Group Members | Emory School of Medicine

Chunhui Xu, PhD Professor SOM: Pediatrics

Chunhui Xu, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute. Dr. Xu has extensive research experience in stem cells and heart cell development. Her research focuses on heart cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Her team has made significant contributions to the field, with several publications recognized as hot papers or among the most highly cited in hPSC research. She is an inventor or co-inventor of 18 issued U.S. patents, and her work has been cited more than 12,000 times, according to Google Scholar.

Current Lab Members

Olivia Reid, BS

Research Specialist

Olivia Reid graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in May 2024. As a Research Specialist in Dr. Xu's lab, Olivia focuses on studying the cardiotoxicity of chemotherapy drugs, with an emphasis on understanding the mechanisms that contribute to heart damage during cancer treatment. Olivia plans to pursue an MD-PhD beginning in the fall of 2026, combining clinical and research expertise to advance medical science.

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Stephanie Li

Undergraduate, Emory University

Stephanie Li is an undergraduate student at Emory University, majoring in Biology and Quantitative Sciences on the pre-medical track. She is passionate about health equity and pediatric health, with a particular interest in cardiology. Stephanie joined the lab in January 2025 and is excited to gain hands-on experience working with human pluripotent stem cells.

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Matthew Wang

Undergraduate, Emory University

Matthew Wang is an undergraduate student at Emory University, majoring in Intended Biology.

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Wenhao Zhang, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Wenhao Zhang's research focuses on investigating the cardiotoxic effects of environmental toxicants using human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Specifically, his work integrates stem cell biology, toxicology, and proteomics to understand how environmental exposures impair mitochondrial function, trigger oxidative stress, and disrupt cardiac development.

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Sia Vij

Undergraduate, Emory University

Sia Vij is an undergraduate student at Emory University majoring in Human Health on the pre-medical track. Her interests include cardiology with a commitment to addressing healthcare disparities. She is passionate about stem cell research that advances treatment options for heart disease and improves access to care across communities.

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Gayatri Patel

PhD student at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology

Gayatri Patel received her B.Sc. in Bio-convergence from Yonsei University in South Korea in 2023 and her M.Sc. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2025. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Working in Dr. Chunhui Xu’s lab, her research focuses on investigating how different components contribute to cardiotoxicity in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)–derived cardiomyocytes, to understand efficacy in cardiac disease modeling and therapeutic development.

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Past Lab Members

Postdoctoral Fellows/Scientists

Doan Nguyen, MD, PhD
Rajneesh Jha, PhD
Jingjia Han, PhD
Monalisa Singh, MD, PhD
Anita Saraf, MD, PhD
Dong Li, PhD
Antonio Rampoldi, PhD
Parvin Forghani, PhD
Kun Man, PhD

Students

Hayley Rebecca Beene
Hannah Choi
Zoe Beato
Madhumita Baskaran
Makenna Elisabeth Pierce
Emma Tharp
Sydney Sharp
Sameer Sarma
Rui Liu
Hui Qi Loo
Megan Lee
Nicole Lin
Lara Vaid
Anna Staskiewicz

Research Specialists

Qingling Wu, MS
Marcela Preininger, BS
Cinsley Gentillon, MS
Hyun (Michael) Hwang, BS
Lawrence Armand, BS