Lab Team | Emory School of Medicine

Principal Investigator

David S. Yu, MD, PhD

Jerome Landry MD Chair in Cancer Research and Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine

Georgia Research Alliance Cancer Scientist

Faculty Profile

Dr. Yu is a physician-scientist who is actively engaged in basic, translational, and clinical research. He is PI of a NCI T32 Training Program in Cancer Biology for training of postdoctoral fellows/residents which is available to support Holman Research Pathway residents.

Yu Lab Team

Gina Cutlip Undergraduate Student

Yu Lab member: August 2024 - present

Hometown: Bonaire, Georgia

Education: Attending Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Research: Investigating tumor suppressor proteins related to DNA damage response in promoting r-loop resolution.

Arpita Dey, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow

Yu Lab member: January 2024 - present

Hometown: Tripura, India

Education: PhD, Indian Institute Of Technology Roorkee (IITR)

Research: Deciphering the influence of post-translational protein modifications on SAMHD1; bridging DNA repair and cancer immunotherapy frontiers.

Lydia Hu Undergraduate Student

Yu Lab member: May 2023 - present

Hometown: Beijing, China

Education: Attending Emory University

Research: Investigating proteins related to DNA damage response and their mechanisms in DNA double strand break repair.

Jinmeng Jiang Undergraduate Student

Yu lab Member: May 2023 - present

Hometown: Johns Creek, Georgia

Education: Attending Emory University

Research: Investigating the involvement of co/post-translational modifications, particularly N-myristoylation, in DNA damage response.

Eldin Maliyakkal Johnson, PhD

Yu lab Member: February 2024 - present

Hometown: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Education: PhD, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India

Research: Identification of druggable targets of DNA repair mechanism and development of biotherapeutic for radiation and chemotherapy resistant cancer, by using multi-omics approach and engagement of host immune system.

Andrew Jung Undergraduate Student

Yu Lab member: May 2023 – present

Hometown: Seoul, South Korea

Education: Attending Emory University

Research: Investigating the post-translational protein modifications on DNA damage repair system especially in double-strand breaks.

Priya Kapoor, PhD Instructor, Department of Radiation Oncology

Yu Lab member: January 2019 - present

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Education: PhD, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Research: Evaluating the role of post-translational protein modifications, specifically lysine acetylation, on the regulation of the DNA repair functions of SAMHD1, which is a potential therapeutic target for cancer therapy.

John Kim Undergraduate Student

Yu Lab member: July 2024 - present

Hometown: Bay Area, California

Education: Attending Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Research: Investigating post translational modifications in DNA-repair pathways with a focus on N-myristylation.

Sophie Kim Undergraduate Student

Yu Lab member: April 2024 - present

Education: Attending Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Sandip Kumar Rath, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow

Yu Lab member: August 2020 - present

Hometown: India

Education: PhD, George August Universität, Göttingen, Germany

Research: Investigating the role of sirtuins in replication stress response in cancer models.

Nho Cong Luong Postdoctoral Fellow

Yu Lab member: September 2022 - present

Hometown: Phu Yen, Vietnam

Education: PhD in Biomedical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan

Research: Investigating the involvement of post-translational modification regulated by Sirtuins in DNA damage response

Roshika Roshika, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow

Yu Lab member: January 2024 - present

Hometown: Delhi, India

Education: PhD, University of Nevada Reno (UNR)

Research: Exploring post-translational modifications by and on sirtuins in response to DNA damage to extract insights for cancer therapeutic approaches.

Charlie Seo Undergraduate Student

Yu Lab member: March 2024 - present

Hometown: Bronx, New York

Education: Attending Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Research: Investigating the role of post translational modification, specifically N-myristoylation, in relation to DNA damage response.

Fatmata Sesay, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow

Yu Lab member: September 2022 - present

Hometown: Liberia, West Africa

Education: PhD in Cancer and Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

Research: Investigating the role novel genes in DNA double strand break repair and the impact of their dysregulation in cancer development.