OUR TEAM
Peter Ly, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology
Yu-Fen Lin, Ph.D.
Sr. Research Scientist
Yu-Fen received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from National Taiwan University. She then worked with David Chen and Benjamin Chen at UT Southwestern to study how the DNA damage response is linked to replication stress. Yu-Fen joined the lab in 2020 with an interest in understanding the dynamics and kinetics of DNA repair across the cell cycle. She enjoys watching Harry Potter movies and spending time with her 75 lb. Labrador/Boxer mix.
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Qing Hu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Qing received her Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences studying meiotic DNA double-strand break repair and joined the lab in 2019 as a postdoc. She is currently investigating how the DNA damage response shapes the chromosomal rearrangement landscape of cancer genomes. Qing's favorite movie is Amélie.
Rashmi Dahiya, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Rashmi received her Ph.D. in Life Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University studying transcriptional regulation in budding yeast and joined the lab in 2019 as a postdoc. Her project focuses on the evolution of genomic rearrangements during kidney cancer progression. In her free time, Rashmi loves watching The Big Bang Theory.
Alice Mazzagatti, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Alice received her Ph.D. in Genetics, Molecular, & Cellular Biology from the University of Pavia, where she studied mammalian neocentromere evolution. She then trained at the Barts Cancer Institute focusing on chromosomal instability and DNA replication stress. Alice joined the lab in 2021 with an interest in understanding how DNA replication stress acts as a source of mutagenesis in cancer genomes. In her spare time, Alice pretends to learn to play the electric guitar.
Amanda Mennie, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Amanda received her M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago studying telomere protection and length regulation. She then completed Internal Medicine residency training at UTSW where she is now a Medical Oncology Fellow. Amanda joined the lab in 2023 as part of the Physician Scientist Training Program with an interest in how telomeres are maintained during the formation of complex genome rearrangements. During her spare time, she loves to read, tries to garden, and is parented by her two daughters.
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Elizabeth 'Lizz' Maurais
Ph.D. Graduate Student | Genetics, Development, and Disease Program
Lizz received her B.S. in Biotechnology from the University of New Hampshire at Manchester and conducted research as an Amgen Scholar at Caltech. She first joined the lab as a research tech in 2019 and then as a Ph.D. student in 2020. Lizz is currently studying the biological consequences of cytoplasmic DNA derived from mitotic errors. She loves spending time with her 3 lb. Chihuahua, Trudy, while watching The Office.
Justin Engel
Ph.D. Graduate Student | Cancer Biology Program
Justin received his B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of South Florida where he studied the response to DNA replication stress. He then joined Tango Therapeutics and conducted genome-wide CRISPR screens to identify synthetic lethal cancer targets. Justin is currently interrogating the mechanisms contributing to genomic rearrangements using unbiased genetic approaches. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking and spending time outdoors with his dog, Sully.
Bing-Huan "Nemo" Wu, M.S.
Ph.D. Graduate Student | Genetics, Development, and Disease Program
Nemo received his B.S. and masters degrees in Molecular Medicine from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. He joined the laboratory in 2024 with an interest in studying how chromothripsis contributes to cancer development in the context of glioblastomas and osteosarcomas. In his spare time, Nemo enjoys playing softball and LEGO building.
Kidist Woldehawariat
Research Technician
Kidist received her B.S. in Biology from the University of North Texas. She joined the lab in 2022 as a Research Tech/Lab Manager. Kidist assists with day-to-day operations in the lab and is providing support for several research projects. Some of Kidist's hobbies include kickboxing, strength training, and reading.
Former Lab Members
Alison Guyer
Research Technician (2020-2022)
Current: Graduate Student, University of Pittsburgh
Jacob Sanders, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2022)
Current: Lecturer, University of Tennessee Knoxville