People

Nadya Dimitrova

Associate Professor of MCDB and Genetics

B.S. Brown University

Ph.D. The Rockefeller University

Nadya graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from Brown University and received a Ph.D. from Rockefeller University. As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Tyler Jacks at MIT, she pioneered the development of genetic mouse models to study long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer biology. Nadya is the recipient of the HHMI Predoctoral Fellowship, the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, the Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, the 2016 Lung Cancer Research Foundation Scientific Merit Award, the 2017 Pew-Stewart Award for Cancer Research, the NIH Merit Award, and the 2020 Lion Heart Award.

Nadya enjoys working at the bench and interacting closely with members of the lab. Our work is driven by deep curiosity about the biological functions and diverse mechanisms of lncRNAs and aims to develop innovative approaches that would help uncover their mysteries. Our ultimate goal is to help elucidate the contribution of lncRNAs to normal homeostasis and in complex disease states, such as cancer.

At Yale College, Nadya teaches MCDB3250: Molecular Hallmarks of Cancer and co-teaches in MCDB3500: Epigenetics. Outside of the lab and classroom, Nadya loves to spend time with her family. Her favorite activities are running and hiking.

Lab Manager

Justin Glynn, MSA

justin.glynn@yale.edu

Justin makes sure that the lab runs smoothly. He loves to ruck and bake deserts for lab meetings!

Postdoctoral Associates

Yeolhoe Kim

Ph.D. Department of Systems Biology, Yonsei University, South Korea

yeolhoe.kim@yale.edu

Yeolhoe loves sports, especially basketball - watching it and playing it. He also likes to go for a jog and, more than anything, spend time with his wife and son.

Dakarai Esgdaille

Ph.D. University of Rochester, NY

Dakarai will be joining the lab in November. His scientific interests broadly include RNA-based regulation of gene expression as it relates to development and disease as well as the impacts of mutations and genetic variations in the noncoding genome. Outside of the lab, Dakarai loves to watch basketball (Let’s go Celtics) and foodball (Go Bills!) and is an avid reader of books covering understudied parts in the history of science.

Postgraduate Associates

Deep Patel

B.S. Indian University of Techology Jodhpur, India

M.S. Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics, Yale Univesity

deep.patel@yale.edu

Deep is a bioinformatics wizard who also wants to become an expert in experimental biology. He loves all noncoding RNAs and hopes to understand their roles in gene regulation. Beside work, he loves to cook food and enjoys playing Badmington with friends.

Alex Kruzel

B.S. Biochemistry University of Washington, WA

alex.kruzel@yale.edu

Alex is studying how dysregulation of long noncoding RNAs promotes cancer development and has the superpower to make experiments work from first try. She is planning to go to graduate school. She loves to hike and has recently discovered the joys of running and enjoying freshly baked scones!

Undergraduate Students

Justin Fan, class of 2028

justin.fan@yale.edu

Justin is fascinated by the curious biology of extrachromosomal DNA circles in cancer. His project investigates the roles of long noncoding RNAs expressed from extrachromosomal DNAs. Outside of lab and classes, Justin likes to spend time with friends, play sports and cook amazing food.

Alex Vakov, class of 2029

alexander.vakov@yale.edu

Alex enjoys learning about the intricacies of cellular life, and he particularly loves exploring the roles that long noncoding RNAs play in gene regulation. In his free time, he enjoyes playing oboe with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, being a campus tour guide, and workign as a writing partner at the Poorvu Center.