Lee Visualization Lab

John Y.K. Lee, MD
Professor of Neurosurgery
 John.Lee3@uphs.upenn.edu

Emma De Ravin, MD '22
Medical Student Researcher
 emma.deravin@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Emma De Ravin (2019-Present) is a MS2 at the Perelman School of Medicine. She graduated from the Integrated Life Sciences Honors Program at the University of Maryland in 2018 with a B.S. in Neurobiology and Physiology. At UMD, Emma worked in Dr. Wenxia Song's lab, where she studied the immunologic and inflammatory role of B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes. Starting in the spring of 2019, Emma joined Dr. Lee’s lab as a Guggenheim Neurosurgery Fellow. Her project explores the use of targeted near-infrared fluorescent dyes for localization, image-guided resection, and treatment of pituitary adenomas and other skull-base tumors.

Clare W. Teng, MD '22
Medical Student Researcher
 wanming.teng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Clare Teng (2019 - Present) graduated from University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Neuroscience and Economics in 2018. She is currently a MS2 at the Perelman School of Medicine. Prior to medical school, she studied the role of Rev-erbs in the hypothalamus on circadian behavior and metabolism in Dr. Mitchell Lazar’s lab at Penn. Starting in the summer, Clare will focus on exploring the potential use of nanoclusters for enhanced image-guided resection and local treatment for glioblastoma and other high-grade brain tumors. 

Vincent Huang, MD '23
Medical Student
 vincent.huang@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Vincent Huang (2019-Present) graduated from Vanderbilt in 2019 with a B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He is currently a first-year medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. At Vanderbilt, Vincent studied mechanisms of acquired resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in lung cancer in Dr. Christine Lovly’s lab. In the Lee lab, he is exploring novel imaging modalities for improved intraoperative visualization and image-guided resection of brain tumors.

Cecilia Zhou, MD '23
Medical Student
 cecilia.zhou@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Cecilia Zhou (2019-Present) is a second-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated from Haverford college in 2019 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a concentration in Biochemistry. Her thesis research at Haverford involved the synthesis of small molecule inhibitors of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cecilia has also worked with Dr. David Irwin at Penn’s Frontotemporal Dementia Center on digital pathology analysis and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). She joined the Lee visualization lab in the winter of 2019 and her current project in the lab involves exploring ICG dye in meningioma tumors.

Nina Cheng, MD '24
Medical Student
 nhc29@drexel.edu

Nina Cheng (2020 – Present) is a first-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine. She graduated from Drexel University in 2020 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. Nina has previously worked with Dr. Khalid Shah at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute to characterize the glioblastoma (GBM) microenvironment of syngeneic murine GBM-tumor models. At Penn, she has also worked with Dr. Abass Alavi in the Department of Radiology to study applications of PET/CT for assessing joint inflammation and bone degeneration.

Antonio Corral, MD '24
Medical Student

Ritesh Karsalia, MD '24
Medical Student
 ritesh.karsalia@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Ritesh Karsalia (2020 - Present) is a first-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from Villanova University in 2019 with a B.S. in Biology, along with minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Prior to joining the Lee Visualization Lab, Ritesh was a member of the Bamezai Laboratory at Villanova, where he investigated the relationship between lipid-raft based membrane order of CD4+ T cells and clonal expansion.

Yash Singh, BS
Research Technician
 yash.singh@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Yash Singh (2019-Present) graduated from Haverford College with a B.S. in Biology and is currently enrolled in the Post-Baccalaureate Program at the University of Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate student, Yash worked at the Stellar Chance Labs with Dr. Eline Luning Prak to develop a next-generation sequencing assay of the B-cell repertoire in autoimmune patients. At Penn, Yash is focusing on the applications of fluorescence imaging of brain cancers to enhance resection rates and to improve clinical outcomes. Yash will be applying to medical schools in 2021.

