Dr. Kelly Ruggles
Associate Professor
Kelly has been a faculty member at NYU SoM since 2015 after completing two postdoctoral positions at NYU with Drs. David Fenyo and Scott Braithwaite in computational proteogenomics and mathematical modeling of HIV, respectively. She received her PhD in Metabolic Biology from Columbia University and a BS in Biological Engineering from Cornell University. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, karaoke and board games.
Dr. Sana Badri
Instructor
Sana earned her PhD in the Skok and Bonneau labs in 2020 and is now an Instructor in the Ruggles Lab. She graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2013 with a degree in biology and a minor in applied mathematics. Sana has been involved in several projects studying the effects of genetic alterations on gene regulation in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma. She currently serves as a teacher’s assistant for several courses at the NYU Medical School. During her free time, Sana enjoys learning about marketing data analytics, finding the best board games for adults and kids alike, and visiting different parks and lakes in NJ.
Sarah Keegan
Research Scientist
Sarah is a staff research scientist with the Ruggles and Fenyo labs. She recently graduated with an MS in Biomedical Informatics from the Vilcek Institute of Biomedical Science. She has collaborated with many labs during her time at NYU and her interests include software development, image analysis/computer vision, statistical modeling and simulations. Outside of work she likes to go for runs in Central Park, listen to music, go to museums, and spend time playing board games with her kids.
Dr. Abhimanyu (Abhi) Amarnani
Rheumatology Fellow
Abhi is a dedicated physician-scientist in rheumatology who is completing his fellowship on the NYU Langone HealthT32 research training program. With PhD training in molecular biology, he also has extensive knowledge in immunology, microscopy, and computational data analysis. Abhi's expertise include short read RNA sequencing differential gene expression and mass-spectrometry based quantitative protein abundance data analysis. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles for college, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University for medical school and graduate school, and the University of Southern California for residency. When he's not in the lab, Abhi enjoys exploring biking through the diverse neighborhoods of New York City, trying out new restaurants, enjoying rooftop views, and rooting for LA sports teams at local pubs..
Tania J. González Robles
PhD Student
Tania graduated in 2014 from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, with a degree in Chemistry. She spent several years after her graduation working at the MIT Koch Institute as a research technician, and later as a lab manager. Enthusiastic about science, Tania embarked on her PhD journey in 2019 at NYU School of Medicine, and is being co-mentored by HHMI Professor, Dr. Michele Pagano. She looks forward to leverage molecular biology and computational approaches to investigate mechanisms of targeted protein degradation and immunomodulatory molecules. Outside of lab, Tania loves good food, a sunny beach day, and walking with her puppy Luna.
Grant Hussey
PhD Student
Grant is a PhD student in the Systems and Computational Biomedicine training program. As an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they majored in biochemistry and worked at Henzler-Wildman lab developing mathematical simulations of the multidrug efflux protein EmrE. Outside of research, Grant is passionate about urban planning and science communication.
Efiyenia (Fenia) Kaparos
PhD Student
Fenia is a PhD candidate in the Systems & Computational Biomedicine training program. She is from the north suburbs of Chicago and graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2019 with a degree in Biochemistry. Fenia is co-mentored by Dr. David Fenyo and is working on determining LINE-1 retrotransposon expression at the single-cell level. On her free time, Fenia loves reading, traveling, making sure she's up to par with pop culture gossip, eating fruit, and obsessing over Bridgerton.
Jasmine Shwetar
MD/PhD Student
Jasmine is a MSTP student in the Systems and Computational Biomedicine program at NYU. She graduated from Cornell University in 2017 with a degree in Biology, and spent two years at the National Human Genome Research Institute before coming to NYU. She looks forward to using computational approaches to investigate human disease.
Brecca Miller
PhD Student
Brecca is a graduate student in the Computational Biomedicine program at NYU and is co-mentored by Dr. David Beck. She graduated from University of Florida with a major in Biomedical Engineering and worked on studying allele specific expression and computational tool development during this time. Her favorite hobbies are hiking, rock climbing and listening to music.
Dania Annuar
PhD Student
Dania is a graduate student in the Computational Biomedicine program at NYU and is co-mentored by Dr. Eva Hernando. She received her bachelor's degree from UC San Diego majoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, and earned her Masters in Biomedical Informatics at NYU. Outside of the lab, she enjoys good food, running and traveling.
