Andrea Piunti, Ph.D.

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Andrea is a Polycomb aficionado. Chromatin enthusiast, big fan of cell proliferation experiments, Andrea has been interested for many years in studying how chromatin deregulation promotes and sustains malignant transformation, especially in pediatric and rare cancers. When Andrea is not in the Lab (and also when he is in the Lab…) he likes to perform magic tricks. He is also a decent bartender and a former break dancer.

Adam Handen, M.S.

BIOINFORMATICIAN 2

Adam constantly codes. Whether it be for the Piunti Lab, code collaborations, or just personal pleasure, he is almost always found behind a keyboard. While he is a jack of all trades, Adam’s primary research interests are in next gen sequencing analysis and interactomics.

Gabriel Lopez

RESEARCH ANALYST

Gabriel’s relatively short career has thus far been defined by his work with multi-protein histone-modifying complexes. Currently, he is working on projects that seek to elucidate the relationship between DNA hypomethylation (whether pharmacologically induced or otherwise), CATACOMB expression, and PRC2 activity in cancer. Outside of the lab, Gabriel spends most of his time playing or listening to music in the form of his guitar, his synthesizer, and his ever-growing record collection.

Chunkai Jin

RESEARCH TECHNICAL ASSISTANT

Chunkai Jin graduated from the University of Michigan and majored in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. He previously researched the gut-brain axis of neuroscience with the animal model of C. elegans. He is extremely curious about epigenetics and cancers and hopes to start a new journey by researching and studying in our lab. He is an unofficial but good Chinese poet and essayist outside the lab. (However, his English vocabulary is poor. So he does badly in English writing.) He loves sketching, Oil Painting, and he is currently practicing digital arts.

Emmy Villella

GRADUATE STUDENT

Coming in hot from Florida, it’s Emmy Villella! Following her Division I Athletic career, Emmy is pursuing a degree in cancer biology at the University of Chicago #gomaroons. When she’s not creating concoctions (curating chemicals) in the lab, she’s sipping on them in the form of Diet Dr. Pepper while hanging out with her precious Pomeranian pups. In addition to being a dog mother and grandmother, she is a Harry Styles enthusiast and hair styling expert. We’re delighted to have a student with the blood of the dragon and name of an Italian. #polycombprincess #methylationmafia

Rotating Undergraduate Students:

Alumni:

Emily Kang

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER

Cailey Riggs

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER

Annette E. Mino

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER

Shannon E. Tsai, Ph.D.

RESEARCH PROFESSIONAL SPECIALIST