Meet our Team

We are an innovation hub dedicated to exploring and developing breakthrough systems biology tools and ideas. Come and meet our team!

Sanja Vickovic, PhD

Director, Technology Innovation Lab and Core Faculty Member @NYGC

Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Department of Biomedical Engineering (@CUBME) and Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics (@IICD)
Wallenberg Academy Fellow at Uppsala University
SciLifeLab Fellow at Science for Life Laboratory
PhD in Genetics from KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Wallenberg Fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

I love all things tech and all things hockey. Developer of Spatial Transcriptomics (Visium 10X Genomics), High-Definition Spatial Transcriptomics, SM-Omics and Spatial Host-Microbiome Sequencing.

#TechLover #HockeyFan #SpatialTranscriptomics #GenomicsInnovation

E-mail

Twitter

Molecular Biology

Molecular Biology of Aging

Research Scientist, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Penn State University
I am a molecular biologist with a strong interest in exploring transcription regulation mechanisms. My current research aims at developing spatially resolved multi-omics assays for functional genomics.
I love sports and outdoor activities. I enjoy a bluebird day as well as a few nice rallies on the badminton court. Making progress in sports is as exciting as that in science.

#TranscriptionReg
#FunctionalGenomics
#SpatialOmics
#SportsEnthusiast

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Molecular Biology of Drug Development

Postdoctoral Fellow at Sanjana Lab @NYU @NYGC and Prof. Vicković Lab @UU @SciLifeLab
Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from Karolinska Institute
I am interested in developing novel phenotypic screening strategies that integrate chemical and genetic interventions with multiomic and spatial analyses. My work aims to uncover novel therapeutic targets and unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying complex neurological disorders.

#PhenotypicScreening
#MultiomicAnalysis
#NeurologicalStudy
#TherapeuticTarget

#Neuroscience
#DisorderMechanisms
#EarlyDiagnosis
#BiomarkerResearch

E-mail

Molecular Biology of Neuronal Circuits

PhD Candidate with Prof. Qi Wang @Columbia BME
Visiting Researcher with Prof. Vicković @NYGC
MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University
My work focuses on coupling programmable, synthetic neurobiology with single-cell sequencing and in-vivo neural recordings to understand how the genomic landscape gives rise to the dynamic information processing and storage capabilities of the brain.

#SyntheticNeurobio
#SingleCellSeq
#NeuralRecordings
#BrainDynamics

Research Scientist, Technology Innovation @NYGC
PhD in Neuroscience from University of Barcelona
My research interest is focused on identifying novel mechanisms underlying neurological disorders, aimed to find innovative approaches to detect and early diagnose these conditions.

E-mail

Twitter

Molecular Biology of RNA Lifecycle

Research Scientist, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University
Post-baccalaureate Fellow at the National Human Genome Research Institute
My research is focused on developing new methods to study the spatial and chemical context in which gene regulation takes place.

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GitHub

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Molecular Biology of Cancer Progression

Research Scientist, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
PhD in Biology from NYU
My research focuses on understanding the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of cancer evolution. I develop new methods to study cancer evolution and cellular interactions in genetically diverse cancer cells within spatial contexts.

#CancerEvolution
#GeneticDiversity
#SpatialContext
#MethodDeveloper

#GeneRegulation
#SpatialContext
#MethodDeveloper
#BiomedEngineer

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Research Scientist, Technology Innovation Lab @ NYGC
PhD in Biochemistry from MIT
I am interested in how variations in spatial genome organization and modifications impact cellular behavior and shape distinct therapeutic responses. My goal is to utilize knowledge in the epigenomic landscape to refine disease treatments.

#Epigenomics
#GenomeOrg
#DiseaseTherapy
#CellBehavior

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Biomedical Engineering and Technology Development

#Microfluidics
#LabOnChip
#BioengResearch
#SoccerEnthusiast

Associate Research Scientist II, Vicković Lab @NYGC
MSc in Biomedical Engineering from University of Ottawa
I’ve channeled my curiosity into microfluidics ever since my junior year of undergraduate education. Having the opportunity to learn and collaborate with professors and peers all around the world in the cutting edge field of lab-on-chip technology, my passion lies in bridging bioengineering with clinical research. When I’m not spending endless hours in the clean room, I am always down to have a heated conversation on soccer (football!), video games or try out new restaurants.

E-mail

#GeneticDiseases
#GenomicTherapies
#SpatialTechnologies
#DiseaseModeling

#TumorMicroenv
#ImmuneInteractions
#SpatialPathology
#TechDevelopment

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Research engineer
MSc in Forensic science from Uppsala University
My research interests include tumor microenvironment, especially the cross-talk between tumour cells and immune cells. I am especially fascinated by how these processes affect tissues locally and how we can study pathology through spatial methods. I also enjoy the problem solving aspect of tech development.

PhD Candidate with Prof. Tsang @CUBME
Visiting Researcher with Prof. Vicković @NYGC @CUBME
MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University
BSc in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University
My interests are in studying genetic diseases and developing translational genomic therapies. At the innovation lab, I am involved with applying spatial technologies to uncover disease mechanisms and assess therapeutic interventions.

E-mail

Light Microscopy Engineer, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
PhD in Systems Biology from IST Austria
I am interested in understanding how individual cells modify their internal state in response to changes in their environment and how these changes manifest at different scales of biological organization. To reach this goal, I develop and implement methods and instruments for extracting biological knowledge from large-scale microscopy data.

#LightMicroscopy
#CellularBehavior
#InstrumentDesign
#DataExtraction

Senior Research Engineer, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Maryland, College Park
My interest are in developing subcellular spatially resolved multimodal omics methods. Innovating hardware, writing code, and adapting chemistries.

