Lab Members

Gavin is from Southbury, CT. He attended the University of Connecticut, where he graduated with a degree in Physiology and Neurobiology, with a minor in Math. Prior to graduate school, he worked in the LoTurco Lab, where he studied tumor heterogeneity in a mouse model of supratentorial ependymoma, a rare glial tumor. He joined the lab in 2022 and is using functional genomic strategies to understand different ways in which dysregulated gene expression causes cell death. When he’s not in the lab, Gavin might be found gaming, playing the guitar or piano, tending to his many plants, or woodworking. In fact, he made most of his furniture himself!

Nick grew up in Wellesley, MA. He graduated from University of Vermont, where he studied Mathematics. After graduating, he worked in Kornelia Polyak’s lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where he gained valuable experience as a bioinformatician studying breast cancer. Nick joined the Lee Lab in 2020 and is exploring an unexpected mechanism of lethality for a common class of anti-cancer drugs. In his spare time, Nick enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and hiking with his dog Birdie.

Tiana hails from Littleton, MA. As an undergraduate at UMass Amherst, she studied Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science. She also worked in Prabhani Atukorale’s lab, where she contributed to the development of nanoparticle-based therapies for treatment of pancreatic cancer. Tiana joined our lab in 2025. Her work aims to understand the mechanism of action of a commonly used (but poorly understood) class of chemotherapeutics, with the goal of using this information to design better therapies. Outside of the lab, Tiana enjoys reading, gaming, traveling, and hanging with her friends and family. Fun fact about Tiana:  she comes from a large family and has 6 siblings!

Kelly is from Reading, MA. She attended Northeastern University, where she studied Biochemistry and Data Science. While at Northeastern, she completed two internships at Dragonfly Therapeutics, where her studies were focused on immuno-oncology. For her graduate studies, Kelly is interested in exploring an under-appreciated feature of drug dose-dependency, and how it shapes mechanism of drug-induced lethality. When she's not in the lab (or at Dunkin), Kelly loves baking, spending time with friends and family, and going to concerts (a 2019 Fleetwood Mac concert at the TD Garden stands out as her favorite!). Fun fact: Kelly was a dancer and has trained in ballet, tap, and jazz since she was three!

Mika is a native of Media, PA. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied Molecular Biology and Gender Studies. Mika did her undergraduate research in Sarah Hainer’s lab, where she studied epigenetics and chromatin regulation, and developed an interest in studying gene regulation in disease contexts. Mika joined the Lee Lab in the spring of 2025 and is exploring the evolution and therapeutic utility of PDAR, a signaling pathway that activates cell death upon loss of gene expression. When she’s not in the lab, Mika might be found hiking, paddle boarding, reading, or spending time with her cat, Chocolate.