Erinn Rankin, Ph.D. Principal Investigator

Email: erankin@stanford.edu

Education: Ph.D., Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 2007
B.S., Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaigne, 2000

Research: Erinn’s research focuses on identifying and developing therapeutic strategies that exploit the interactions between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.

Man Zhao Post-Doctoral Scholar  

Email: manzhao@stanford.edu

Education: Ph.D., College of Life Sciences, University of Nankai, China, 2020

B.S., College of Life Sciences, University of Henan Normal, China, 2015

Research Interests:  The interests of Man's research are to explore the molecular mechanisms that drive tumor progression, metastasis and drug resistance to identify therapeutic strategies for the treatment of advanced metastatic disease. Man's postdoctoral research aims to investigate the oncogenic role and therapeutic potential of targeting the factors in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) initiation, progression and radiation resistance.

Lu Ji Post-Doctoral Scholar  

Email: luji@stanford.edu

Education: Ph.D., Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Biology (2021)

B.S., East China University of Science and Technology, Biology engineering (2016)

Research Interests:  Driven by the enthusiasm and curiosity about life science and human disease, I have been working on cancer research for more than 5 years. I focus on developing novel therapeutic targets from tumor microenvironment and uncovering mechanisms of tumor progression, especially with expertise in gastrointestinal tumor biology and tumor microenvironment analysis. Now I'm digging into a field about finding a way to empower immunotherapy by appropriately utilizing radiation therapy.

Nishanth Kuganesan Post-Doctoral Scholar  

Email: nkugane@stanford.edu

Education: Ph.D. in Biology (2023), The University of Toledo, OH

B.Sc. (Hons) in Nuclear Medical Science (2017), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Research Interests:  During his doctoral studies, Nishanth has mainly worked on how cell cycle regulators modulate ferroptosis, an oxidative stress-induced cell death. He has also worked on target identification and validation of ferroptosis inducers and HDAC inhibitors to kill cancer cells. His interest lies in the field of drug discovery and translational medicine to enhance the quality of cancer patients. In Rankins’s lab, he is working on targeting the RNA demethylase enzyme fat mass obesity-associated protein (FTO) in combination with radiation therapy for cancer treatment.