Principal Investigator
Jerry Yingtao Zhao
Associate 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
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.
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.
Esther Moshe
Esther a second year med student at NYITCOM. She graduated from NYIT with a BS and am pursuing my MBA at NYIT as well. In her free time she loves to bake sour dough, read, and travel!
Allen Li
Allen Li is a first-year medical student at NYITCOM. He graduated from Hunter College-CUNY with a BA. In the Zhao lab, Allen is involved with immunostaining and imaging, exploring the effects of astrocytes and microglia on traumatic brain injury. In his free time, Allen enjoys watching competitive cooking shows and playing games with friends.
Graduate Student
Amanda Chiu
Amanda is a biomedical science master’s student at New York Institute of Technology. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BS. In the Jerry Zhao lab, Amanda is interested in studying changes in cell death and perineuronal nets during traumatic brain injury scarring and repair. In her free time, Amanda enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling.
Mercedes Coppola
Mercedes is a biomedical science master’s student at New York Institute of Technology. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a BS in Biology. In the Jerry Zhao lab, Mercedes is interested in studying changes in cell death and perineuronal nets during traumatic brain injury scarring and repair. In her free time, Mercedes enjoys baking, scrap booking, and taking yoga classes.
Undergraduate Student
Brianna Han
Brianna Han is a first-year BS/DO student at the New York Institute of Technology. She likes exploring new experiences and learning as much as possible, particularly in neuroscience and cancer research. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing games, and spending time with her dog.
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)
Moontachier Taseen (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2024-2024)
Sohyun Moon (Postdoc, Instructor, 2020-2025)
Nishi Banker (NYIT Undergraduate Student, 2026-2026)
Lisa Cheung (Research Technician, 2024-2026)