SELECTED HONORS AND AWARDS

New Investigator Award from Rutgers CINJ, 2023

Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Pancreatic Cancer Career Development Award, 2022

Thomas H. and Mayme P. Scott Fellowship in Cancer Research, 2021

NIH-NCI K22 Career Transition Award, 2020

Harold C. and Mary L. Dailey Endowment Fellowship, 2020

AACR Scholar-in-Training Award, 2018

Research Associate (since 2021/11)

Dr. Deng earned his Ph.D. degree at South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010. He is an expert in microbial engineering, and has established a solid research background in multiple biological disciplines including microbiology, genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry during his postdoc training. He has 5 first-author publications in the past 5 years and he is the co-inventor of 4 patents and the co-author of over 30 papers.

In Hou lab, Dr. Deng will help with lab management and dissect the role of genetic alternations in regulating KRAS targeted therapy resistance.

Master Student (since 2023/01)

Kevin is a New Jersey native and graduated from Rutgers–New Brunswick with a degree in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry. He is currently enrolled as a Masters student at the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies Newark–RBHS. He plans to pursue an MD upon completion of his Masters program. During his free time, Kevin enjoys spending his time with family and friends.

In Hou lab, Kevin will study the biology of tumor associated macrophages.

Postdoctoral Fellow (since 2023/03)

Nader was born in Tehran, Iran. He earned his PhD from Indiana University in 2022. While at Indiana he studied the role of a metabolite called L-2-hydroxyglutarate in the hypoxia response in Drosophila melanogaster.

In Hou lab, Dr. Mahmoudzadeh will develop novel CAR macrophage therapeutics for pancreatic cancer treatment.

Postdoctoral Fellow (since 2023/05)

Habeeb earned her Ph.D from CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. Her graduate work focused on understanding the role of apoptosis and autophagy in regulating cancer cell viability and determining the therapeutic potential of dual induction of apoptosis and autophagy in pancreatic cancer.

In Hou lab, Dr. Begum will explore the intercellular crosstalk that regulates tumor responses to KRAS targeted therapy and develop novel immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer.