Pronouns: He/him

Austin is an MS student in the Institute of Public Health Genetics at the University of Washington. His areas of interests are cancer epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and the broader implications of using genetic data in public health research. He is particularly interested in the shared genetic etiology of cancer and in investigating genetic factors that may influence the risk of multiple cancers. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. 

Pronouns: She/her

Tabitha’s interests revolve around collaborative consortium studies to better understand the molecular mechanisms contributing to cancer risk and prognosis. She is particularly interested in research that analyzes characteristics of tumors and their microenvironment in relation to host genomes, lifestyle and environmental risk factors, and survival. Tabitha is a PhD student in the University of Washington’s Public Health Genetics program. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, cross-country skiing, and beach volleyball, as well as travelling and cooking.

Pronouns: She/her

Yilda is a PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. Her research interests are in cancer epidemiology, genetics, metabolomics, and health disparities. She is specifically interested in investigating the impact of hormone-related conditions and lifestyle factors on cancer risk. In her free time, she enjoys walking and playing with her dog, experimenting with new recipes, and speedrunning through the Untitled Goose Game.

Pronouns: He/him

Jiachen is a PhD student at the Institute of Public Health Genetics, University of Washington. His research focuses on genetic epidemiology, with a particular interest in diabetes and cancer epidemiology. He is interested in exploring the genetic background and pleiotropy effects across common cancers, and actively advocates for greater diversity in genetic research. In his free time, Jiachen enjoys video games, hiking, and playing tennis.

Alumni: PhD student, 2016-2020
Current position: Genetic Epidemiologist, Tessera Therapeutics
Pronouns: He/him

Hongjie is an alumni of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington, who joined the lab in 2016. During his time in the lab, he led multiple research projects in the field of cancer and genetic epidemiology. Particularly, his research interest is in the  the genetic background of breast cancer and the pleiotropy effect across different types of cancer. He graduated in Fall 2020, and joined the Center for Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Southern California as a Postdoc. Currently he is working as a genetic epidemiologist for Tessera Therapeutics in Cambridge, MA. In his free time, he enjoys running and traveling, and has run a half marathon in eight states of the US.

Pronouns: He/him

William has bounced around various genetic research programs over the years, from yeast evolution in the brewery environment, to population and aging genetics in fruit flies, and is currently working in human genetic epidemiology. While working with Dr. Lindström, he focused on genomic and transcriptomic association analyses of human diseases including childhood body fatness and venous thromboembolism. He currently works in the Bamshad Lab at the UW as an analyst of genetic modifiers for cystic fibrosis-related disease, especially lung infection outcomes. Outside of the lab, William enjoys cycling, free form radio, and pinball.

Alumni: PhD student
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Fred Hutch
Twitter: @boya_guo

Boya was a PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington who graduated with a certificate in Public Health Genetics. She has a research interest in cancer epidemiology and genetics research, specifically the interactions of genetic, environmental and lifestyle risk factors, and health service and utilization following genetic testing of hereditary cancers. She is also interested in the translation of genetics research to clinical practice. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her 4-year-old cat Mei Mei and on outdoor activities.

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, National Cancer Institute
Pronouns: He/him
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As a pre-doctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Lindström, Dr. Haas conducted a breadth of genetic analyses to address health outcomes in diverse populations. His dissertation work leveraged the UK Biobank to identify menopausal status-specific genetic variations associated with circulating concentrations of sex hormones in women. These findings informed menopausal status-specific genetic instruments to conduct Mendelian Randomization analyses to disentangle the complex relationships between sex hormones and mammographic density. As a research assistant with Dr. Lindström, he worked to develop a genetics pipeline for conducting analyses in a multi-ancestry population of people living with HIV in the United States. This work led Dr. Haas to his current position in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch at the National Cancer Institute where he is investigating cancer disparities in people living with chronic infections.

Current position: Assistant Professor, Peking University Third Hospital
Pronouns: She/her

Dr. Xinwei Hua is a trained molecular epidemiologist and received her MPH from Emory University and her doctoral degree from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her pre-doctoral research centered around inflammation and colorectal cancer survivorship, co-mentored by Dr. Sara Lindstroem. She was currently a Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard medical school, Clinical and translational epidemiology unit. Her current research interest is to study the interplay of environmental factors and molecular characteristics, particularly gut microbiome and circulating metabolomics, in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal disorders. 

Alumni: MPH Student 
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Iris graduated with an MPH in the Department of Epidemiology and is now a PhD student in Genome Sciences at the University of Washington. Her research interests lie in the intersection of data science and healthcare. She is particularly interested in developing machine learning methods to answer questions on genomics, population health, and clinical decision-making. In her free time, she enjoys distance running, Latin dancing, and hanging out with her cats.

Pronouns: She/her

Kristina’s current research interests involve the molecular epidemiology of cancer. She has expertise in studies of genome-wide DNA methylation, and her current projects focus on determining if genetic factors influence the risk of experiencing side effects from specific antiretroviral therapy regimens in people living with HIV. In addition, she is interested in exploring a variety of new research areas, including integration of information from different types of omics data.

Current Position: Research Associate, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Pronouns: She/her

Ellie graduated from Wesleyan University, majoring in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry and Hispanic Literature & Culture, and minoring in Integrative Genomic Sciences. While a student, she was a research coordinator in the lab. She is interested in genetic epidemiology, particularly in relation to cancer and autoimmune diseases. In her free time, Ellie enjoys running, swimming and doing crossword puzzles.

Pronouns: She/her

Maddie is an undergraduate student at University of California, Los Angeles, majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. She is interested in cancer epidemiology, and has a particular interest in the risk factors and etiology of breast cancer. In her free time, Maddie enjoys yoga, running, and playing pickle ball.

Alumni: MPH student
Pronouns: He/him

Arvind is an MPH graduate in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health. His research interests lie at the intersection of the biological sciences and health justice. He is particularly interested in disentangling the roles of genetic and environmental factors in health inequity and investigating how they manifest in clinical interventions. In his free time, he enjoys fixing up cars, playing his double bass, mountaineering, and praying for a Dunkin’ Donuts in Seattle. 

Current Position: Quantitative Scientist, Flatiron Health
Twitter: @zhanly_
Pronouns: She/her

After obtaining her Ph.D. in Epidemiology with a focus on Public Health Genetics and Statistical Genetics, Dr. Wang continued her postdoctoral research training with Drs. Lindström and Peters at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, from 2017 to 2019. While working with Dr. Lindström, she led several research projects focusing on investigating gene-environmental interactions and breast cancer risk, including genome-wide interaction analysis of menopausal hormone therapy, interaction analysis between known genetic and environmental risk factors, and gene expression interaction analysis of established breast cancer risk factors. Dr. Wang currently works as a quantitative scientist at Flatiron Health in New York City. In her spare time, she enjoys running, performing aerial arts and teasing her cat.