Matthew Muller
PhD Student
Matthew is currently a PhD student in the Tandon Biomedical Engineering program and is co-mentored by Dr. Jeffrey Berger. He graduated from Reed College with a BA in Chemistry. After graduation he worked at Oregon Health and Sciences University, studying mechanisms underlying aortic valve disease and therapeutic uses of ultrasound. Aside from research, Matthew enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and table tennis in his free time.
Joseph Daccache
PhD Student
Joe is a PhD student in the Naik and Ruggles lab. He is interested in Immunology and Computational Biology. He graduated from Georgetown University in 2020 with a degree in Economics. Since graduating, he investigated functional genomics in cardiometabaolic diseases with Boehringer Ingelheim and cutaneous disorders in the Damsky Lab at Yale University. Outside of research, Joe’s hobbies include cycling, skiing and hiking.
Max La Forest
PhD Student
Max is a PhD at Tandon in Biomedical Engineering working in the Ruggles and Fisher Labs. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BS in Molecular Biology. After graduation he worked at NYU School of Medicine in Dr. Fisher's atherosclerosis laboratory where he will continue his work examining macrophage responses during weight cycling in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Ali Sahimi
MSTP Student
Ali is a MD/PhD student in the Ruggles and Sulman Labs. He graduated from USC in 2021 with a Bachelor's in Neuroscience and one in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and a Master's in Applied Biostatistics. His interests lies in multi-omics approaches to understanding neurodegenerative and neuro-oncological diseases. Outside of the lab, Ali likes days at the park, good food, and an even better book.
Page Murray
MSTP Rotation Student
Page is a first year MSTP student at NYU. She graduated from UVA in 2021 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering, where she worked in a systems biomedical engineering lab. She spent two years at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease using next generation sequencing to study intestinal inflammation. She is excited to continue pursuing computational immunology at NYU.
Adam Walker
Research Analyst
Adam is a research analyst here with the Ruggles lab. He joined the lab as a staff researcher shortly after graduating from the NYU Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical sciences with a Masters degree in Biomedical Informatics. He had previously obtained a BS of Biomedical Engineering from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He then worked three exciting years in the Neuropathology department at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles completing various imaging and sequencing based projects on better understanding pediatric brain cancer. Here at the Ruggles lab he will continue to work on projects relating to cancer genetics. Outside of work Adam enjoys listening to his extensive vinyl collection, going to Broadway shows and reading books on the MTA subway system.
Huan Yang
Research Analyst
Huan is currently completing her MS studies in the Biomedical Informatics program at NYU Vilcek Institute while working on cardiovascular research in the lab. She graduated from NYU with her MS degree in biology and since then has worked in Dr. Reinberg’s lab at NYU Langone as a research associate. She enjoys cooking and playing with her puppy Cookie.
Romane Cathelin
Bioinformatics Programmer
Romane is a bioinformatics programmer at ABL, collaborating with both Ruggles Lab and Nadorp Lab. She holds a master's degree in Bioinformatics from the University of Bordeaux, France. Romane is involved in various projects, with a primary focus on immunology-focused single-cell analysis and cardiovascular research. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running in NYC and cooking.
Yiang Chen
Biomedical Informatics MS student
Yiang is currently pursuing his M.S. in Biomedical Informatics at the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at NYU. He graduated from the Elite Program at Henan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. During his undergraduate studies, he gained two years of research experience in medicine and neurobiology. Additionally, he explored research in soil biology and plant molecular studies. A car enthusiast, Yiang enjoys attending auto shows, sharing photos of cars he's photographed on social media, and offering insights into automotive market trends. He also has a passion for cooking and exploring global cuisines.
Yiqing Wang
Biomedical Informatics MS Student
Mike is a current MS student in the biomedical informatics program at the Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2020 with a degree in molecular & cell biology. He then worked for two years as a bioinformatics research assistant at Kutluay lab of Washington University in St. Louis, where he analyzed RNA sequencing-related datasets of HIV and SARS-CoV-2. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing tennis, running, and playing the bamboo flute.
Stephen Fatuzzo
Medical Student Researcher
Stephen is a medical student at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He graduated from Pomona College in 2023 with a BA in molecular biology. At Pomona, Stephen used simulation methods to study contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, he worked as an undergraduate research fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he performed statistical analysis for several clinical research projects. At NYU, Stephen is excited to explore multi-omics in the context of cardiovascular disease. Outside of medical school and research, Stephen enjoys all things outdoors, including rock climbing, running, and backpacking!
Marisa Triola
Research Volunteer
Marisa Triola is a high school student at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, New York. With peers from an artificial intelligence program, she created a project which used neural networks to identify fake news. Her interests include web development, board gaming, and musical performance.