About our Team
The Hambardzumyan team members on the third-floor balcony of One uCity: from left to right, Kejda Oreshkovic, Jacqueline Chu, Tanvi Joshi, Kavita Rawat, Angela DiMauro, Dolores Hambardzumyan and Nathan Yu.
Principal Investigator
Dolores Hambardzumyan, PhD, MBA
hambardd@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
Biography
Dolores Hambardzumyan, Ph.D., MBA, is a neuroscientist focusing on neuro-oncology. She is a tenured Professor in Neurosurgery and Scientific Director of Brain Tumor Center. She conducts research on the brain tumor microenvironment and its impact on tumor response to therapy. Dr. Hambardzumyan has developed methods for immune profiling of brain tumors, including the development of novel markers to distinguish and lineage-trace various populations of tumor-associated macrophages. She has demonstrated that genetic driver mutations can define the composition and function of the tumor microenvironment and can modify tumor response to therapy. Dr. Hambardzumyan received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Buniatian Institute of Biochemistry at the National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia, and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. She did postgraduate fellowships in cancer biology and radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and in neuronal plasticity and transplantation at the French National Institute of Health and Research (INSERM). She held previous academic appointments at MSKCC, Cleveland Clinic, Emory and Mount Sinai.
Outside of work, she enjoys running and participates in fundraising races to support brain tumor charities that fund research and raise awareness.
Education
PhD, National Academy of Sciences, Armenia
MBA, Emory University Goizueta Business School
Diploma of Education, Executive Coaching, Emory University Goizueta Business School
Post-doctoral fellow
Kavita Rawat, PhD
Kavita.Rawat@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
Biography
Kavita earned her doctorate in Zoology from the University of Delhi, India, in 2022, where she studied the role of neutrophils in mediating systemic manifestations during lymphoma progression. Motivated to continue her research on these dynamic cells and curious to explore their roles in brain malignancies, She joined the Hambardzumyan Lab in January 2023 as a postdoctoral fellow. Her current research focuses on the tumor microenvironment in glioblastoma, with particular emphasis on neutrophil dynamics and their contribution to GBM progression. Her work is supported by a fellowship from the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA). Her long-term goal is to establish the foundation needed to develop effective myeloid-targeted therapies for GBM patients.
Outside of work, she enjoys exploring new cultures and cuisines, spending time with her family, and unwinding with a good science fiction or crime series.
Education
PhD, University of Delhi, India
Graduate Student
Tanvi Joshi, MS
Tanvi.Joshi@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
Biography
Tanvi completed her Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences at the University of Mumbai, India. In 2019, she moved to the United States to further enhance her research experience by pursuing a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is currently a fifth-year PhD student in the Cell and Molecular Biology program at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the brain as a site for cancer, with a particular interest in understanding the role of the water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in glioblastoma-associated cerebral edema.
Outside of her academic pursuits, Tanvi enjoys running, playing tennis, traveling, and spending time with friends.
Education
BS, University of Mumbai, India
MS, Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
Research Specialist
Angela DiMauro, BA
Angela.Dimauro@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
Biography
Angela graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 2023 with dual degrees in Biological Sciences and Chemistry & Chemical Biology. She joined the Hambardzumyan Lab as a Research Specialist in June 2024 and played a key role in transitioning the group from Mount Sinai in New York City to the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on investigating the role of microglia in the pediatric high-grade glioma microenvironment.
Angela is very interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in cancer biology, with a particular focus on the role of tumor microenvironment.
In her free time, she enjoys hiking with friends and her dog, horseback riding, and watching films from her curated “to watch” list.
Education
BA, Cornell University
Laboratory Manager
Jacqueline D. Chu, BS
Jacqueline.Chu@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
Biography
Jacqueline graduated from Ursinus College with a B.S in Biology and Music minor. She joined the Weiner lab in 2016 and worked on prophylactic and therapeutic immunology and vaccine development for infectious diseases and cancer, specialized in monoclonal antibody and DNA vaccine development using electroporation (EP) to optimize gene expression. She has contributed to multiple high-impact publications where the translational research has advanced to the first clinical trials for DNA vaccine platform. Jacqueline has joined Hambardzumyan Lab in October of 2025 as Laboratory Manager.
Outside of work, Jacki loves to travel around the world and get exposure to different food and culture, spontaneously drive to different land spots, spend time with her family, eat good food, swim, short track speedskating, soccer, and lacrosse.
Education
BS, Ursinus College
Undergraduate Student
Nathan Yu
Nathan.Yu@PennMedicine.upenn.edu
Biography
Nathan is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Biology and Fine Arts. He joined the Hambardzumyan Lab in November 2025 as an undergraduate researcher and is interested in characterizing the tumor microenvironment in glioblastoma. He aims to investigate the relationship between activation of the EGFR and IFN-γ pathways contributes to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.
Nathan plans to pursue an MD–PhD with the goal of becoming a physician-scientist in specializing in neurosurgery.
In his free time, he enjoys charcoal drawing, reading classical literature, and playing basketball.