Members

We are constantly looking for new and enthusiastic people to join our team!

Principal Investigator

Taru muranen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

Email: tmuranen@bidmc.harvard.edu

Phone:617-735-2037

Education:

Instructor, Harvard Medical School, 2008-2016

Ph.D, University of Helsinki, 2004-2008

Taru grew up in a small town in eastern Finland, and did her Ph.D in the University of Helsinki studying the Neurofibromatosis 2 tumor suppressor. She moved to Boston in 2008 to start her post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Joan Brugge, and started her lab at Beth Israel in 2016. She loves seeing new places, trying new things, cooking, snorkeling and scuba diving.

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Nina kozlova, Ph.D.

Email: nkozlova@bidmc.harvard.edu

Former education: University of Oulu, Ph.D. 2017 (Finland)

Originally from the Ukraine, Nina moved to Oulu, Finland for her PhD in 2012, passed with distinction, and later joined the lab in August 2017.

Nina is working on finding better treatment options for patients with pancreatic cancer. She is studying how stroma affects the efficacy of chemotherapies and is investigating a novel drug target making chemotherapies kill cancer cells faster.

In her free time, Nina enjoys spending time outdoors with her camera, traveling new places and exploring. She has a green thumb for gorgeous plants and is into DIY home projects!

Jenny Högström, ph.D.

Email: jmhogstr@bidmc.harvard.edu

Former education: University of Helsinki, Ph.D. 2019 (Finland)

Jenny joined the lab in 2019 after her successful Ph.D in Finland. Her research explores the influence of the breast tumor microenvironment on cancer cell metabolism and drug resistance, using patient-derived organoids and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).

Jenny spends her free time with Paddy, her black Labrador dog, and grows various exotic vegetables in her summer garden!

Ph.D Graudate Student

Hanna Doh

Harvard BBS Ph.D Candidate

Email: hdoh@g.harvard.edu

Former Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.Sc.

Hanna is from San Diego, California and joined Muranen Lab in April 2021. Her project focuses on the role of DNA repair proteins in tumor microenvironment-induced chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer.

Outside of the lab, Hanna likes to spend time with her toy poodle named Simba, enjoys cooking and explores different places in Boston.

Kayla Cruz

Harvard BBS Ph.D Candidate

Email: kaylacruz@g.harvard.edu

Former Education: University of Texas at Austin, B.Sc

Originally from Austin, Texas, Kayla joined the lab in April 2021. Her project investigates the effects of cytokines secreted by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) on drug resistance and tumor cell behavior in breast and pancreatic cancer.

Kayla spends her free time playing with Chase, her golden retriever, and watching various sports games.

Master Student

Maddy Ward

Boston University Medical School Master Student in Medical Sciences

Former Education: Columbia University, BA in Biology

Maddy joined our lab in July 2022 to conduct her thesis project, which focuses on the role of succinate in driving drug resistance in breast cancer.

Outside the lab, she likes to run, read books, spend time with her friends, and try new food!

Lab Administration

Su Min “Violet” Hong

Research Technician/ Lab Manager

Email: shong7@bidmc.harvard.edu

Formal education: Dickinson College, B.Sc. 2021

Violet joined the lab as a lab technician during the summer of 2021, after completing her undergraduate education at Dickinson College as a neuroscience major. In the lab, she contributes to various experiments and manages administrative tasks.

In her free time, Violet loves to work out at the gym, read novels and listen to albums.

Lab alumni

Camila Perea: CURE program student from MCPHS 6/2022-8/2022

Christoph Eilenberger, M.Sc: Visiting Ph.D student from Vienna University of Technology 3/2021- 9/2021

Angelica Warren, B.Sc.: Clinical Research Assistant 1/2020 - 8/2021

Caroline Ritchie, B.Sc.: Lab Technician 2/2017-9/2018

Byanjana Thapa, M.Sc.: Lab Manager 10/2016-2/2019

Sebastien Meurant, M.Sc.: Visiting Master student from the University of Namur.

Pradeep Mangalath, MBA, M.Sc.: Our volunteer bioinformatician, who went off to get a degree at the Harvard School of Public Health in Bioinformatics!