Team

Sharath Bhagavatula, MD

Assistant Professor of Radiology

Sharath Bhagavatula completed his BS at Cornell University in Electrical/Computer Engineering, MD at NYU, and radiology residency and interventional radiology fellowship here at BWH/Harvard Medical School. His research interests focus on developing and translating novel tools for minimally invasive cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Guigen Liu, PhD

Instructor in Radiology

Prior to joining the Jonas Lab in 2020, he was a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Ming Han’s group at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Michigan State University. Previously, he published extensively on optical fiber sensing. He and colleagues invented a crystalline silicon-tipped optical fiber sensing platform for high-speed and high-resolution measurement, this work received the Alan Berman Research Publication Award from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. In collaboration with colleagues at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, this work also gave birth to the first fiber-optic bolometer. In this current group, he has transitioned to focus on biomedical applications. His recent work is about the development of two-photon and Raman in vivo micro-endoscopic imaging systems using GRIN lenses and fiber optics. He was a recipient of the BWH Radiology Department Research Pilot Grant Award. Dr. Liu received the B.E. degree from Qingdao University and the Ph.D. degree from Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, both in mechanical engineering. He was appointed as an assistant professor with CIOMP upon graduation.

Clara Steiner, MD

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Clara is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Jonas Lab and the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she is working with Dr. Toni K. Choueiri and Dr. Wenxin Xu. She completed her medical school at the University of Leipzig in 2020 and finished her fourth year of urology residency at the University Hospital in Leipzig, Germany. In the Jonas lab, she is mainly involved in the clinical trials examining implantable microdevices in renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer. Outside of work, Clara enjoys playing tennis, modern and urban dance, and skiing.

Vincenzo Tarallo, PhD

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Vincenzo Tarallo completed his Master and PhD at University of Naples “Federico II” in Industrial Biotechnology, focusing on protein engineering applied to different protein families. During his postdoc at the Charles University, he developed with his colleagues a high-throughput screening assay for the direct evolution of sulfoxide reductases, using the in vitro evolution of the methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) as proof of concept. Prior to joining the Jonas Lab in 2024, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the CWRU conducting studies on mouse models in order to elucidate the role of D-types cyclins on tumor promotion with a focus on myeloproliferative neoplasms. He is currently interested in studying the tumor microenvironment changes in response to drug treatment in vivo, analyzing the crosstalk among the cancer cells and the immune cells.

Sajanlal Panikkanvalappil, PhD

Scientist

Sajanlal Panikkanvalappil is a Scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and holds an appointment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where he was honored with the Langmuir Award for the best thesis. Following his PhD, he advanced his research as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Scientist with Prof. Mostafa El-Sayed at Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on pioneering methods for synthesizing advanced nanomaterials, creating ultrasensitive sensors, and developing nanotechnology-based, minimally invasive cancer imaging and therapeutic modalities. His significant contributions to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy have unveiled new vibrational biomarkers, offering critical insights into various biomolecular events. His current research is dedicated to devising novel implant-assisted tumor-targeting strategies and clinically viable implantable microdevices for cell delivery and screening. Additionally, he serves as an institute PI and co-investigator on a NASA grant supporting the Artemis mission, aiming to understand the best survival mechanisms during exposure to cosmic radiation and microgravity for future human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

Fanni Santa, MD

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Fanni received her M.D. from the University of Szeged Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School in Hungary. During her studies, she conducted full-time research at the Department of Pathology, focusing on the pathological, diagnostic and molecular assessment of genitourinary tumors, specifically in the kidney, prostate, and bladder. She also served as a histology instructor for three years, teaching third-year medical students in both general and organ-specific pathology.
In 2024, Fanni joined the Jonas Lab where she focuses on the pathological assessment of drug responses in various malignancies, including head and neck, kidney, bladder, and ovarian carcinomas. Beyond her dedication to pathology and education, Fanni is passionate about art, enjoys both modern and classical music, and loves trail running.

Sebastian Ahn

Programmer/Analyst

Seb obtained a dual B.A. in physics and biochemistry & molecular biology from Boston University in 2016. With the Jonas Lab, he focuses on a wide variety of tasks, including machining microdevices and the development of tools and algorithms for computational histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and spatial transcriptomics.

Samantha Martin

Research Assistant

Sam completed her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2023. In the lab, she works on device loading, cell culture, and tissue staining and analysis. Outside of lab, Sam loves to play tennis, go to concerts, and explore the city with her friends.

Nellie Maloney

Research Assistant

Nellie received her B.A. and M.S. in biology from Boston University in 2024. In the lab, she works on drug formulation, loading devices, and tissue staining and analysis. Outside of the lab, Nellie enjoys trying to finesse her cookie recipes, hiking, and exploring the city with her friends.

Simon Chow

Programmer/Analyst

Simon completed his M.S. in Computational Biology at Carnegie Mellon, after finishing his Informatics and Biology B.S. Degrees at the University of Washington. In the lab, he leverages bioinformatics tools and algorithms to develop spatial transcriptomics pipelines on image processing, cell phenotyping and pathway analyses. Outside of the lab, Simon enjoys playing tennis, piano, running and baking desserts for his friends.

Christine Dominas

Clinical Trials Coordinator

Christine grew up in Rochester, NY and after spending a few years in Boston, now attends medical school in Buffalo, NY. She remotely oversees the clinical trials and laboratory operational duties. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her dog, exploring new cideries, and being outdoors with friends and family.