Members

Chandra Mohan
Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor
cmohan@central.uh.edu

 

 

Kamala Vanarsa
Lab Manager
kvanarsa@central.uh.edu

Her research focuses on utilizing novel proteomic technologies including ITRAQ and NRM assays to quantitate biomarkers in human body fluids. Other research interests include detecting novel biomarkers in human body fluids using Somalogic’s SomaScan Assay.

 

 

 

 

Yewei Ma
HOC Core Director
yma29@uh.edu

 

Dr. Yewei Ma’s projects focus on cutting-edge proteomics and biomarker detection from any types of samples, including autoantigen/antibody screening, protein microarrays, aptamer-based multiplexed proteomics, proximity extension assay, bead-based immunoassay and many more.  Our personalized services will significantly accelerate your research progress and grant application.

 

 

  

 

Anto Sam Crosslee
Research Assistant Professor
crosslee@central.uh.edu

Crosslee’s research focuses on understanding the molecular pathways involved in autoimmunity and is working on creating an in-vitro model of glomerulus.

 

 

 

Geethangili Madamanchi
Research Scientist
gmadaman@central.uh.edu

Geethangili’s research focuses on Non-invasive OCT/OCE of Skin Fibrosis in a Bleo Mouse Model.

 
 
 
 
 
Valeria Espinosar
Core Scientist
valeria.espinosar@gmail.com
 
Valeria’s research is centered on the identification of proteomic biomarkers through diverse platforms, including Olink, ELISA, RayBiotech L-Series Antibody Array, and Somalogic Somascan.
 
 
 
 

 

 

Srinandhini Chandran

PhD Student (BME)
schandr7@uh.edu

Her research focuses on engineering bioartificial spleens for immunological studies and therapeutic applications, and exploring the effect of Mushrooms and Mesenchymal Stem Cells on different disease models.

 

 

Gabrielle Lea
Undergraduate Researcher
gblea@cougarnet.uh.edu

Gabby is a recipient of the  Provost Undergraduate Research Scholarship (PURS). Their research centers around analyzing and comparing the viability of protein biomarkers in urine as a way to differentiate pediatric and adult lupus. Their project is in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine and also includes tracking the presence of biomarkers in urine over the course of treatment.

 
 

 

Christina Kuruvilla
Undergraduate Researcher
christinajaiju@gmail.com

Christina’s research focuses on the synthesis and biomedical applications of 2D nanomaterials, specifically layered double hydroxides. She works in collaboration with Dr. Varghese’s Physics Lab on exploring the efficiency of nanoparticles as an adjuvant for immunotherapy.

 

 

Ayesha Budhwani
PhD Student (BME)
ajbudhwa@cougarnet.uh.edu

Ayesha works in Dr. Mohan’s and Dr. Abidian’s laboratories to explore how various ECM proteins impact the growth of renal resident cells or neurons. This involves 3D-printing of ECM proteins, cell culture and functional studies. Alongside, she is characterizing a novel monoclonal antibody with therapeutic potential.

 

 

 

Aalekyah Biswas
PhD Student (NSM)
Abiswas5@cougarnet.uh.edu

Aalekhya’s research focuses on exploring the molecular mechanisms that modulate the function of infiltrating macrophages and resident renal cells in lupus nephritis, using cutting-edge molecular and cellular techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

Julie Ngoc Trinh

Undergraduate Researcher (Rice University)
jnt5@rice.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sonja Vodehnal
PhD Student (NSM)
savodehn@cougarnet.uh.edu

The focus of Sonja’s research involves the assessment of published urinary biomarkers and the use of innovative proteomic technologies to identify additional urinary biomarkers that may have improved diagnostic accuracy for lupus nephritis. Future studies will also include designing multi-analyte point-of-care assays that can be used for in-home monitoring.

 

 

 

Ryan Pereira
Undergraduate Researcher
rpereira@uh.edu

Ryan is a Spring 2023 PURS recipient. His research is focused on novel biomarker discovery and pathogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) through proteomics and validation studies. His work aims to establish a non-invasive method that can be used to diagnose patients with IBD, differentiate between Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis, as well as monitor disease progression.

 

 


 

Kimeera Paladugu
Undergraduate Researcher
kimeerap@gmail.com
 
Kimeera’s research focuses on analyzing data and determining the merits of stool and plasma biomarkers in the development and diagnosis of IBD.

