Diversity, Equality, Equity

Humsa received her undergraduate degree in Chemical Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and her PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford University.

 After completing her postdoctoral work, she joined the Stanford faculty in 2019 and is now starting her Cancer Neuroscience research program as Assistant Professor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She has been recognized by the MIT Technology Review as a Pioneer Under 35 ‘TR35’ (2018), by Genetic Engineering News as a ‘Top 10 innovator to  watch under 40’ (2019), and won the Science & SciLife Prize for Young Scientists (2019). 

email: hvenkatesh@bwh.harvard.edu

Kaylee attended the University of Southern Mississippi where she received her BSc in Biology and her MSc studying behavioral ecology with the Jawor lab. 

Kaylee has worked in a wide variety of research areas including tuberculosis, estrogen receptor signaling (Tulane), and cancer vaccination (UNC). She is now focusing on interactions between nerves, the immune system, and lung cancer. 

Outside the lab, she enjoys reading about history, birding, and gardening. 

email: kmgentry@bwh.harvard.edu

office phone: 857-307-1446

Elana graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UMass Amherst in three years.There she wrote an honors thesis researching organelle-localized small heat shock proteins.

Elana then went on to work as a Research Fellow in the Rauch Lab researching the microtubule associated protein tau and its relation to neurodegenerative diseases. 

She loves all things science but also enjoys beach days, spending time with friends, and trying new restaurants.  

email: ecarleton@bwh.harvard.edu

Rachel is in Harvard's PhD program in Biological & Biomedical Sciences. She received her bachelor's degree from UMass Amherst in 2019. She then went on to work as a research technician in a cancer therapeutics lab at HMS before starting grad school. 

Rachel is interested broadly in the field of cancer neuroscience and particularly in how neurons influence cancer cell behavior and phenotype. 

Outside the lab, she enjoys painting, reading, and hanging out with her dog Reggie.  

Hannah is a graduate student trainee in the Program in Neuroscience. Before starting graduate school, she received a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University and worked as a technician at HMS. As a technician, she studied how thyroid hormone regulates the activity and transcriptional profiles of cortical neurons.

Hannah is particularly interested in understanding how gliomas affect neuronal activity both within the tumor microenvironment and in longer-range circuits.

Outside of lab, Hannah enjoys spending her free time long-distance running, hiking, and basically anything outdoors!  

Hannah is a trainee with the Haravard-MIT MD/PhD program and HST. She graduated from Dartmouth in 2019 and worked as a research associate at the Koch and Broad Institutes before starting medical school. 

She is broadly interested in applying single-cell and spatial technologies to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in tumor-peripheral nerve interactions.

In her free time she enjoys playing Wordle, mentoring underserved STEM students, and taking very slow jogs around Boston. 

Thomas received his Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at Kansas State University, where he worked in genetics and biomedical engineering research laboratories before working as a software engineer. Prior to neurology training in Los Angeles, he obtained his medical degree at the University of Kansas.

Thomas is now a K12 fellow in neuro-oncology at the BWH/Dana-Farber/MGH program and has a particular interest in applications at the intersection of medicine and technology.

Lexi is a Harvard PhD Student in the Program in Neuroscience. She received her BS degree from the University of California, San Diego and worked as a technician at the Salk Institute. After graduation, she continued to work as a technician at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre in London.

Lexi is primarily interested in how different brain circuits are influenced by the presence of peripheral cancers in the body.

Outside of lab, she enjoys reading, beach days, and painting. 

Meghan is an undergraduate at Boston University majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Human Physiology. 

Meghan is particularly interested in the relationship between the CNS and the Immune System and how it relates to disease progression. 

In her free time, she is VP of the Women's Water Polo Team at BU and enjoys snacking and watching movies.