Members
Chenyi Xue, MS
- Staff Associate, Bioinformatics
Education and Training
BS, 2010, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
MS, 2012, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MII am the bioinformatician of the lab, managing data storage, quality control and analysis. I work closely with research scientists in the lab on different projects. I have extensive experience on RNA-seq data analysis and long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) identification using deep sequencing data.
Jian Cui, MB, MSc
- Research Specialist
Education and Training
MB, 2003, Hebei Medical University
MSc, 2006, Beijing University of Chinese MedicineI joined Dr. Reilly’s group in 2012 as a research specialist. I have extensive experience in cell and tissue culture, molecular biology, immunology, mouse colony management, small rodent surgeries, and laboratory management.
Chinyere Ihuegbu
- Graduate Student
- Chinyere Ihuegbu Email coi2002@cumc.columbia.edu
Education and Training
BSc Biochemistry, 2014, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
MRes Biosciences, 2016, University College London, London, UK
Leila Ross, Ph.D.
- Program Manager
- Leila Ross Email lsr2153@cumc.columbia.edu
Education and Training:
B.A., Biochemistry, University of California at Berkeley
Ph.D., Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard University
Research Summary (<200 words):
Leila completed her doctoral studies in immunology and infectious disease at Harvard University in the lab of Dr. Dyann Wirth, focusing on biochemical and structural characterization of enzymes in the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite’s pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Dr. David Fidock at Columbia University, undertaking training in malaria parasite genetic manipulation and genomic analysis to identify drug resistance mechanisms. In Dr. Reilly’s group, Leila switched out of the lab and became a program manager. Her role includes helping to support and shape research, grants, and manuscripts.
Lucie Zhu
- Graduate Student
- Lucie Zhu Email lz2699@cumc.columbia.edu
Lucie received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biochemistry at the University of Toronto, with a thesis on the regulation of cellular beta and gamma actin. She is currently a predoctoral student at Columbia University in the Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine program and joined the Reilly lab in 2020. Her research focuses on the role of adipocyte ER stress and translational regulation in adipose tissue expansion during obesity.
Delfy Velasquez
- Executive Assistant
Education and Training
BA in Sociology with a minor in Economics
City College of New York
Role:
Delfy A. Velazquez is the Executive Assistant to Dr. Muredach Reilly at the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Delfy has 16 years of higher education administrative experience. Prior to working with Dr. Reilly Delfy, worked as a Student Account Representative and Assistant Manager at the Cashiers Office for 12 years. She continued her professional growth within CUIMC as an Administrative Assistant to Dr. Donna L. Farber for 4 years. Delfy is a graduate of the City College of New York where she obtained a Bachelors of Art in Sociology with a minor in Economics. Besides working at CUIMC for 16 years, Delfy is very familiar with the neighborhood of Washington Heights, where she was born and raised. In her free time, Delfy enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, DIY home projects and aiding in party decorating/planning for family and friends.
Heidi Hartman
- Cardiology Fellow
Education and Training
BS, Biology and Community Health, 2010, Tufts University,
MD, 2016, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Research:
Heidi completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at Columbia University and joined Dr. Reilly’s group during this time. She is currently a second-year cardiology fellow at Columbia, and her research focuses on the use of human genetics and epidemiology to better understand the intersection between adipose distribution, biological sex, and the risk for and progression of complex cardiovascular diseases. Her work focuses additionally on the use of proteomics in risk stratifying patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
Johana Coronel, Ph.D.
- Post Doctoral Research Scientist
Education and Training:
Johana completed her doctoral studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focused on evaluating the role of stored β-carotene as a potential substrate for β-carotene 15, 15’-dioxygenase (BCO1) in the adipose tissue as a therapeutic target against obesity and atherosclerosis. In 2022, Johana joined the Reilly lab as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist. Her research focuses on determining the role of smooth muscle-derived cells in plaque stability during atherosclerosis regression.
Thomas Mawson, MD
- Cardiology Fellow
Education and Training:
BA, New York University, 2012
MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 2018
Internal Medicine Residency, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 2021
Research:
Prior to joining the Reilly lab I completed a Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Fellowship in the lab of Dr. Peter Libby at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where my research focused on the effect of neutrophil extracellular traps on endothelial cell activation and thrombogenicity in coronary plaque erosion. I am currently a cardiology fellow at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, working with Dr. Reilly's group since 2022. My research focuses on the role of defective base excision repair and DNA damage in modulating smooth muscle cell phenotype switching in atherosclerosis. I am also interested in computational approaches to integrating large-scale human GWAS data with single cell RNA-seq to guide discovery of novel pathways in human coronary disease.
Quinian Micah Johanson
- Lab Manager
- Email address qsj2103@cumc.columbia.edu
Education and Training:
BS Biochemistry, 2018, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo, NY
Quinian works as Lab Manager for the Reilly Lab at the Columbia University Medical Center. A Westchester NY native, he has prior experience both in the manufacturing sector, running hybridoma cell culture in Los Angeles, and in academia, working at the University of Utah to research solutions to systemic fibrosis.
