Koichi Nishijo, MD, PhD
Dr. Koichi Nishijo is a postdoctoral research fellow, joined Dr. Keller's laboratory in April 2006. Dr. Nishijo completed his M.D. and Ph.D. from Kyoto University, Japan. During his PhD course, he studied the biology of osteosarcoma under instruction of Dr. Junya Toguchida at Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto University. Dr. Nishijo is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon with 7 years clinical experience in Japan. Dr. Nishijo's work primary research interests are the in vivo mechanisms of sarcoma development and progression. As a member of the Keller laboratory, he will study the process of rhabdomyosarcoma metastasis. Dr. Nishijo's future goal is to become an independent physician scientist in the field of musculoskeletal oncology.
Dr. Nishijo is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from
Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Jinu Abraham, PhD
Joined the Keller laboratory as a Postdoctoral fellow in September 2007. Jinu earned his doctoral degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. During the course of his Ph.D, he studied the regulation of Drosophila hematopoiesis by SUMO modification under the guidance of Dr. Soichi Tanda. In the Keller laboratory, Jinu is investigating molecular imaging tools and biomarkers of stem cells and cancer cells. Dr. Abraham's future goal is to become an independent scientist in the fields of Cancer Biology and Therapeutics.
Tohru Hosoyama, PhD
Completed his Ph.D. from Chiba University, Japan, in 2005. During his Ph.D. course, he studied the role of circulating myostatin (GDF8) under the mentorship of Dr. Takashi Obinata. Dr. Hosoyama then joined the team of Dr. Keitaro Yamanouchi, University of Tokyo, as a postdoctoral fellow from 2005 - 2007 working to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms underlying muscle satellite cell fate. Dr. Hosoyama’s primary research interests is the regulatory mechanism of somatic stem cell fate, including those described as “cancer stem cells”. Dr. Hosoyama’s future goal is to direct a research laboratory in the field of stem cell biology, whereby basic science findings can be translated to relieve suffering from diseas e and aging.
Anuradha Soundararajan, PhD
Anuradha "Anu" Soundararajan to our research team. Anu obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Madras in 2000, where she was recognized with the award for Best Outgoing Student for her college. After earning a Masters degree in medical physics from Anna University then professional experience as a Medical Physicist at the Cancer Institute in India, Anu pursued and recently completed a PhD in Medical Diagnostic Physics from the Department of Radiology at UTHSCSA. William “Bill” Phillips and Beth Goins were mentors to Anu, whose doctoral thesis project related to Chemo-Radionuclide Therapy with 186-Re labeled Liposomal Doxorubicin in combination with Radiofrequency Ablation for Effective Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer. Anu brings specific new strength to our research program in the area of Molecular Imaging. Her long term career goals include applied academic research for cancer using genetically engineered mouse models, imaging, and image-guided therapies.
Sachiko Ohshima, MD
Sachiko Ohshima, MD, has recently joined our laboratory. Sachiko is a board-certified neurologist, having done her clinical training at Kyushu University Hospital and National Fukuoka-Higashi Medical Center, Japan. Sachiko then pursued a PhD under the guidance of Dr. Shin'ichi Takeda at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in Tokyo and will defend her thesis project early next year at Kyushu University. Sachiko's exciting first-author work on gene therapy for the treatment of muscular dystrophy in dogs will be soon published in Molecular Therapy. In our laboratory, Sachiko will be a project leader for brain tumor research.
Beverly Schaffer, PhD
Has been interested in science in general for most of her life. She discovered science fiction as a fifth grader and that led to an interest in science that was ignited when her eighth grade science teacher taught the class how to construct a simple pundit square. Beverly’s career in science was offset by starting an accounting and computer science career immediately following high school. In 1991 Beverly decided to change careers and began attending college full time. Beverly received a B.S. in environmental biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in December, 1994. Beverly received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha in November 2001 under the training of Dr. Richard MacDonald in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Beverly performed a postdoctoral fellowship on the genetics of estrogen-induced mammary cancer using a rat model in the lab of Dr. James Shull from December 2001 to March 2007. In the Keller laboratory, Beverly continues her interest in cancer genetics and growth factor signaling pathways. Beverly has participated annually in the Komen Race for the Cure since she began research on cancer. Beverly enjoys cooking and baking as well as yoga.
Suresh Prajapati
Earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering from Mumbai University, India in July 2005. Under the mentorship of Hanli Lui, Suresh completed in August 2007 his Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering from the joint program of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Suresh's research expertise is biomedical imaging and image processing. Currently, Suresh is working Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute as a manager of a small animal imaging facility and related biomedical imaging.
Aislynn Samano
Joined the lab in August 2007. In 2004, she completed her BA in theatre arts and biology from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. Aislynn is currently in the Masters of Science program in the Department of Cellular & Structural Biology at the University of Texas Science Center at San Antonio. Her primary research interest is the growth factors that
drive medulloblastoma.
Corrine Chua
Corrine Chua joined the Keller laboratory in May 2007 as Summer intern. She completed her Bachelors in Microbiology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Corrine begins the Masters program in Cellular and Structural Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in Fall 2007.
Joy Wortham
Joy Wortham joined the Keller laboratory in May 2008 as a Summer Intern. She received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Duke University in 2006 with minors in Chemistry and Biology. Joy is currently a medical student at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio. In the Keller Lab, Joy is evaluating the immunological competency of a novel mouse strain which would optimize imaging in
preclinical models.
