OUR TEAM

Scientists at the Momen-Heravi lab combine molecular biology methods, bioinformatic approaches, and translational research in their effort to understand underlying signaling events and tumor vulnerabilities to treat head and neck cancer and lung cancer as well as understand and target inflammatory cascades in periodontitis and diabetes. 

The lab consists of postdocs, graduate students, dental students, and residents. We aim to be a resource to our colleagues and to train highly motivated students and post-docs to make impacts in science and patients’ life.

Fatemeh Momen-Heravi, DDS, PhD, MPH, MS
Principal Investigator

Kranthi Tanagala, PhD 
Postdoctoral Fellow

Sahib Zada, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Irshad Ali, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Nicole Kaplan
Postdoctoral Associate

Josh Morin Baxter
Research Assistant

Nadia Mezghani
Research Assistant

Yi-Chu Wu, DDS
Periodontics Resident
Graduate Student

Austin Talis
Dental Student

Darrell Ong, DDS
Graduate Student
Periodontics Resident

Daria Vasilyeva, DDS
Pathology Resident

Kathi Gauch
Dental Student

Nechma Dembitzer
Dental Student

Nicole Pallas
Dental Student

Alexis Catalano
Dental Student

Lab Alumni

Austin Shackelford, DMD, Research fellow
Current position: Assistant Professor of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology, A.T. Still University
Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, AZ, USA

Carleigh Canterbury, DDS, Research fellow
Current position: Assistant Professor A.T. Still University
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health, AZ, USA

Rona Wang, Data science institute scholar
Biostatistician, Columbia University

Caroline Aronin, Dental student

Penny Agrafioti, DDS, MS, Graduate student and Periodontics resident 

Xun Wu, DMD, MS: Visiting scholar/Postdoc
Current position: Associate Professor in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Guangxi University, China

Maryam Zadeh, DDS, Dental student
Current position: Orthodontics Resident, Montefiore Health System, New York

Abdulrahman Almubarak, DDS, MS, Graduate student
Current position: Assistant Professor of Periodontics, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

Pooja Patel, Undergraduate student

Sultan Albashri, DDS, MS, Graduate student

Sunil Dubey, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Current position: Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Center for Infection and Immunity 

Zhe Chen, MS, Biostatistician/Bioinformatician 

Nikta Radfar: Student 

Maryum Cheema, Post-baccalaureate Research Assistant
Current position: Student at Columbia University

Nadia Mezghani: Dental student 
Current position: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center