Eujung Park
Research Technician
 egpark@sas.upenn.edu

Eujung Park (2020-present) is currently a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania in the College of Arts and Sciences and working towards a B.A. in Biophysics. She has previously worked in Dr. Michael Lim’s lab studying anti PD-1 treatment for glioblastomas at Johns Hopkins. Eujung joined the Lee lab in the winter of 2020, and her project in the fall will involve testing fluorescent dyes for intraoperative imaging during the resection of high-grade brain tumors.

Ryan Salinas, MD
 Ryan.Salinas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

(2016 - Present) Ryan is currently a PGY 5 Neurosurgery resident at the University of Pennsylvania. He attended University of California San Francisco for medical school before becoming a neurosurgical resident. He is currently in his research year of residency, working with Dr. Hongjun Song on brain tumor organoids.

Steve S. Cho, MD MTR '20
Senior Medical Student Researcher
 steve.cho@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Steve Cho (2016 - 2020) graduated from MIT with his B.S. in Biology before attending the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn. He worked in the Lee lab for almost 5 years before graduating. At Penn, Steve focused on the applications of fluorescence imaging of brain cancers to enhance resection rates and to improve clinical outcomes. During his research year, he is pursued a Masters of Science in Translational Research (MTR) degree, while testing various fluorescent dyes in rodent models of glioblastoma. 

Steve is now a neurosurgery resident in Phoenix, Arizona at the legendary Barrow Neurological Institute, famous for their operative skills and clinical research. Steve plans to continue his research on fluorescence-guided surgery while also expanding his interests to other parts of neurosurgery. 

Jun Woo Jeon, MD '21
Medical Student Researcher
 Jun.Jeon@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Jun Woo Jeon (2017 - Present) graduated in 2015 from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering. He is a current medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests have been diverse, with experiences in basic biochemistry, tissue engineering, stem cell biology, and microfluidic applications. His current research pursuits involve learning more about how biomolecular engineering can aid surgical procedures in order to improve patient outcomes. Jun Woo plans on taking a year-out for research between 3^rd and 4^th year of medical school. He is planning on applying to otorhinolaryngology (ENT) residency in 2020.

Carrie Li, MD '21
Medical Student Researcher
 carrie.li@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

John T. Pierce, MS

John T. Pierce, MS (2013 – 2017) graduated from Sacred Heart University with a B.S. in Biology. While there, he performed neurobiological research exploring the sorting, targeting, and polarization of membrane proteins to axons versus the soma or dendrites of neurons. John worked for the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania explores the use of near-infrared fluorescent dyes to localize and identify cancerous brain tumors from normal brain parenchyma intraoperatively through the development neurosurgical clinical trials. John began attending Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University in Fall 2017.

Ryan Zeh, BS

Ryan Zeh (2016-2017) graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with his B.S. in Neuroscience. While there, he worked at the Department of Neurosurgery’s Neurotrauma Clinical Trials Center, primarily researching diagnostic tools, biomarkers, and treatments for mild and severe traumatic brain injury. Ryan worked to extend the applications of intraoperative molecular imaging of cancer into the field of neurosurgery through the development of laboratory models and clinical trials. Ryan began attending Ohio State University College of Medicine in Fall 2017.

Love Buch, BS
Research Coordinator
 Love.Buch@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Love Buch (2017-2020) graduated from Drexel University with his B.S in Biology. Love's current work for the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania explores the use of near-infrared fluorescent dyes to localize and identify cancerous brain tumors from normal brain parenchyma intraoperatively through the development of neurosurgical clinical trials.

Jayesh Thawani, MD

Shayoni Nag, BA

Shayoni Nag (2017-2018) graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a B.A. in Biology. Her research interests have been diverse, with experience in basic microbiology and biochemistry at Bryn Mawr College as well as in clinical and translational projects in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Shayoni worked to extend the applications of intraoperative molecular imaging of cancer into the field of neurosurgery through the development of laboratory models and clinical trials. Shayoni began attending Cooper Medical School in Fall 2018.