Our Team
Nduka Amankulor, M.D.
Principal Investigator
Nduka.Amankulor@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Dr. Amankulor earned his Doctor of Medicine at Yale University and completed neurosurgery residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. He completed a both a Post-Doctoral fellowship in Cancer Genetics and Biology, as well as a Neurosurgical Oncology Fellowship in brain and spine oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Amankulor served for 9 years as an Assistant Professor in Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he also acted as Director of Neurosurgical Oncology, attending neurosurgeon, and principal investigator and has received numerous awards for his work. He now serves as Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology and Director of the Penn Brain Tumor Center at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
Read more about Dr. Amankulor's work here.
Dr. Amankulor is on Twitter.
Ali Ghamari, M.Sc, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ali.ghamari@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Ali earned his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from IAU in Iran. His Ph.D. research focused on the CAR-T cell therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). His expertise is in cell therapy, immunotherapy, cancer therapeutics and regenerative medicine. Presently, Ali is investigating the tumor immune microenvironment associated with IDH-mutant glioma and developing novel immuno-therapeutic approaches against the disease. He is eager to do translational science and take his research from bench to bedside!
Apart from research, Ali loves traveling, exploring new places and listening to music, especially Pink Floyd.
Emily Xu, B.S.
Medical Student Scientist
Emily.Xu1@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Emily is a medical student at the Perelman SOM. She received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, where she studied nanoparticle delivery of chemotherapeutics. Currently, she is interested in understanding mechanisms of immunosuppression in brain tumors. In her free time, she enjoys running, doing the NYT crosswords, and trying new restaurants in Philly.
Jonathan Patterson, M.S.E.
Research Specialist
Jonathan.Patterson@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Jonathan received his undergraduate degree in Mathematical Biology and a Master's in Bioengineering from Penn. He is particularly interested in computational and multi-omic methods for studying cancer immunology and immunotherapies.
Lab Alumni
Katharine Krueger, M.Sc.
Lab Manager and Research Specialist
kkrueger82152@gmail.com
Katharine earned her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Florida State University and Master of Science in neuroscience from the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany, with thesis work focusing on immune mechanisms of IDH-mutant glioma. Outside of the lab, she enjoys rowing, painting, and exploring new places.
Angelo Angione, M.S.
Research Specialist
angelo.angione@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Angelo received Bachelor’s of Science degrees in Neuroscience and in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Drew University in Madison, NJ. He also received his Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His Master’s research focused on the impact of the tumor microenvironment in glioblastoma. Angelo is currently interested in studying immunosuppression within the glioma tumor microenvironment.
Ebrar Akca, B.S.
Research Specialist
Ebrar.Akca@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Ebrar earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science and Neuroscience from Rowan University, where she focused on research for medication development for neuropsychiatric disorders. She is currently pursuing a career in medicine. In the Amankulor lab, she is interested in the tumor immune microenvironment and the roles of exosomes in glioma. She enjoys biking, baking, and traveling in her free time.
Poorva Sandlesh, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Poorva graduated with a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biophysics from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo NY. Her research focus has allowed her to gain expertise in cancer biology, epigenetics and cancer therapeutics. Presently, Poorva is studying the tumor immune microenvironment associated with IDH mutant gliomas and developing novel immuno-therapeutic approaches against the disease. She is eager to take her research from bench to bedside! Apart from research, Poorva loves hiking and cooking and is exploring the art of baking.
Zel Zhang, M.D.
Resident Physician Scientist
zhangx15@upmc.edu
Zel earned both a Bachelor and Master of Science from the University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics before going on to earn his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. During his medical school career, Zel was selected to participate in the Clinical Scientist Training Program, where he received a master’s level certificate in clinical research and was awarded the Theodore Kurze Senior Prize for his achievements in Neurological Surgery and Clinical Neurosciences. Zel is now in his seventh year of the Neurological Surgery residency program at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has been selected to participate in the prestigious Physician Scientist Incubator program.
Read more about Dr. Zhang's work here.
Dr. Zhang is on Twitter.
