Mengyao Xu, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Oladapo Yeku, MD, PhD, FACP, received her PhD in 2022 in oncology from the Nankai University School of Medicine in China, where during her doctoral studies she focused on the identification of highly metastatic human ovarian cancer genes via CRISPR-Cas9 screenings. Her current research program in the VCRB aims to develop new immune-based target therapies against ovarian cancer. She is working on validating the targeting effect by using MUC16-based ADC, BiTEs, CAR-T alone or in combination with other immunomodulatory agents in vitro and in vivo and evaluating their mechanisms of action in ovarian cancer.

Faculty Mentor
Oladapo Yeku, MD, PhD, FACP, Associate Scientist, VCRB

Career Path
PhD: Nankai University School of Medicine, China, 2022
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, 2022–present

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Peichao Chen, PhD, in the lab of Cheng Wang, PhD, is studying microbial infections ― particularly the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis ― that promote high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Arising mostly from epithelia of the ovary and fallopian tube, this cancer comprises the majority of ovarian cancer cases and has the lowest survival rate. He is leading a new study examining how C. trachomatis transforms ovarian and fallopian tube epithelial cells, aiming to prevent this deadly disease or stop its progression in early stages.

Faculty Mentor
Cheng Wang, PhD, Investigator, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology

Career Path
PhD: Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China, 2012
Assistant Researcher: Tongji University, Shanghai, China, 2012–2013
Assistant Professor: Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China, 2013–2017
Associate Professor: Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 2017–present
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, 2019–present

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Sezen Kislal, PhD, with Andrea Edlow, MD, is investigating how exposure to maternal obesity and a high-fat diet in utero can negatively affect the brain development of offspring in a sex-specific fashion and how this affects behavior. She is studying the placenta-brain connection, the relationship between maternal inflammation and the fetal innate immune response, and how the offspring’s sex can affect metabolic programming in maternal obesity, with the goal of finding ways to ameliorate deleterious changes.

Faculty Mentor
Andrea Edlow, MD, MSc, Investigator, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology

Career Path
PhD:  Pennsylvania State University, 2015
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:  Stanford University, 2015–2017
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:  Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, 2019–present

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Xiangmin Lv, PhD, in the Wang Lab, is investigating key molecular pathways — particularly the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway — that initiate and promote the development of the most deadly type of ovarian cancer and the most prevalent uterine-cervical cancer. Combining cutting-edge molecular biology, cell and organoid culture, and animal models, he focuses not only on the tumor cell itself but also the interactions between cancer cells and immune cells, with the aim of finding novel targets to cure women’s gynecologic cancers.

Faculty Mentor
Cheng Wang, PhD, Investigator, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology

Career Path
PhD:  University of Nebraska Medical Center, 2017
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:  Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, 2017–present

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Unnati Pandya, PhD, with Bo Rueda, PhD, is focusing on endometrial cancer, the most prevalent gynecologic cancer in the United States. She is investigating the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS), which controls normal protein degradation including that of cell-cycle checkpoint proteins, to ensure regulated cell turnover. In the uterus, an imbalance of UPS proteins can lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation and cancer. She is testing the efficacy of novel small molecule inhibitors that disrupt specific actions of the UPS machinery, with the goal of developing new therapeutics.

Faculty Mentors
Bo Rueda, PhD, Director, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology
Whitfield Growdon, MD, Investigator, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology

Career Path
PhD: Cleveland State University, 2014
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: New York University School of Medicine, 2014–2017
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, 2017–present

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Laura Yockey, MD, PhD, in the lab of Caroline Mitchell, MD, is studying the vaginal microbiome, a community of organisms found in the vagina. She is focusing on bacterial vaginosis, a disorder involving disruptions in the microbiome associated with discomfort and poor reproductive outcomes. Available treatments have low success rates, resulting in high rates of recurrence. The lab recently initiated an FDA-approved trial for a novel treatment — a vaginal microbiome transplant — with the hope of developing an effective long-term solution.

Faculty Mentors
Caroline Mitchell, MD, MPH, Investigator, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology
Andrea Edlow, PhD, Investigator, Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology

Career Path
MD/PhD: Immunobiology, Yale University, 2012–2019
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, 2019–2020
Internal Medicine Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital, Stanbury Physician Scientist Pathway, 2020–2022

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