Constantinos (Costas) Koumenis, PhD
Richard H. Chamberlain Professor, Vice Chair and Director of Radiation Oncology Research, & Lab PI
Costas was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He received his B.S degree in Pharmacy from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and his Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Houston, TX. He completed postdoctoral training in Radiation and Tumor Biology at Stanford University. He arrived at Penn in 2006 and he is currently an Endowed Professor and Director of the Research Division in the Dept. of Radiation Oncology. He is currently the principal investigator on multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health. Costas has mentored many undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, some of who hold faculty positions in academia or senior scientist positions in industry. From 2009 to 2018 he served as co-Leader of the Radiobiology & Imagin Program and from 2018-2022, as the Associate Director for Translational Research of the Abramson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Costas loves sailing (especially in the Agean sea), and playing traditional Greek music on his bouzouki with his fellow amateur bandmates.
Nektaria M. Leli, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Nektaria was born and raised in Keratea, Greece. In 2013 she graduated from the Democritus University of Thrace with a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics. She got an M.Sc. in Molecular Medicine from the School of Medicine of the National & Kapodistrian University (NKUA) and the Biomedical Research Foundation Academy of Athens (BRFAA). She joined Dr. Koumenis group in 2016 as a graduate student and obtained a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Ioannina in 2019. Currently she is working as a postdoctoral researcher studying the role of the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) in cancer utilizing genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9-based functional knock out screens. She is also using High Throughput Screening (HTS) approaches for the identification of ATF4 small molecule inhibitors. Nektaria likes running, hiking, history documentaries and exploring her linguaphile and epicurean aspirations.
Anastasia joined Dr. Koumenis's lab in 2019. Her research interests focus on the investigation of the protective properties of FLASH radiotherapy on various models of normal tissue and the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms. Anastasia received her B.Sc. (with a recognized integrated M.Sc.) in 2008, from the Department of Biological Applications and Technology of the University of Ioannina in Greece. She also received her Ph.D. in Experimental Physiology, in 2013, from the School of Medicine of the same University. Anastasia loves traveling, reading, and gardening.
Priyanka Chowdhury, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Priyanka was born and raised in India. She did her BSc. and MSc. in Microbiology from University of Calcutta and West Bengal State University respectively. She completed her Ph.D. in 2021 from University of Kalyani, India in a collaborative project entitled “Regulation of metastasis by PARP-1 in human cancer cells in absence and presence of high LET and low LET radiation”. She did her high LET research work on carbon ion radiation therapy in the Radiation Biology department of Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC, New Delhi, India) and her low LET research work was conducted in Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, India. She joined Dr. Koumenis group in 2021 as a Postdoctoral Researcher. Her research interest focus on delineating the mechanisms behind the ability of Ultra-High Dose Rate (FLASH) Radiation to spare normal GI tissues and to perform preclinical studies on different fractionation schemes and dose rates of FLASH Proton radiotherapy using cell line and animal models. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and dancing. Being a travel freak, Priyanka is always in search of new travel destinations.
Frank received his undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. Since 2012 he works in in vivo modeling and laboratory compliance. Starting his career in Diabetes, Obesity, and Kidney research, also at UPenn, he has since worked on studying metastatic cancer in mouse models. In 2017 he completed ULAR's Animal Research Coordinator program. Outside of the lab, Frank enjoys reading Science Fiction and gaming.
Frank Chingha
Research Specialist & Lab Manager
George Morcos
Undergraduate Student Researcher
George Morcos is an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in molecular & cell biology with minors in classical studies and nutrition. After graduation in 2024, he plans to pursue medical school and a physician-scientist career path. Since joining the lab, George has been primarily focused on the lab’s efforts to examine and characterize the FLASH tissue sparring effect in various preclinical models. After briefly examining the radiation induced heart-disease, George has now focused on the FLASH effect in head and neck cancer (with a particular focus on salivary glands). Outside of lab, George is a University scholar, Marks Family Writing Center Fellow, a college advising fellow at Matriculate, and the undergraduate leader of United Community Clinic’s hypertension and heart disease arm: heart health bridge to care. In his free time, he enjoys running, working out, and spending time with family and friends.
Uri Amit MD, PhD
Visiting Professor
Uri was born in Hatzerim Airbase and grew up in the Negev in southern Israel. He studied medicine at Ben-Gurion University and pursued a Ph.D. in Physiology and Immunology at Tel-Aviv University. After completing the program, he began a residency in Radiation Oncology and performed translational research in Radiation Immunology at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center.
After completing his residency, he joined the Radiation Oncology Department at the Tel Aviv Medical Center as a physician-scientist focused on treating Gastrointestinal and Pediatric cancer patients. In 2022 he flew with his family to Philadelphia for a fellowship in proton therapy and radiation biology research at the Koumenis Lab at the Abramson Cancer Center. Uri is interested in dissecting the radioprotective mechanisms of FLASH proton therapy in models of gastrointestinal toxicity. During his free time, he enjoys exploring the trails in the area with his wife and three kids, drinking a lot of coffee, and watching bizarre European movies.
Hengxi (Miko) Liu
Research Assitant
Miko is currently a first-year master student in biotechnology. She received her B.S. in biology from University of Washington. She is interested in cancer study. In the lab, she is helping identify small molecular inhibitors of ISR. Outside the lab, she spends her time tutoring high school students, helping Chinese to English translation, volunteering in hospitals. In her free time, she enjoys learning languages, dancing, eating and traveling.
Shawnaleh Cada
Reasearch Specialist
Shawnaleh Cada was born in the Philippines and migrated to the US in elementary school. Recently she graduated from Juniata College. During her time at Juniata College, Shawnaleh majored in Biology to pursue a career in medicine. There she found her passion for microbiology, and worked as the Medical Microbiology TA for two years. She was notably involved in many activities in Juniata, such as being a research member at Wright Labs where she investigated the gut microbiome’s effects on different types of diseases. Furthermore, in hopes of championing student interest she held the position of president for Health Professions Organization, and served as an administration facing Senator for Student Government. While working in the Koumenis Lab, Shawnaleh hopes to continue to grow as a researcher and find her calling in the field of biotechnology. She is dedicated to learning from her seniors about FLASH RT and the PERK pathway. In her free time Shawnaleh has taken up gardening, puzzles, and fulfilling her travel bucket list.
