecules for diagnosis and therapeutics of pancreatobiliary tumors using multi-omics NGS approach.
 
Outside of work, he enjoys football and ping-pong.