Fuguo Liu
Postdoctoral Associate
fuguol@mit.edu
Fuguo Liu graduated from the Ocean University of China with a PhD degree in Animal Medicine in June 2017. He was awarded a Newton International Fellowship by the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK) in September 2017, which supported him to conduct a postdoc with Prof. Chris Secombes for 2 years at University Aberdeen. He then moved to Stanford University to study the genetic diversity of human leukocyte Ig-like receptors and NK cell functions. In the Chen Lab, he will continue his interest in human NK cells, developing next generation of CAR-NK cell therapy for cancer, in particular developing technologies to enable the use of allogeneic NK cells.
Fangfeng Yuan
Postdoctoral Associate
fy9@mit.edu
Fangfeng Yuan obtained his master’s degree from Kansas State University followed by a Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Dr. Ying Fang. Partially supported by the Illinois distinguished fellowship, Fangfeng has high interest in viral diagnostic and vaccine development against infectious diseases. He developed molecular and serological assays against multiple emerging viruses, including ASFV and SARS-CoV-2. His vaccine research mainly focused on developing a novel viral vector for expressing ASFV antigens and establishing a pregnant sow-fetus model to evaluate a chimeric influenza vaccine created using molecular breeding (gene shuffling) technology. In the Chen Lab, he will apply his interest in Virology to develop counter measures against ASFV using a mRNA-based vaccine platform.
Yuwen Yin
Postdoctoral Associate
yinyw@mit.edu
Yingjie Zhao
Postdoctoral Associate
yjzhao1@mit.edu
Yingjie Zhao got her Ph.D. in Basic Meidcine from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in December 2020. She has focused on the impact of the structure of immunoglobulins on agonistic monoclonal antibodies. She joined the Qilu Pharmaceutical R&D center researching in vitro pharmacology of macromolecular drugs. She has worked in the Chen Lab as a postdoctoral associate since November 2022 focusing her research on progressing CAR-NK therapeutics.
Ronni da Silva, Ph.D.
SMART in Singapore
Postdoctoral Associate
ronni.dasilva@smart.mit.edu
Ronni is originally from Brazil, but has spent time in the US, the UK, and Germany for his education. Ronni received his Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham (UK) in 2019. In Singapore, Ronni is a post-doc within the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), working on a joint project with Prof. Jianzhu Chen (MIT) and Kimberly Kline (NTU). Ronni is part of the SMART Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) integrated research group which is a unique translational research and entrepreneurship program that aims to solve the growing threat of resistance to antimicrobial drugs. Ronni is particularly interested in harnessing the power of the human immune system to tackle AMR and has been focusing on compounds that can enhance the bactericidal activity of macrophages.
Nguyen Nu Zen Na, Ph.D.
SMART in Singapore
Postdoctoral Associate
nuzenna.nguyen@smart.mit.edu
Zen Na graduated from the University of Ulsan, Korea with a Ph.D. degree in Biological Science (Immunological major) in 2022. She previously focused on Candida albicans infections in the kidney, where she demonstrated a significant breakthrough by unveiling novel roles/pathways of several factors (CCR5, IL-33, CD137) in the antifungal mechanism in kidneys. In March 2023, she joined the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) and works on projects with Prof. Jianzhu Chen (MIT) and Prof. Kimberly Kline (NTU). At SMART, her research interests revolve around the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly on identifying compounds and pathways that can enhance the bactericidal activity of macrophages in wound healing.
Guangan Hu, Ph.D.
Visiting Scientist
gahu@mit.edu
Guangan Hu has been a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist in the Chen Lab at the Koch Institute since 2009. Dr. Hu is an immunologist and computational biologist whose focus is to apply systems biology approaches, disease models, and clinical data to understand the immune system and immune-associated diseases for translational medicine. His work has focused on target identification and cancer biology, autoimmunity, tissue fibrosis, tissue injury and repair mechanisms, as well as infectious diseases and vaccination. He obtained his Ph.D. at Nanyang Technological Univeristy of Singapore under the supervision of Dr. Zybnek Bozdech. His Ph.D. studies involved computational and functional genomics of human malaria. Prior to his Ph.D., Guangan was awarded his Bachelor’s in bioengineering and his Master’s in molecular cell and biochemistry at Hubei University in 2003.
Alexander Bevacqua
Graduate Student, Biological Engineering
beva@mit.edu
Alexander Bevacqua graduated from McGill University with a B.Eng. in Bioengineering in 2021 after working in the labs of Professors Barthelat, Dorval Courchesne, and Xia. He is now pursuing his Ph.D. in Biological Engineering at MIT. He is co-advised by Professor Jongyoon Han in the Department of Biological Engineering. He is developing continuous bioproduction of viral vectors using membrane-less perfusion culture and will use the viral vectors to develop novel CAR-NK cells for cancer immunotherapy.
Jane Wang
Research Assistant // Lab Manager
jieywang@mit.edu
Jane Wang graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry in 2024. She currently works to support the lab’s research related to CAR-NK development and cell metabolism, as well as managing day to day administrative tasks within the lab itself.