Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Susztak Lab

Lab Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

 

Shen Li, MD, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow Shen.Li@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Functional characterization of causative genes in cardio-renal metabolism.

Lakshmi Prasanna Kolligundla, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow LakshmiPrasanna.Kolligundla@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Functional dissection of genes identified through genome-wide and epigenome-wide studies in kidney disease.

Minyan Zhu, MD, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow Minyan.Zhu@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Proteomic approaches to define molecular pathways and disease mechanisms in chronic kidney disease.

Bernhard Dumoulin, MD Postdoctoral Fellow Bernhard.Dumoulin@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to study immune cell states and immunological mechanisms in kidney disease.

Chenyu Li, PhD Postdoctoral FellowChenyu.Li@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Development and application of NephroBase and AI-enabled methods for multi-omic integration in kidney disease.

Sofie Du, MD, PhD Postdoctoral FellowChunxiu.Du@PennMedicine.upenn.edu 

Research focus: Lipid metabolism and epigenetics of chronic kidney disease

Siyu Pan, PhD Postdoctoral FellowSiyu.Pan@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Integration of single-cell omics with genetic and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses to define cell-type-specific mechanisms of kidney disease.

Paul Victor Santiagoraj, PhDPostdoctoral FellowPaulVictor.Santiagoraj@pennmedicine.upenn.eduResearch focus: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of APOL1-associated kidney disease, with emphasis on genetically driven injury pathways and translational targets.

Chaelin Kang MD, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow  Chaelin.Kang@PennMedicine.upenn.edu 

Research focus: Cytosolic nucleotide sensors and immune cells in kidney fibrosis

Research Fellows

Samer Mohandes, MD Instructor Samer.Mohandes@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Molecular mechanisms of chronic kidney disease and diabetic kidney disease.

Jonathan Levinsohn, MD, PhD Instructor Jonathan.Levinsohn@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Early kidney development and how developmental programs influence later disease susceptibility.

Yanjuan Hou, MD, PhD Research FellowYanjuan.Hou@pennmedicine.upenn.eduResearch focus: Pathomechanisms of chronic kidney disease, with emphasis on adaptive and maladaptive kidney repair.

Jie Guan, MD, PhD Research FellowJie.Guan@pennmedicine.upenn.eduResearch focus: Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying chronic kidney disease.

Victor Martinez-Leon, MD Nephrology Fellow

Research focus: Metabolomic and molecular profiling of kidney disease to understand disease progression and identify translational biomarkers.

Research Specialists

Andi Bergeson, BS Research SpecialistAndi.Bergeson@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Spatial transcriptomic and single-cell multi-omic data generation to study kidney development and disease progression.

Matthew Choi, BSResearch SpecialistMatthew.Choi@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Research focus: Human kidney tissue biobanking, sample processing, and data management to support multi-omic and translational kidney research.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Mohammed N. AldulaimeeClinical Research CoordinatorMohammed.Aldulaimee@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Role: Coordination and management of the TRIDENT longitudinal cohort, including participant enrollment, sample collection, data tracking, and regulatory oversight.

Undergraduate Students

Elias ZiyadehUndergraduate Student