  

 

 

 

 

 

Haley Romaine
Undergraduate Researcher
hmromine@cougarnet.uh.edu

Haley’s research focuses on pathogenic proteins in Lupus patient serums that induce endothelial-mesenchymal transition in podocytes; this research will contribute to ongoing studies that follow the progression of Lupus Nephritis in patients.

 

 

 
 
 
 
Taha Ahmed
Undergraduate Researcher 
 
Taha’s research focuses on identifying pathogenic proteins that induce/promote Epithelial-Mesechymal transition in tubular Epithelial cells. This research will contribute to ongoing studies that follow the progression of Lupus Nephritis and Renal Fibrosis. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sohny Hasan
Undergraduate Researcher 
 
Sohny’s research is focused on identifying urinary biomarkers linked with lupus nephritis and their association with activity and chronicity indices of concurrent renal biopsies. Her research aims to discover non-invasive diagnostic methods to replace the current reliance on invasive renal biopsies for patients with lupus nephritis.
 
 
 
 

 

Ibraheim Maudood
Undergraduate Researcher
 
 
Ibraheim is a recipient of the 2024 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). His research focuses on the intersection of nephrology, immunology, and autoimmune diseases by understanding the impact of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on kidney function. He aims to uncover the molecular pathways involved in the development of pathogenic macrophages observed in SLE patients and explore potential treatments targeting these pathways to improve patient outcomes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sofia Cantu
Undergraduate Researcher 
 
Sofia’s research focuses on comparing and assessing advanced biomarker platforms, focusing on the variations between techniques used, specificity, advantages and disadvantages, as well as systematic evaluation of the reproducibility of research between differing biomarker discovery platforms.
Sofia has been awarded the PURS Scholarship for Spring 2024.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Angela Nguyen
Undergraduate Researcher
avnguy51@cougarnet.uh.edu
 
Angela’s project focuses on identifying biomarkers associated with brain-blood barrier breach and cognitive impairment in serum samples of patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE). This research will contribute to the development of a comprehensive diagnostic model.
Angela has been awarded the SURF scholarship for Summer 2024.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Farah Break 
Undergraduate Researcher
farahmbreak@gmail.com
 
Farah’s Project focuses on studying the effects of Mushroom Treatment on Breast Cancer cells. 
Farah has been awarded the PURS scholarship for Spring 2024. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Raayed Rahman
Undergraduate Researcher
Rrahman6@cougarnet.uh.edu
 
 
Raayed’s project focuses on developing point of care diagnostic tools to detect Lupus Nephritis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. 
Raayed has been awarded the SURF scholarship for summer 2024. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nitu Heggade
Graduate Researcher
 
Nitu works in Dr Mohan’s and Dr. Ran’s laboratories to explore the development of electrochemical sensors for point-of-care detection of antibodies for lupus nephritis. This involves performing analytical studies and electrochemical experiments to ensure accurate detection and monitoring.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vishal Akash Srinivasan
Graduate Researcher
 
Vishal’s research involves image analysis of spatial transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data in lupus nephritis, focusing on the structural and biomarker changes that influence disease outcomes. I also conduct expression studies of selected proteins, aiming to identify the potential biomarkers.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vinaika Maruvada
Data Analyst (MS in Biostatistics)
 
Vinaika is a data analyst at Mohan Lab, where she specializes in analyzing proteomic data to uncover biomarker changes that impact disease outcomes. Her role involves conducting diverse forms of data analysis and identifying potential biomarkers from the datasets. Additionally, she plays a crucial part in maintaining the lab’s website.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Akanksha Reddy Pisati
Graduate Researcher (MS in Computer Science)
 
Akanksha’s project focus on leveraging Halo and QuPath software for advanced analysis of cellular structures with  image processing techniques for image acquisition, segmentation, feature extraction, and classification, driving innovative discoveries in cellular biology.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Neha Kunduru
Graduate Researcher (MS in Engineering Data Science)
 
Neha Kunduru’s research focuses on advanced data analysis in biomarker studies, digital phenotyping, and image analysis.
 
 
 
 

 

 
Harshavardhan Polamarashetty
International Physician Research Scholar
 
Harsha is currently engaged in a research project that primarily involves the identification of novel stool biomarkers for the detection and monitoring of the progression of Inflammatory Bowel Disease through proteomic studies. His ultimate objective is to utilize this experience to enhance the health outcomes for my patients.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sreeya Gude
Physician Research Scholar
 

Sreeya’s research involves using proteomic techniques to study and validate biomarkers associated with lupus nephritis. By utilizing her clinical expertise and innovative research, she aims to integrate both to improve diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in lupus nephritis.

