Stacey Marie Fernandes B.S.

Principal Research Technician
B.S. in Biology, Emmanuel College, 2003

Stacey joined the Brown lab in August of 2009 when her previous PI retired, and thought this would be a great time to transition into clinical research.  Her primary role in the lab is to manage all clinical trial bankings as it pertains to the CLL Center.  She is also the liaison between collaborators inside and outside the Institute.  

In her free time Stacey can be found in her hometown Taunton volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul, singing in her barbershop chorus NoteAble Blend, in her backyard tending to her garden, and spending time with her family and friends.  

Binu Kandathilparambil Sasi Ph.D.

Instructor
​MSc  in Medical Biochemistry, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India.
PhD in Molecular Biology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India, 2014
Post-Doctoral Fellow, International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy, 2014-2018
Post-Doctoral Fellow, UT Health San Antonio, Texas, 2018-2021
 
Binu joined Brown Lab in September 2021. Prior to join the Brown Lab, he was extensively trained in both CLL and DLBCL biology in his previous postdoc training. In Brown’s Lab, he will be working to understand the mechanism of both resistance and toxicity to PI3K inhibitors in CLL cohorts. This would help to improve the treatment strategies to overcome either resistance or will help to reduce toxicities by these agents.
In his free time he enjoys travelling in and around Boston, cooking and hanging out with friends.

John-Hanson Machado B.S.

Senior Research Technician & 
Operations Coordinator 
B.S. in Chemistry (ACS Certified), The George Washington University, 2016

Stephen Martindale 

Research Intern
BA in Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Anticipated Graduation Date 2023.
 
Stephen is currently studying at UC Berkeley, majoring in MCB with an emphasis in Immunology and Pathogenesis with a minor in Data Science and plans on pursuing an MD-PhD. Since his classes were remote due to COVID, he was able to join the Brown Lab in October 2020 for a year-long research internship in the hopes of gaining experience in translational medicine and clinical research. His project involves looking at the selectivity of novel drug inhibitors to determine whether these drugs can be used in CLL patients who have a specific mutation. In his free time, Stephen loves traveling and exploring the city while drinking a grande Iced Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks.

Kiyomi Mashima M.D., Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
M.D. in Jikei Medical University, Tokyo in Japan, 2012
Ph.D. in Jichi Medical University, Tochigi in Japan, 2019

Joined in DFCI 2020- and joined in this lab during 2021.
 
I'm working on both experimental and clinical analysis of CLL.

Mariia Mikhaleva M.D. 

Fulbright Scholar Alumnus
Ph.D. student in Hematology, St. Petersburg, Russia (anticipated graduate date is December 2023)
M.D. in Medical Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2014

Mariia joined the Lab in September 2022 as Visiting Researcher to accumulate academic knowledge and expertise in CLL research.
She focused on clinical sequencing, clonal evolution patterns, and second primary tumors in CLL.
Mariia adores traveling around the globe, believing it makes people open-minded. She enjoys yoga and hiking.

Francesca Morelli M.D.

Research Fellow
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​Aishath Shanaz Naeem Ph.D.

Scientist
BSc (Hons) in Genetics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, 2008
PhD in Skin Biology, University College London, London, UK, 2014
Post-Doctoral Fellow, University College London, London, UK. 2015-2017
 
Aishath joined Brown Lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in September 2018. Her project involves looking at the potency and selectivity of next generation non-covalent BTK inhibitors. This work will help determine whether these inhibitors can be used to treat CLL patients who have progressed on prior treatment with covalent BTK inhibitors.
 In her spare time Aishath loves experiencing different cultures, traveling and exploring local restaurants in Boston area!

Ben Oppenheimer M.S.

bioinformatician
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Roberta Santos Azevedo M.D., Ph.D.

Research Fellow
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Samantha Shupe B.S.

Research Technician
​B.S. in Biochemistry and Marine Biology, Northeastern University, 2022

Samantha joined the lab initially as a 6 month co-op student in January of 2021, and re-joined as a full-time research technician in January of 2022. Her primary role in the lab is to manage the processing and organization of the primary samples for the tissue banking alongside Stacey. Sammy came to Boston from California initially on an athletic scholarship and hoped to study marine biology at NU, but fell in love with the medical field after gaining lab experience in a clinical research setting with her first co-op experience. She now hopes to pursue an MD, or possibly an MD-MPH in the coming years.  
Outside of the lab, Sammy can be found backpacking in NH, biking around Boston, and teaching math to kids. 

Marissa Terra

Northeastern CO-OP
B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience, Northeastern University, Anticipated Graduation date May 2025

Marissa is currently studying at Northeastern University, majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience. She recently joined the Brown Lab in January of 2023 for her first co-op in hopes of gaining valuable clinical research skills and experience in medical oncology. She hopes that this experience supports her pre-medical path and provides an understanding of how clinical research is conducted to improve patient outcomes.

Saurabh Yadav Ph.D. 

Instructor, Medical Oncology, Division of Hematologic Neoplasia
​MSc in Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India. 2012
Ph.D., Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India, 2018
Post-doctoral research fellow and scholar, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, 2018-2021

Saurabh completed his Ph.D. working on the genetics of gallbladder cancer in the Departments of Medical Genetics and Surgical Gastroenterology at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India. In his Ph.D., After his Ph.D., Saurabh worked as a post-doctoral research scholar at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. As an Instructor in the Jennifer R. Brown laboratory, Saurabh focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive resistance and toxicity in CLL patients with PI3K inhibitors to improve therapies for CLL patients.
 
Saurabh enjoys running, reading, and hanging out with friends in his free time.