Expert Scientists

Masoumeh Es-haghi, PhD

Masoumeh started her research activities in 2006 with her master’s thesis on in vitro
production and molecular studies characterizing the preimplantation embryo and
received a Ph.D. in biotechnology. She has multiple years of experience in
understanding the stemness and migratory potential of primordial germ cells for next-
generation genetic engineering. In 2017, she pursued her
research career as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Eastern and Northern Europe
focusing on translational nanomedicine and biomarker discovery for assisted
reproductive technologies, exosome engineering of recombinant fusion proteins for
gene delivery, and immune microenvironmental studies of solid tumors resulting in a
patent and an innovation.
After 15 years of a life dedicated to science, she joined CCI to work with the HGEL team
toward more discoveries and advanced therapies for translational cancer medicine that
will improve patients’ life expectancy.

Elahe Kamali Ghahe, PhD

Elahe (she/her) is a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics. She is passionate about using gene editing platforms to advance adoptive cell therapies. She relocated to the US for her post-doctoral training at Yale School of Medicine to explore the cell biology of CAR signaling and improve the CAR-T efficacy using genome editing. Elahe joined the Herbst-Nowrouzi lab in 2023 to evaluate the delivery of gene editing cargos using Lipid Nanoparticle, aiming to develop robust and reliable cell products for future development of cancer immunotherapy. Outside of her research, she enjoys traveling, cycling, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends.

Fengjuan Jane Zhang, PhD

Fengjuan (Jane) majored in bioinformatics and obtained her Ph.D. degree in June 2019 from the
Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (SIBCB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). During
her Ph.D. study in Dr. Ligang Wu's lab, she focused on the profiles and functions of small non-coding
RNAs (sncRNAs) in mammalian spermatogenesis and oogenesis by using high-throughput sequencing
methods such as small RNA-seq, polyA+ RNA-seq, and CLIP-seq. She investigated the rapid evolution of a
unique X-linked miRNA family, named spermiRs, that is predominantly expressed in the early meiotic
phases, and demonstrated an intriguing co-evolution between spermiR and its targets in mammalian
spermatogenesis.
During her two-year postdoc training in Dr. Ligang Wu's lab, she collaborated with colleagues
and developed a method that could simultaneously profile mRNAs and small non-coding RNAs in a single
cell. Using this method, they first uncovered the essential role of PIWI/piRNAs in female germ cell
generation, using the golden hamster as an animal model. They also used the method to investigate
how proliferating cells use miRNAs and alternative polyadenylation to orchestrate mRNA levels during
the cell cycle.
In January 2022, she joined Dr. Bin Tian's lab as a postdoc. During her postdoc training in Tian
lab, she learnt the knowledge and computational skills to identify novel poly-A sites using 3’READS+ and
quantify poly-A site usage changes to evaluate alternative polyadenylation (APA) regulation.
In March 2023, she joined the Center of Cellular Immunotherapy as a postdoc, under the
supervision of Drs. Herbst-Nowrouzi and Fraietta, and began her science journey in the immunotherapy
field. Outside of work, Jane enjoys playing ping pong and tennis, swimming, and hiking.

Rujul Jagdish Deolikar, BSc

Rujul is a Master's student in Biotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania. He has an
undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from Amity University, Mumbai, and further explored
his scientific interests in a hematopoietic stem cell-related project using Drosophila as a model
system at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Navi
Mumbai, for his Bachelor's Dissertation.
His interests in research include immunology, hematology, cancer biology and of course, the
field of cell and gene therapies, with the help of which he wishes to utilize his training to
formulate safe, effective, and patient-specific products to treat disorders like cancer without
the use of potentially toxic therapies. He is very excited about the future of the gene therapy
field.
Presently, he is working as a Student Worker at the Human Genome Editing Lab to work on
enhancement of the Hematopoietic Stem Progenitor Cell population by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated
genetic engineering combined with the establishment of defined functional assay as a readout.

Vilas Desai, PhD

Davin Tafuri, MSc

Davin (he/him) joined the HGEL lab as a Research Specialist in 2023 to evaluate CRISPR-Cas methods for the generation of CAR-T and HSC therapies, with a particular focus on off-target analysis. He is driven to improve the use of gene editing in medicine.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BCMB) from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 2022. Subsequently, Davin enrolled in the accelerated BCMB Master’s program at Clark and completed his thesis in 2023. His thesis research, conducted in Dr. Denis Larochelle's lab, involved developing a fluorescent reporter assay to assess the influence of the epigenetic enzyme Dnmt2 (DNA Methyltransferase 2) on translation in the amoeboid model Dictyostelium discoideum.

In his free time, Davin enjoys biking in nature, binging TV shows, and trying new food recipes.

Bhargavi Subramanian, BSc

Bhargavi (she/her) is a Master’s student in Biotechnology with a focus on Biopharmaceutical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from SRM University, Chennai, India. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on metagenomics and bacteriology projects and published her findings. Additionally, she worked at the Indian Council of Medical Research on a project titled "Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Using Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing."

Her research interests include the optimization of nanoparticles for the delivery of drugs and nucleic acids, as well as the potential applications of this technology in cancer treatment.

Currently, she is working at HGEL to assess the delivery of gene-editing cargos via lipid nanoparticles, aiming to create durable and dependable cell products for the advancement of cancer immunotherapy.

Outside of research, she enjoys singing, swimming, cooking, and exploring new cuisines in the city.

Vineeth Koneru