 

 

Alumni

Staff

Lavanya Elangovan
Cristopher Gidley
Hasna Kanta
Desi Kreska
Li Li
Satyavani Nukula
Sneha Raichandran
Lloyd Walton

Postdoctoral Fellows

Cristina Arriens
SoogHee Chang
Benjamin Chong
Huihua Ding
Yuyang Fu
Jack Hutcheson
Geetha Jonnala
Zoran Kurepa
Jianwei Li
Lisa Li
Liunan Li
Xuebin Liu
Yang Liu
Kui Liu
Bindiya Marrakanth
So-You Min
Nikita Patel
Rahul Patel
Simanta Pathak
Ling Qing
Sushma Reddy
Smitha Rudaraju
Lili Shi
Sandeep Singh
Samar Soliman
Briony Strachan
Tianfu Wu
Shangkui Xie
Chun Xie
Jiankun Zhu
Rajalakshmy Ayilam Ramachandran
Qiang Wang
Chen Yanping

Undergraduate Students

Mallika Tripathy
Umair Akbar
Dania Albaba
Yaqeen Alsadah
Malikah Al Alshaikh
Sahar Baig
Margaret Davis
Thao Doan
Dylan Eser-Jose
Sunny Gotewal
Deena Habazi
Anam Haque
Roberto Hasbun
Sriram Hemachandran
Rose Ann Huynh
Arwa Kathiria
Marwa Kharboutli
Elhaum Khobhay
Kate Krause
Divya Kurian
Rael Memnon
Nguyen Nguyen
Rani Nune
Chika Okala
Jackson Owens
Kent Page
Laura Paglicawan
Brittany Payan
Allison Popovich
Jahnvi Rajput
Laxmi Ramana
Aubrey Swilling
Nathan Thai
Dennis Tran
Luyue Wang
Melissa Yang
Pooja Patel
Anjali Patel
Shereen Enan
Malavika Nidhi
Kamal Mohd
Alexa Truong
Salar Sanati
David Wong
Aaron Chacko
Amber Ayub
Amy Bui
Kala Pham
Hufsa Arain
Ibraheim Maudood
Sofia Cantu
Angela Nguyen
Farah Break
Audrey Nguyen
Raayed Rahman
Nga Thai

 

Visiting Research Scholars and Physician Scientists

Supriya Dubashi
Ashtami Jayakumar
Ramya Susarla
Aurélie De Groof
Sirisha Gokaraju
Ling Lei
Bindiya Marakkath
Gargy Parhy
Sneha Ravikumar
Ding Bao
Ting Zhang
Sai Sravya Gude
Janani Arunachalam
Huihua Ding
Samar Soliman
Prashanth Sasidharan
Harshavardhan Polamarasetty
Sreeya Gude
Vineetha Chidipothu

Graduate Students

Rongwei Lei
Jessica Castillo
Sergio Calixto
Omar Abunofal
Sylvia
Haleigh Inthavong
Michelle Chen
Sindhu Gangula
Lavanya Elangovan
Jared Henderson
Tamika Henry
Eric Zhiyan Liang
Jessica Mayuex
Jacob Orme
Manali Patel
Kirthi Raman
Sanam Soomro
Samantha Stanley
Jeff Sun
Huzair Tirmizi
Andrew Wang
Amarayca Zambrano
Ferial Koutani
Ipshita Pradhan
Nitu Heggade
Vishal Akash Srinivasan
Akanksha Reddy Pisati
Vinaika Maruvada
Thao Nguyen
Hao Li
Neha Kunduru
Spoorthy Shivani Pabba

High School Students/Interns

Rahul Agarwal
Anna Bashmakov
Leian Chen
Yixiao Chen
Eric Chen
Susan Davis
Nima Deljavan
Sai Harish Dharmavaram
Zainab Fatima
Simer Grewal
Meera Grewal
Rannon Hao
Kelvin Hsu
Grace Jiang
Jae Won Joh
Arun Kane
Ronit Kumar
Jennifer Li
Vatsala Mundra
Lokesh Naginini
Vineet Padisetty
Anish Patel
Sanika Phanse
Deena Sajitharan
Peter Sedrak
Kavita Selvamanickam
Ruchi Sharma
Soumya Somani
Kiran Thirukonda
Suneal Velmuri
Jason Zhou
Ariana Luo
Chris Jang
Hubert Lu
Jasmine Sidhu
Richard Wang
Sanjay Krishna
Sohan Kureti
Vedant Sharma
Videet Mehta