Rahme Lab: People & Trainees | Renaissance School of Medicine

The Rahme Lab Team
	Gilbert J. Rahme, PhD Principal Investigator Gilbert was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. After a Bachelor's degree at the Lebanese University, and a Master's degree in Science at the American University of Beirut, Gilbert joined Mark Israel's lab at Dartmouth for his PhD. focusing on signaling pathways that underly brain tumor pathology. He then joined Bradley Bernstein's lab at Harvard Medical School for his postdoctoral research, focusing on brain tumor epigenetics. During his free time, Gilbert loves to spend time with his wife and two daughters, playing the guitar and enjoying the wonderful beaches the Long Island area offers.
	Bayan Razzaq, MD Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Neurosurgery Resident Bayan is a PGY5 neurosurgery resident and is excited to do a research fellowship in the Rahme Laboratory focusing on epigenetic heterogeneity and plasticity in brain tumors. He spends his time split between the clinic and the laboratory, and he is very excited to leverage cutting edge epigenome profiling methods for his postdoctoral studies.
	Alexander Rhee, BS Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology PhD student After graduating with a Biochemistry degree at Stony Brook University, Alex spent several years exploring diverse research interests. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Alex worked as a technician in Dr. Ed Luk's laboratory studying histone variants in yeast and protein-protein interactions between SOX2 and β-catenin. He then joined Dr. Raphael Lis' group at Weill Cornell Medicine where he focused on neurovascular biology and the development of pluripotent stem cell-derived blood-brain barrier models. Alex is excited to start a new chapter in his scientific journey in the Rahme Lab working on epigenetics.
	Stilianos Papazahariou, BS Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology PhD student Stilianos is Greek-American and grew up in Queens, New York. He graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology and is very excited to join the Rahme Lab as a PhD Graduate student after a two-year Research Support Specialist at the Rahme Lab. Stilianos focuses his studies on brain tumor epigenetics. During his free time, he likes to be with his friends and family, play guitar and sing.
	Sally Park, BS Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology PhD student Sally graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biotechnology from Ghent University. During her internship and Bachelor's thesis at Dr. Magdalena Radwanska's Biomedical Research Center, she studied splenic B-cell responses to Trypanosoma brucei brucei infections. Her research interests later expanded to cancer biology, leading her to join the Rahme Lab. She is excited to work in the lab on identifying molecular drivers of gliomas.
	Wen Yi See, BS Genetics PhD student Wen Yi graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology. Before pursuing her doctoral studies in the Rahme lab, she worked as a research technician in Dr. Alison Goate's laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, investigating the effects of Alzheimer's Disease risk variants in myeloid cells. Transitioning from neuroimmunology, Wen Yi is excited to delve into her interests in epigenetics and cancer biology in the Rahme lab.
	Arun Krishnaraj, BS, MS Genetics MD/PhD student (MST program) Arun earned his bachelor's degrees in mathematics and computational biology from the University of Texas. During his Master's in Bioinformatics at Georgetown University, he worked with Dr. Sreejith Nair on transcriptional regulation and the off-target effects of platinum chemotherapeutics in cancer. As an MSTP trainee, he is excited to study the epigenetic drivers of brain tumors in the Rahme Lab.
	Christian Jefferson, Undergraduate Christian, a freshman undergraduate at Stony Brook University, was born and raised in Maryland. He plans to graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and is excited to study cancer epigenetics in the Rahme Lab. When he is not working hard on the bench, Christian likes to read, spend time with his friends and explore different genres of music.
	Aviya Boyce, Undergraduate Aviya is a Caribbean-American freshman student pursuing her Bachelor's of Science in Biology and Psychology at Stony Brook University. She is very grateful to be studying cancer epigenetics in the Rahme Lab. In her free time, Aviya likes to dance, learn new songs on the piano, socialize with family and friends, and travel.
	Summer Robinson, Undergraduate Summer is a freshman undergraduate pre-med student at Stony Brook University. She is excited to study how epigenetic changes fuel malignant programs in brain tumors. During her free time, Summer likes to spend time with her friends, family and cats.
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Alumni
Former Graduate Students:
	Jina Yim, BS, MS Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology MS Student Current Position: Research Technician, Dr. Toni K. Choueiri's Laboratory, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
	Sikder Rabbi (Nahid), BS, MS Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology MS Student Current Position: Diagnostic Specialist, Northwell Health.
	Yuqianxun (Harriet) Wu, BS, MS Genetics MS Student Current Position: Pending
	Anuj Raghani, BS Computer Science MS Student Current Position: Pending
Former Undergraduate Students:
	Tammy Ruan, BS Current Position: Actively applying to MD programs.
	Diana (Zirui) Shao, BS Current Position: DMD student at Harvard University.
	Afwan Mahmood, BS (with honors) Current Position: Actively applying to MD programs.
	Yerona (Yerong) Lin, BS Current Position: PharmD student, Ohio State University
	Eiki Shido, BS Current Position: Actively applying to DMD programs.
Former Visiting Undergraduate and High School Students:
	Laura O'Sullivan Visiting Undergraduate from the University of Pennsylvania, Summer 2024 Current Position: Undergraduate Researcher, Drs. Donald O'Rourke and Zev Binder's Laboratory, Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania and Undergraduate class of 2026, The University of Pennsylvania.
	Caitlin Werner, High School Student A student from Kings Park High School, Caitlin is excited to study how epigenetic changes drive malignancy in IDH-mutant gliomas using mouse models. During her free time, Caitlin enjoys spending time with her family and playing softball.
	Suyeon "Emily" Ryu Visiting High School Student, Summer 2024 Current Position: Industrial Engineering student at Purdue University.
	Madeline McCullough Visiting High School Student, Summer 2024 Current Position: Class of 2026, Smithtown East High School.