Yogesh grew up in a rural village in Jammu & Kashmir in India, and has a multidisciplinary background with his undergraduate in chemical engineering, graduate research in quantitative developmental biology, and postdoctoral training in single-cell biology. Yogesh is excited and committed to building an interdisciplinary, collaborative, vibrant, and supportive team. Outside of research, Yogesh enjoys sports, drawing and engaging in art-science projects, pumpkin spice lattes, and (intuitive) cooking. Here’s Yogesh’s CV, a brief video on his journey, and a podcast on his group’s recent discovery.
Postdocs/Research Scientists
Nitu is a postdoc in the Goyal lab. Her broad research interest is quantitative biology of DNA repair, non-B DNA structures, genome organization and gene expression regulation in single cells. She is born and brought up in Jharkhand, India. Beyond the laboratory, Nitu finds joy in immersing herself in the melodies of music and exploring the world around her, embracing the simple pleasures of wandering and discovery.
Nitu Kumari (she/her)
Postdoctoral Researcher
B.Sc., Biotechnology, Vinoba Bhave University, Jharkhand
M.S., and Ph.D., Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Nathaniel Campbell (he/him)
Postdoctoral Researcher and Dermatology Resident
B.A. and M.S., Chemistry, Brandeis University
Ph.D., Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology, Cornell University/Sloan Kettering Institute
M.D., University of Illinois College of Medicine
Nate is a postdoctoral fellow and Dermatology resident in the Goyal lab. Building on his background in chemistry, nanotechnology, cancer and systems biology, he is interested in the role of cell-cell interaction in melanoma initiation and progression. In his free time, Nate can be found exploring Chicago, riding his bike and trying to find a great cup of coffee.
Ben is a postdoctoral researcher in the Goyal lab. Building on his background in statistical physics and transcriptomics, Ben is broadly interested in rare events in single-cell biophysics, from cancer metastasis to drug resistance. Outside the lab, you can find Ben running, cooking and hanging out with friends by the water when it's nice out.
Yuval is a postdoctoral researcher in the Goyal lab. His background ranges over various fields of physical chemistry: diffusion-NMR, stochastic processes, first-passage problems and chemical kinetics. In the Goyal lab, Yuval is broadly interested in lineage tracing and aims to research cellular fate choices during early development, using tools from synthetic biology. Outside the lab, you can find Yuval composing for his music project UNK, learning languages, and doing sports.
Yuval Scher (he/him)
Postdoctoral Researcher
B.Sc., Chemistry, Tel Aviv University
M.Sc. and Ph.D., Physical Chemistry, Tel Aviv University
Graduate Students
Emmie is a fourth year PhD student in the Goyal lab, hailing originally from Newton, MA, just outside Boston. Her research interests include how single cell heterogeneity drives disease progression, and using and building new technologies. Other passions include books, fencing and other sports, and bringing people together over food.
Emanuelle Grody (she/her)
PhD student | Driskill Graduate Program | SynBAS NRT Fellow
B.S. Molecular Cellular & Developmental Biology, University of Michigan
Madeline Melzer (she/her)
PhD student | Driskill Graduate Program | Ryan Fellow
B.S., Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Madeline is a third year PhD student in the Goyal lab. She is a Chicago native and has a background in biochemistry and analytical chemistry. Madeline is broadly interested in what makes a cell good (or bad) at adapting to change. Outside of the lab, you can find her at one of the city’s beaches biking, playing volleyball, and hammocking, or at home cooking and watercolor painting.
Aurelia is a second-year PhD student in the Goyal lab, who grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is interested in genetic engineering, stem cell engineering and understanding implications of DNA specificity towards emergent diseases and immunity. She is a coffee-enthusiast who enjoys watching, drawing and reading books on top of being a soccer fan!
Aurelia Leona (she/her)
PhD student | Chemical and Biological Engineering
B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Boston University
Gillian is a first year PhD student in the Goyal lab, originally from Trumbull, CT. She is interested in developmental biology and regenerative engineering. She aims to research what factors influence stem cell fate within the tissue/3D space. She is a huge animal lover, loves skiing, and being outdoors!
Gillian Primavera (she/her)
PhD student | Biomedical Engineering
B.S.E., Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan
Masters Students
Cherlyn is a MBP student in the Goyal lab. She is from Kalasin, Thailand. She was awarded the Royal Thai Government Scholarship, which brought her to the U.S. in 2018 to pursue her academic dreams. With a background in biology, she is driven to explore synthetic biology, single-cell biology, and cancer biology to enhance cancer treatment paradigms. Outside of the lab, Cherlyn enjoys playing pickleball and catching up on the latest movie releases.
Pornchanan Pholraksa (she/her)
Masters Thesis Student | Biotechnology
B.S., Biology, Indiana University Indianapolis
Leon is a master’s student in bioinformatics in the Goyal Lab. He was born and raised in Munich, Germany. Previous studies on nuclear reprogramming of somatic cells, particularly using single-cell sequencing, prompted him to join the Goyal Lab. He would be excited to continue his academic journey with a Ph.D. after the master’s program. When he's not in the lab, he enjoys traveling with friends, engaging in outdoor sports, and playing the piano.
Leon Schwartz (he/him)
Masters Thesis Student | Bioinformatics
B.S., Bioinformatics, Technical University of Munich/ Ludwigs-Maximilian-University, Munich
Research Scholars
Syeda S Ahmed (she/her)
Research Scholar
B.S., Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics, Illinois Institute of Technology
M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago
Subia is a native of the Chicago suburbs. Her previous experience includes protein purification and microfluidics. In the Goyal lab, she is diving into cancer biology to understand cell state-fate transitions and assists with managing the lab. Outside of the lab, she enjoys food, mystery and fantasy series, listening to podcasts, and exploring new places. She's also passionate about equity in STEM education and taught math in underserved communities.
