Staff
Payal Kapur - Collaborating Pathologist
I am a staff pathologist at UT Southwestern. I have been exposed to pathology training at two training programs in opposite sides of the world – Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the department of pathology. My research interests have included characterizing adult tumors and developing prognostic, therapeutic and diagnostic molecular markers. I am currently involved in multiple collaborative projects in genitourinary pathology. Investigating the biology of renal cell carcinoma has been most exciting. Dr. Brugarolas is an excellent mentor and a great collaborator and it has been fun working with him.
Andrea Pavia-Jimenez - Research Technician II
I'm originally from the Mexican Peninsula, but a proud Austinite! I graduated from St. Edward's University in Austin, TX with a major in Biology May 2010. It was at St. Edward's that my passion for research began. There, I studied the patterns of expression during early embryogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. I started working in the Brugarolas Lab September 2010 and I am currently working on a clinical research trial for first-line everolimus in patients with advanced RCC.
Samuel Peña–Llopis - Assistant Instructor
I was born in Castellón, Spain. With both my parents working in science, my father a biologist doing research at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and my mother a chemistry teacher, I grew up very interested in science. I obtained my BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona in 1997. I got my Ph.D. from the University of Valencia in 2003, where I started an independent line of research studying oxidative stress in aquatic animals. This work led to several publications including one that was awarded the 'Best Publication Award on Environmental Research 2004' by the Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry and AstraZeneca. At the completion of my Ph.D., I received a postdoctoral fellowship to study the effects of oxidative stress on gene regulation with Bruce Demple at the Harvard School of Public Health. The opportunity then arose of leading a project to uncover molecular events that lead to kidney cancer using a variety of genomic and bioinformatic tools. To carry out this project, I moved with Dr. Brugarolas to UT Southwestern Medical Center on February 1st, 2006. Shortly thereafter, I was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship of Excellence from Generalitat Valenciana, Spain.
Nida Saleem - Research Technician II
Hello and Salaam! I'm a Biology BA graduate from UTD with a passion for art, music, science, math, and medicine. I hope to be an MD/DO but first desire to diversify my work experience. I was lucky to find this opportunity in the Brugarolas Lab where science and medicine are intertwined. So, now I'm helping with the xenograft project. We hope to determine whether an experimental drug attacks Renal Cell Carcinoma by targeting the mechanisms responsible for angiogenesis. I'm excited to be here in this friendly and inspiring environment!
Sharanya Sivanand - Research Technician II
In 2009, I graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree, in both biochemistry and molecular biology with major honors, from the University of Texas at Dallas. Initially, I began my research to identify novel inducers of fetal hemoglobin as a treatment option for patients with sickle cell disease. Late 2009, I joined the laboratory of Dr. Brugarolas to help develop and validate a renal cell carcinoma tumorgraft model that can be used to evaluate molecular targeted therapies. In 2011, I graduated with a Master’s degree in biotechnology and completed requirements for a concentration in molecular targets and drug discovery technologies from Johns Hopkins University. Currently, I am assisting with manuscript preparation and applying for PhD programs. In the future, I plan to integrate my research interests in cancer biology, bioinformatics and translational medicine. I have lived in Plano, Texas for over ten years.
Patrick Spence - Research Technician I
I was born in Connecticut and I've lived in Dallas since I was five. I'll graduate Harvard in 2013 as a Classics major, but I'm excited to be spending a year with the Brugarolas lab in order to extend my medical knowledge past the time of Hippocrates. I'm testing targeted molecular therapies on our orthotopic xenograft model of RCC, which we hope to establish as a preclinical model for testing new drugs.
Anh Tran - Postdoctoral Fellow
I am originally from Vietnam. I came to the U.S. after I finished high school. I continued my education at Stephen F. Austin State University, where I received both a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in biology and chemistry as well as a Master of Science degree in biotechnology. Subsequently, I enrolled in a Ph.D. program in biochemistry at Texas A&M University. During my graduate work in Dr. Ryland Young's lab, I studied the mechanism of bacterial lysis (and lysis inhibition) by the bacteriophage T4. In the spring of 2007, I obtained my Ph.D. I was interested in cancer and shortly thereafter I joined the Brugarolas lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Elviche Tsakem - Research Technician II
I am Elviche Tsakem from Cameroon. I graduated with a Masters of Science degree in Biotechnology from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, where I studied the characterization of PAPS Synthetase 1 in mice. In 2009, I joined Dr. Gurevich's laboratory at Vanderbilt University, where I studied genetically engineered mouse models deficient in genes implicated in the visual system. Joining the Brugarolas laboratory will enable me to deepen my skills and learn about research intimately linked with medicine.
Silvia Vega–Rubín-de-Celis - Postdoctoral Fellow
I was born in Villanueva de la Peña, Spain. I went to college at the University of Navarra (Spain) and graduated in 2000 with a double major in Biology and Biochemistry. I did my graduate work at the Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal (Spain), where I studied the regulation and mechanism of action of a hormone that controls energy metabolism in fish. My work was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the CSIC (National Research Spanish Council). Towards the end of my Ph.D., I became interested in cancer research and in September of 2004 I joined Dr. Brugarolas at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. On February 1st 2006, Dr. Brugarolas moved to UT Southwestern Medical Center and I decided to join him to start the new lab.
Shanshan Wang - Postdoctoral Fellow
I come from China. I received my Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. During my Ph.D. career, I studied epigenetics in budding yeast, mainly focusing on how epigenetic marks on the genome are coordinated by nuclear factors. After that, I wanted to continue the study of epigenetics in cancer biology. I joined the Brugarolas lab to investigate the role of histone modifiers in kidney cancer.
Nick Wolff – Senior Research Associate
My name is Nick Wolff and I'm originally from Wharton, Texas, which is about 60 miles southwest of Houston. I went to Texas A&M University, where I got my Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry. I've been at UT Southwestern since 1996, and I joined the Brugarolas lab in April 2006. Previously, I worked on mouse models of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), where I tested experimental protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors and in which I studied STAT5 signaling. I look forward to achieving new success with Jim as we unlock the mysteries of REDD1.
Xian-Jin Xie (Jin) - Collaborating Biostatistician
Currently an Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Clinical Sciences and at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, I received a Bachelor's degree (Physiology and Biophysics) from Beijing University in China. Subsequently, I received both a Doctorate degree in biostatistics, as well as a Master's degree in neurobiology, from the University of Iowa. After my training, I stayed at the University of Iowa as an Associate Research Scientist (Project Lead Biostatistician). In June of 2005, I joined the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center. My scientific research interests focus on biostatistic and bioinformatic methodologies and their application to collaborative research projects between biomedical and clinical disciplines.
