Our Team

Danfeng Cai, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Cai is interested in studying how chromatin organization and transcription can be influenced by biomoleuclar condensates. As a Principal Investigator of the Cai Lab, Dr. Cai will use advanced imaging techniques to study how cells remodel their regulatory DNA landscape to turn on transcription.

Choon Leng So, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Choon completed her B.Sc.(Pharmacy)(Hons) at the National University of Singapore and her Ph.D. at the University of Queensland. Her Ph.D. research focused on assessing the intersection between calcium signaling, matrix stiffness and morphological changes in the context of breast cancer. Intrigued by some interesting observations she made during her Ph.D. on transcription factors and coactivator proteins, she joined the Cai lab to explore them further.

Songtao Ye, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Songtao completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the Pennsylvania State University focusing on understanding the bimolecular condensates from biophysical perspectives. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Cai Lab, Songtao is interested in the physiological and pathological functions of membrane-less organelles. We he is not in the lab, Songtao enjoys traveling around, watching Netflix and spending time with his family.

Ye Jin (Jane) Lee

PhD Student (BMB)

Jane completed her B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Colby College in Maine. During college, she studied sexual dimorphism in insects and morphological variance in bumblebees. Now for her Ph.D., she is interested in studying the mechanism underlying condensate driven cancers.

Ethan Black

PhD Student (BMB, Joint with Ashani Weeraratna lab)

Ethan completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at Rutgers and is excited to continue his career in research here at Johns Hopkins. Ethan is interested in research involving age-related disease and discovering new candidates for therapeutic targeting. When he’s not in the lab, you can find him taking care of his houseplants or trying new blends of tea.

Yiran (Erin) Wang

PhD Student (BMB)

Yiran completed her B.S. in Biochemistry at UC Davis and her M.S. at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She found her enthusiasm in researching fundamental biology. During her master, she searched for small molecules that facilitate pathogenic metal uptake during fungal infection. Intrigued by the diversity of cellular responses to stress, she is now interested in studying the regulatory mechanisms that enable the dynamics of subcellular compartments.

Eleanor Liu

PhD Student (BMB)

Eleanor completed her B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Southern California. During her undergraduate degree, she studied the molecular mechanisms underlying the neurotrophic effects of exercise during brain aging. In the Cai Lab, she is interested in dissecting the molecular and biophysical properties of condensates and their physiological consequences. Outside of the lab, she enjoys baking, running, and playing tennis.

Lars Deutz

MD-PhD Student (Rotation)

Lars completed his B.S. in Neuroscience Honors at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied cell polarity in early embryos using novel single-cell, single-molecule biochemistry techniques. Lars is currently pursuing a dual MD-PhD degree through Hopkins' Medical Scientist Training Program. Broadly, he is interested in using advanced microscopy approaches to study cellular processes that contribute to cancer metastasis. Outside of the lab, Lars enjoys playing soccer and jazz piano.

Alumni

  • Binglin Huang, ScM student

  • Hannah Fuehrer, MHS student (Now: PhD student at JHU)

  • Siyuan Hao, ScM student (Now: PhD student at UTSW)

  • Jindayi Liang, ScM student (Now: PhD student at Caltech)

  • Yihuan Li, ScM student (Now: PhD student UIUC)

  • Emily DeSuosa, JHU master student (Now: Research associate II at General Proximity)

  • Yuanjie Lin, JHU master student

  • Janelle Bellot, post-bacc (Now: PhD student at Dartmouth)

  • Britney He, undergraduate student (Now: PhD student at Scripps Research)

  • Alex Lee, undergraduate student

  • Nadav Benhamou Goldfajn, undergraduate student (Now: PhD student at University of Chicago)

  • Justin Demmerle, postdoctoral fellow

  • Manasi Datar, research specialist