Members

Principal Investigator

Jerry Yingtao Zhao
Assistant Professor
yzhao47@nyit.edu

BS, Economics, Nanjing University (2005)
PhD, Bioinformatics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2010)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Brain disorders, University of Pennsylvania

Jerry was an undergraduate at Nanjing University, where he worked on models of economic growth. He was inspired by the Human Genome Project and moved to Beijing in 2005 to pursue his PhD in Bioinformatics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. There, he worked with Dr. Xiu-Jie Wang developing computational methods to characterize non-coding RNAs. In September 2011, Jerry joined Joe Zhou’s lab at the University of Pennsylvania, where he investigated the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the etiology of Rett syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Jerry started his independent career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at NYIT in July 2019.

Research Scientist

Sohyun Moon
Instructor
smoon01@nyit.edu

BS, Daegu Hanni University, South Korea (2011)
PhD, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea (2016)

Sohyun got her PhD in molecular biotechnology from Konkuk University, South Korea. After graduation, she worked as a research professor at the Dongguk University and as a postdoc at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB). Before joining NYIT, Sohyun was a postdoc at the SUNY downstate medical center studying ECM proteins, angiogenesis, and neovascular diseases. In the Jerry Zhao Lab, Sohyun is interested in integrating mouse genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics approaches to study the role of long genes in the brain.

Hiu Ham (Ada) Lee
Senior Research Associate
hlee37@nyit.edu

BS, Long Island University (2013)
MS, Long Island University (2015)

Ada received her master’s degree in medical biology at LIU-post 2015. She joined NYCOM 2014 as research technician. She had work in multiple labs since then. She always passion in research working with student. In the lab, Ada is responsible for animal studies and support lab members. In her free time, she like to spend time with her family and she’s a good chef.

Lisa Cheung
Research Assistant
lcheun03@nyit.edu

BS, Washington University in St. Louis (2024)

Lisa received her bachelor’s degree in biology and anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis as a Pre-med student. Having graduated from WashU in May of 2024, she is pursuing research at the Jerry Zhao lab for her gap years before attending medical school! In the lab, Lisa’s responsibilities as a research assistant include but are not limited to mouse line genotyping, cell culture work, animal care, assistance in experimental procedures and supporting her fellow lab members. Lisa is an aspiring physician and hopes to continue conducting innovative research in the future. In her free time, she enjoys working out, working with individuals with Down’s syndrome, and trying new restaurants.

Medical School Student

Rebecca Yusupov
Rebecca is a first-year medical school student at New York Institute of Technology. In the Jerry Zhao lab, Rebecca is interested in studying the role of long genes in the expression of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. In her free time, she enjoys hobbies such as painting, cooking, and baking.

Undergraduate Student

Moontachier Taseen

Alumni

Austin Meadows (Research Technician, 2020)

Yura Kim (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2020-2020)

Mariam Naghavi (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2020-2020)

Matan Kadosh (NYITCOM Medical School Student, 2020-2021)

Brian Tang (NYITCOM Medical School Student, 2020-2021)

Saqib Chariwala (NYITCOM Medical School Scholar, 2021)

Ali Mian (NYIT Graduate Student, 2021-2022)

Samantha Mota (Research Technician, 2021-2022)

Sana Naeem (NYITCOM Medical School Student, 2022-2022)

Mansi Patel (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2020-2022)

Christina Gonzalez (Research Technician, 2023-2023)

Mahima Parappurath (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2022-2023)

Zainab Mubasher (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2022-2023)

Tiffany Tran (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2023-2023)

Rianna Pannikodu (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2023-2023)

Laiba Ahmed (NYITCOM Medical School Student, 2023-2024)