Keerthana is from Bangalore, India and frequently spends her energy extolling its many virtues. She is interested in understanding information processing in a biological context and how physical theories can provide a deeper insight. Besides work, she can be often found immersed in a book on the sofa or furiously playing Scrabble online. She is also interested in exploring bookshops and museums in the remaining time.
Keerthana M Arun (she/her)
Research Scholar
B.S., Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Ida grew up in Bonn, Germany, and pursued her multidisciplinary studies in engineering and mathematics in Munich and Eindhoven, Netherlands. Ever since joining Helmholtz Munich in 2023, she has been immersed in the field of computational biology. She is currently visiting the Goyal lab to research gene regulatory networks. Beyond academia, Ida is a sports, music and movie enthusiast who loves spending time outdoors and enjoys lively conversations with friends over good food.
Ida Büschel (she/her)
Visiting Research Scholar (Jointly with Carsten Marr)
B.Sc. Engineering Science, Technical University of Munich
M.Sc. Mathematics, Technical University of Munich
Hanxiao joined Goyal Lab as a MBP student and continues her work post-graduation. Originally from Wuxi, China, she embarked on her undergraduate journey in the United States in 2018. Her research interests revolve around investigating the response of cancer cells to drug treatments and exploring the realm of single cell. She envisions pursuing a Ph.D. to further delve into her academic pursuits. Outside the lab, she finds joy in traveling and experiencing diverse cultures, cooking, reading, and engaging in deep conversations.
Hanxiao Sun (she/her)
Research Scholar
B.S., Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles
M.S., Biotechnology, Northwestern University
Undergraduate/High School Students
Rohan is an undergraduate student at Northwestern University originally from Lufkin, TX. He enjoys exploring mathematics and biology and hopes to pursue a career as a physician scientist. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing basketball, watching new movies and TV shows, and exploring Chicago restaurants.
Rohan Sohini (he/him)
Undergraduate Student | DeFeo Family Fellow
B.S. Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University
Ryan is an undergraduate student at Northwestern University. He is from Manhattan Beach, CA. He is interested in mathematics, machine learning, and molecular biology. In addition to research, he loves playing sports, spending time outdoors, eating with friends, and hanging out with his dog.
Ryan Bui (he/him)
Undergraduate Student
Northwestern University
Alexander Sorescu (he/him)
High School Researcher
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Alex is from the Chicago Suburbs and attends a boarding school which is also situated in the Chicago Suburbs. His areas of interest are computer programming and image analysis. Outside of the lab, he watches a lot of soccer as he is a huge Tottenham Hotspur supporter. He also enjoys playing soccer with his friends outside of school.
Friends of the Lab
Ian is a research-track Clinical Pathology resident at Columbia, and he works with the Goyal lab as a collaborator and consultant. He is originally from the suburbs of NYC. He has a background in genetics, cellular reprogramming, applied math, and statistics, and is developing new areas of interest in postdoctoral work at Columbia. In addition to research and medicine, Ian enjoys cooking, learning languages, traveling, and bantering (often with Yogesh).
Ian Mellis (he/him)
Lab Friend + Collaborator (currently a resident at Columbia)
M.D., Ph.D., Genomics and Computational Biology, University of Pennsylvania
B.A., Mathematics and Interdisciplinary, Amherst College
Danielle is an MD/PhD trainee in the Arispe Lab who frequently crashes Goyal lab meetings and journal clubs. She is originally from the Bay Area and grew up in Shanghai, China. She currently works on organ growth and cell proliferation in the vascular system, but is always looking for new topics to tickle her brain. Outside of lab Danielle enjoys writing, traveling, and making bad jokes.
Danielle Pi (she/her)
MD/PhD student, Northwestern University
B.A., English, Biology, University of Pennsylvania
We are Hiring!
Our interdisciplinary and inclusive research program welcomes artists, biologists, chemists, clinicians, computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and physicists to come work with us! Please check the Contact page for current openings.
If you would like to know about Yogesh’s mentorship and first-hand experiences of his past mentees, Yogesh is happy to connect you with them (both undergraduate and graduate mentees). Please email Yogesh expressing interest in speaking with his current and past mentees.
Lab Alumni
Postdocs
Sayantan Dutta, PhD
Short-term Postdoc (2024)
Subsequent Position: Assistant Professor, IIT Bombay
Graduate Students
Jonas Braun
Masters Thesis (Mathematics), TU Munich (2023)
Subsequent Position: PhD Student, Princeton University
Tito Chai
Masters Thesis (Reproductive Science), Northwestern University (2024)
Subsequent Position: Embryologist, CNY fertility
Undergraduate
Julia Jiminez
Undergraduate (SynBio REU), Elmhurst University (2022)
Subsequent Position: Rotational Scientist, Genentech
Emilia Hojel
Undergraduate (2022-23)
Subsequent Position: Undergraduate, Northwestern University
Sharon Choi
Undergraduate (2022-24)
Subsequent Position: Undergraduate, Northwestern University
Sofia White
Undergraduate (ACS SROP) (2023)
Subsequent Position: Undergraduate, Harvard University
Naima Akhter
Undergraduate (PGTP SROP), Hamilton College (2023)
Subsequent Position: Postbac, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Abdurrahman Waajid
Undergraduate (SynBio REU) (2023)
Subsequent Position: Undergraduate, University of Chicago
Linda Wang
Undergraduate (SynBio REU) (2024)
Subsequent Position: Undergraduate, University of Washington