Program and Lab Management
Program Management
Jaishree Beedasy, Ph.D., M.Sc.
Research Program Manager
she/her
Dr. Jaishree Beedasy oversees research program goals and scientific and budgetary reports, ensuring alignment with projects' objectives and the standards of excellence at the Weissman Lab. She assumes a leadership role in the operations of the lab, fostering an environment conducive to research endeavors. Dr. Beedasy engages with external and internal collaborators, playing a pivotal role in conveying project progress, addressing inquiries, and facilitating any potential challenges or discrepancies that may arise. She strives to uphold a mutually beneficial partnership to optimize collaboration outcomes.
Prior to joining the lab in 2020, Dr. Beedasy served as Director of Research Projects at Columbia University, Research Associate Professor at the Institute of Rural Health, Fulbright Scholar at Penn State University, Head of the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Mauritius, and Research Assistant at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she directed large research projects for over two decades and served as the PI or co-PI on competitively funded multi-million dollar research projects. She has worked with multidisciplinary teams focusing on public health access and delivery, human health consequences of disasters, and spatial relationships between health and environmental data. She was invited to present at the 57th Session of the United Nations in New York. Dr. Beedasy earned her Master of Science degree from the University of York, UK, and her Ph.D. from the University of Mauritius under the supervision of Professors Tony Gatrell and Duncan Whyatt from Lancaster University, UK.
Lab Management
Houping Ni, M.D., M.S.
Lab Manager and Research Specialist
she/her/hers
Dr. Houping Ni received her M.D. from Hengyang Medical College in China in 1984 and her Master of Science in Applied Statistics from Villanova University in 2006. She is one of Dr. Weissman’s longest-serving colleagues, working in his lab since 1998.
In the Weissman lab, Dr. Ni serves as the Lab Manager, maintaining lab functions as well as overseeing ordering and other administrative tasks. She also performs several important quality control tests for a variety of different mRNA vaccine projects in the lab.
Administrative Support
Sharon Taffet, M.A.
Administrative Coordinator
she/her/hers
Sharon Taffet graduated from the George Washington University with a Master of Arts in 1984. She joined the Weissman lab in 2020 and provides administrative support to Dr. Weissman and his team. Ms. Taffet is a creative artist and experienced designer. She has also held numerous board positions and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars while working in myriad volunteer capacities in the non-profit sector. She brings with her strong fundraising, project management and event planning experience.
Julie D. Taylor, B.S.
Administrative Coordinator
she/her/hers
Julie joined the Weissman Lab in January 2022. She provides administrative support for the lab, primarily assisting Dr. Beedasy with program management. Julie earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from Towson (State) University in 1996. She has extensive administrative experience in sales, marketing, operations, finance and customer service. Before working in the Weissman Lab, Julie spent nine years as Administrative Coordinator in the Dean's office at Temple University's School of Medicine / Sr. Executive Suite at Temple Health.