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People
Olivia Corradin
Dr. Corradin was appointed as an assistant professor at MIT Department of Biology in July 2021. She is also a member at Whitehead Institute, which she first joined as a Whitehead Fellow in July 2016. The Whitehead Fellows program offers young investigators the opportunity to commence their own independent research program shortly after completing graduate work. Olivia graduated with a B.S. in biochemistry from Marquette University and completed her PhD under the mentorship of Dr. Peter Scacheri at Case Western Reserve University in 2015. Dr. Corradin was awarded the Avenir award, part of the NIH Director’s Pioneer Awards, to continue her studies of substance abuse disorders. Outside of the lab, Olivia is most likely to be found at a local dance studio continuing her love of ballet and contemporary dance.
Contact: corradin@wi.mit.edu
Wenjuan Du
Wen got her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University where she studied quorum sensing in Vibrio cholerae. She joined the lab in 2021 and is studying the role of glial cells in neurolopsychiatric disorders using genetic analysis and Perturb-seq. In her spare time, she enjoys doing puzzles and hiking. Wen is also a plant mom.
Contact: wdu9@mit.edu
Yasmine Sami
Yasmine is a PhD student in the department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, and she joined the Corradin lab in 2022. They got their undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Psychology from Boston University, where she studied Alcohol Use Disorder through rodent models. Yasmine has an interest in neuropsychiatric diseases, particularly Substance Use Disorders, and they are currently researching the epigenetic effects of opioid exposure. Outside of the lab, she enjoys hiking, running, and reading.
Contact: yns@wi.mit.edu
Hannah Ramcharan
Hannah Ramcharan completed her bachelor's Degree in Bioinformatics with a minor in computer science at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She is interested in making discoveries about the human genome that can help to understand human disease. Using data from ChIP-Seq and Genome Wide Association Studies, she aims to understand how non-coding regions of the genome, such as enhancers, are involved with regulating genes that affect disease. In her free time, she enjoys observing nature's beauty while running and hiking!
Contact: hkramcha@wi.mit.edu
Pavana Rotti
Pavana Rotti is a Postdoctoral Associate who joined the lab in January 2023. Pavana completed her Masters and PhD at the University of Iowa. During her Masters, Pavana worked on optimizing differentiation of iPSCs to insulin producing cells in 3D organoids. For her PhD, she studied epigenomic modifications in pancreatic ductal cells that impacted cell autonomous response to loss of a bicarbonate transporter, CFTR. In doing so she was able to characterize a transient glycemic recovery period as cystic fibrosis related remodeling in the pancreas progressed. Currently, she is working on developing high throughput methods to systematically understand the impact of epigenomic alterations on cellular mechanisms specifically in opioid use disorders.
Contact: protti@wi.mit.edu
Chidera Okeke
Chidera is an international student from Nigeria. She got her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Fisk University. She is currently a 2nd year graduate student in MIT's biology department. She joined the lab in 2023 and is studying gene regulation dynamics in the brain using Chip-seq and Hi-C data analysis. Her scientific interests include epigenetics, cancer, and immunology. Her interests outside of work include traveling, reading, watching Korean dramas, shopping, and brunch.
Contact: chidera@wi.mit.edu
Xochitl Luna
Xochitl is a PhD student in Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) who joined the lab in 2023. Previously, she graduated from MIT with a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry, where she studied the effect of Alzheimer's Disease genetic variants on neuron-microglia interactions. Now, she hopes to interrogate the role of enhancers in microglia in Multiple Sclerosis. Besides her passion for all things microglia and iPS, Xochi loves dancing, singing, and teaching science.
Contact: xochitl@wi.mit.edu
Yike Huang
Yike completed her PhD in Biomedical Genetics at Hubrecht Institute (NL) early 2024. She studied the principles underlying cohesin loop extrusion and enhancer function. Yike Joined the lab June 2024, hoping to understand the role of early life adversity in individual susceptibility to opioid use disorder. Beyond science, Yike enjoys hot yoga, semi-actively pursing teaching certificate. She also likes bouldering, and can be found hiking or surfing.
Contact: y.huang@wi.mit.edu
Chesna Apere
Chesna completed her undergraduate degree in Molecular Genetics with a minor in Computational Biology at the University of Rochester. She joined the lab in June 2024 as a PhD student from MIT's Biology Department. Chesna aims to study the genetic aspects of Opioid Use Disorder by conducting Perturb-seq in medium spiny neurons. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and exploring food from various cuisines.
Contact: capere@wi.mit.edu
Sofia Agudelo
Sofia received her undergraduate degree from Florida International University in Biochemistry. She worked with topisomerase IB to find possible small molecule inhibitors due to their role in inflammation. Sofia was an MSRP student in the Corradin lab Summer 2024 and returned as a lab technician in Summer 2025. She likes to workout, cook, and listen/play music.
Contact: sagud008@wi.mit.edu
Lab Alumni
Anna Barbeau
MSRP Student & Technician
William Phu
Undergraduate Student
Yanwei Song
Bruna Lima
Orian Stapleton
Kate Hazel
Bioinformatics Technician
Undergraduate Student & Data Analyst
Bioinformatics Technician
Technician
Defne Ceyhan
MSRP Student
Sebastián A. Cruz Romero
MSRP Student
Sebastián J. Borrero-Villabol
MSRP Student
Megan Madden
Undergraduate Student & Technician
Zia Barnard
Technician
Fatir Qureshi
Postdoctoral Data Scientist
An Hoang
Simran Singh
Nicholas Miller
Tharaphi Soe Min
Bioinformatics Technician
Data Science Intern
MSRP Student
MSRP Student