Our Lab Members
Henning Willers, MD, FASTRO
PI, Associate Professor
“I have been a PI in this lab since 2005. It has been fun to shift from an initial focus on basic mechanisms of DNA repair/recombination to more translational studies that perhaps one day can impact patient care. Our findings thus far have informed 3 clinical trials with possibly a 4th one materializing in 2023. Stay tuned! Outside the lab/clinic I enjoy time with my family and on Cape Cod.”
Anie D. Alindogan, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
“I am a Filipino postdoc who graduated from the University of the Philippines with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry degree, and from Tokyo Institute of Technology with Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Nuclear Engineering. My research focuses on the DNA damage response of cancer cells treated with proton radiation aiming to identify novel therapeutic approaches. Outside of the lab, I am a proud mother and wife. New to Boston, I look forward to what life here awaits.”
Pooja Chauhan, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
“I am an experienced researcher with a Doctoral degree in Life Sciences from JNU, India and post-doctoral research experience from Hebrew University, Israel. In the past, I have worked upon understanding the role of chromatin dynamics in DNA damage sensitivity, nucleotide excision repair and molecular mechanisms for cisplatin resistance in human cancers. Currently, I am working on a joint project with Dr. Henning Willers and Dr. David Miyamoto on developing and applying genomic sequencing techniques to characterize the DNA damage caused by proton radiation. This will include investigations into the mechanisms of how cancer and normal cells repair proton damage to their DNA with the aim to identify novel cancer biomarkers for precision cancer therapies”
Felix Ehret, MD
Postdoctoral Fellow
“I am a fourth-year resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Charité in Berlin, Germany. With a particular interest in neuro-oncology, I am currently investigating the radiobiological effects of proton and photon irradiation in a specific subtype of brain tumor. My goal is to contribute to the understanding of how we can improve and individualize patient care. I am very grateful to be part of the Willers Lab and Team! Outside the lab, you’ll find me in the Museum of Fine Arts, the library, or at the TD Garden, watching some sports games.”
Jing Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
“I graduated from Capital Medical University in China with a Ph.D. in Surgery. I am excited about the opportunity to join Henning’s team and contribute to research in the areas of 3D cancer cell culture and lipid metabolism. Additionally, I am looking forward to the possibility of watching the Celtics at the TD Garden with our lab mates one day and sharing some Chinese cuisine that I will cook (if it turns out tasty).”
Liliana Gheorghiu, MS
Senior Research Technologist
“I have been in the lab for > 15 years. I am doing a fair amount of lab management and training of new hires. I am also providing experimental input. One of my main goals is to study radiosensitization by analyzing DNA repair responses after drug/X-ray vs X-ray alone treatments in ex vivo human tumor explants.”
Eva Volckova, BA
Research Technologist
“I graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2022 with a degree in Biological Sciences. I am excited to be joining the lab’s project of high-throughput drug screening to identify sensitizers and predictive genomic biomarkers in cancer cell lines.”
Rea Pittie, BS
Lab Technician
“I graduated from Boston University with a degree in Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Genetics. I am excited to be working with Dr. Willers and Dr. Miyamoto on the Radiation Biomarker Project and to build a tumor BioBank in our joint lab. Outside of lab, I enjoy cooking and exploring the New England area.”
Sky Fuller, BS
Lab Technician
“I finished my undergrad with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University as well as degrees in Biophysics and Mathematics from St. Lawrence University. I look forward to the opportunity to be working with Dr. Willers on a high throughput screening platform to test radiosensitizing drugs on 3D cancer cell cultures. Outside of the lab you might find me at Fenway or the TD Garden cheering on the local Boston teams.”
Gavan Dagnese, BA
Lab Technician
“I graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Biology. I am so grateful and excited to be working with Dr. Willers and Dr. Miyamoto on the Biobank and Biomarker projects. Outside of the lab, you might find me in my kitchen cooking or at a local bookstore!”
Anjali Shinde, BS
Lab Technician
“I graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2023 with a degree in Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology. I am excited to be working with Dr. Willers on identifying sensitizers and predictive genomic biomarkers in 3D cancer lines using high-throughput drug screening. Outside of the lab, you can find me trying unique restaurants or thrifting!”
Erik Lutze
Student Researcher
“Hi there! I’m Erik, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Hamburg, Germany. I’ve joined Prof. Willers’ lab group to work on my MD thesis, which will see me investigating different aspects of KRAS mutation in non-small cell lung cancer. I hope that I can make a small contribution to the field and would like to thank Profs. Willers and Borgmann for the opportunity to do so. If im not in the lab, you will find me out and about exploring Boston, enjoying everything this great city has to offer. See ya around!”
Mia Linson
Summer Student
“I am very excited to be a summer student in the Willers lab through the Continuing Umbrella of Summer Research program (CURE) at the Dana-Farber Cancer center. I am a rising junior at Harvard College majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Latino and Indigenous studies. As an aspiring radiation oncologist, I am thrilled to be working under Dr. Willers and to be able to learn from all of the fascinating research projects happening in the lab. When I am not in the lab, I am likely at summer markets or going for walks by the Charles river.”