#MultimodalOmics
#HardwareInnovation
#ChemistryAdaptation
#CodeDeveloper

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Scholar

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Machine Learning and AI in Biology

#BioinfoApproaches
#MachineLearning
#RegulatoryNetworks
#OmicsDataMining

Postdoctoral Fellow, Vicković Lab @UU @SciLifeLab
PhD in Bioinformatics from Uppsala University
My research interests focus on developing and applying bioinformatics approaches to explore cell functions in diseases. I utilize interpretable machine learning and regulatory networks to mine omics data, aiming to uncover insights into complex biological questions.

E-mail

#DeepLearning
#BayesianStats
#SpatialModeling
#DataIntegration

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Computational Scientist in Spatial Transcriptomics
PhD in Computer Science from Oxford University
My research interests are focused on computational modeling of tissue structure and spatial gene expression patterns across large, diverse experimental cohorts. I employ both deep learning and Bayesian statistics to the paired tasks of data integration via common coordinate registration and analysis of covariate-driven changes in tissue composition and function.

E-mail

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Technology Innovation Lab @ NYGC
PhD in Computer Science from the University of Manchester
My research interest focuses on building machine learning models for integrating and learning from diverse biological data, including genomic sequences, microscopy images, and clinical information. I aim to leverage the power of AI for discovering new ways to improve human health.

#AIforHealth
#DataIntegration
#MLModeling
#BiologicalAI

PhD Student Researcher, Vicković Lab @NYGC @CUBME
MSc in Systems Biology from Cambridge University.
I’m interested in integrating advances in spatial transcriptomics technologies with novel computational and statistical methods to dissect how spatial patterning arises in biological tissues and how spatial organization influences development and disease.

#SpatialPatterning
#ComputationalStats
#TissueDevelopment
#DiseaseModeling

E-mail

Applied Math

#DynamicalSystems
#ArtificialLife
#CompGenomics
#EmergentAI

Machine Learning Engineer @UU @SciLifeLab
MSc in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University
My interests span the theory and applications of dynamical systems, computational genomics, and emergent artificial intelligence, all of which manifest in my ongoing research with self-organizing systems and artificial life. I am also passionate about using these themes to showcase the artistic capabilities of differentiable programming.

E-mail

#BayesianStats
#SpatialStats
#QuantileRegression
#MixedModels

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Postdoctoral Fellow, Vicković Lab @UU @SciLifeLab
PhD in Statistics from Uppsala University
My research interests encompass Bayesian statistics from both theoretical and applied perspectives with a particular interest in finding the role of more classical statistics in the context of spatial transcriptomics. Specifically, I have a keen focus on areas such as linear mixed models, non-parametric methods, and quantile regression.

E-mail

Research associate @NYGC focused on spatial reconstruction algorithms.
Ishaq grew up in Rochester, New York, and enjoys playing sports and building keyboards and computers. He's an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan and enjoys watching the Premier League, and tennis as well. He is currently pursuing his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and previously attended Oberlin College, where he studied Mathematics.
Ishaq's interest in genomic research is fueled by his passion for data science and engineering, he looks forward to combining these skills to solve problems in the medical field.

#SpatialReconstruction
#DataScience
#MedicalEngineering
#SportsEnthusiast

Software Engineering

#CompBioTools
#MachineLearning
#DatasetAnalysis
#BioInformatics

Associate Computational Biologist, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
BSc in Computer Science from Yale University
My research interests focus on the implementation of computational tools to solve problems in biological research. I am passionate about utilizing machine learning techniques to enhance analysis of biological datasets.

E-mail

#MultiomicsAnalysis
#ImageDeconvolution
#ComputationalBio
#MethodDevelopment

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Associate Computational Biologist II, Vicković Lab @NYGC @IICD
MSc in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University
My research interests are in developing computational methods in order to analyze and improve multiomics data. At the tech innovation lab, I am involved with deconvolving low resolution images into high resolution images.

E-mail

Postdoctoral Fellow, Vicković Lab @UU @SciLifeLab
PhD in Computerized Image Analysis from Uppsala University
I am a computer scientist who works in the intersection of medicine and CS. I like to model and solve complex problems involving the characterization of diseases by finding commonalities in patterns from different image modalities and other types of data like different forms of gene expression.
I enjoy being involved in all stages of a project, from planning, preprocessing, analysis, to visualization.

#ImageAnalysis
#PatternRecognition
#DataVisualization
#InterdisciplinaryCS

Lab management and Operations

#HyperHeuristics
#EvolutionaryAlgo
#ProjectManager
#MLApplications

Program Manager, Technology Innovation Lab @NYGC
PhD in Computer Science from University of Zagreb
My research interest focus on hyper-heuristics, evolutionary algorithms and application of machine learning algorithms to real-world problems. At NYGC I will liaise with inter-institutional teams at NYGC and Columbia to coordinate and manage the activities between a network of collaborators while also overviewing day-to-day management of computational collaborative projects.

E-mail

#CellCompetition
#TissueDevelopment
#Astrophotography
#BoardGamer

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Staff Scientist & Lab Manager, Technology Innovation Lab & EH&S Teams @NYGC
PhD in Biodiversity and Evolution, University of Bologna
I’m interested in understanding how cells coordinate and signal their positional, metabolic, and fitness status to their neighboring cells with the aim of maintaining a harmonious architecture of tissue and organ development. In this context, I focused on the study of cell competition.
When not in the lab, I love to be outdoors hiking, spending nights stargazing, practicing astrophotography, and playing board games when it’s cloudy.