People
Principal Investigator
Nima Mosammaparast, M.D., Ph.D.
Nima grew up in upstate New York after his family emigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1985. He studied molecular biology at the University of Rochester, graduating in 1998. He then went on to receive his MD and PhD (in microbiology) from the University of Virginia, where he studied the mechanisms of histone nuclear import and chromatin assembly with Lucy Pemberton. In 2006, he moved to Boston for residency training in clinical pathology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He was a post-doc in Yang Shi’s lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he focused on chromatin associated factors in the DNA damage response. He moved to Washington University in 2012 to set up his own lab in the Pathology and Immunology department, where he is now an Associate Professor. When not thinking about science, he likes biking, cooking, and hanging out with his wife Sara and daughter Ida.
Email: nima@wustl.edu
Postdoctoral
Research Associate
Mohamed Ashour, Ph.D.
Mohamed earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry in 2008. He has done his graduate work in Egypt in Sharif El-Khamisy’s lab, where he was investigating the relationship between topoisomerase enzymes and genomic instability. Now, Mohamed is working as a postdoc in the Mosammaparast lab at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he is continuing his research on the relationship between cancer and DNA damage during replication. Mohamed is passionate about sports and enjoys playing soccer during his free time.
Email: ashour@wustl.edu
Staff Scientist
Ning Tsao, Ph.D.
Ning received his Ph.D. degree from the Graduate Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at National Taiwan University, College of Medicine in 2015. After military service and two short periods of postdoctoral training at Academia Sinica in Taiwan and Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Ning joined the Mosammaparast Lab as a Staff Scientist in 2019. Ning’s research interest focuses on the molecular mechanisms of DNA repair and chromatin regulation. His current project is to investigate the role of an E3 ligase in sensing alkylation damage in the cells. When not doing science, Ning enjoys hiking, backpacking, and playing basketball.
Email: ntsao@wustl.edu
Research Technician
Research Lab Supervisor
Predoctoral Trainee
Graduate Student
Haley Hashemi
Haley is the oldest of 5 siblings and is from Boston, MA, the most amazing place on earth. When she isn't running western blots or in tissue culture, rock climbing, listening to music and exploring the adorable neighborhoods of St. Louis.
Email: hhashemi@wustl.edu
Fadhel Mansoori
Fadhel is passionate about medicine and research. He is currently enjoying his hunt for interactors in the ASCC-ALKBH3 alkylation repair pathway and their roles in linking other cellular processes in cancer cells. Outside of science, Fadhel enjoys playing soccer, working out, trying new restaurants, gorging on ice-cream, and watching overrated sitcoms.
Email:
Undergraduate Student
Katie Kyle
I began my career at Washington University in 2009 in laboratory management. I organize and maintain the laboratory environment while overseeing the day to day operations of the laboratory. I also have extensive knowledge in colony management. When I am away from work, I spend my time at home on my farm and with my family.
Email: kkyle@wustl.edu
Lane Parmely
Lane completed his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Austin Peay State University. He then completed his master's degree in chemistry at the University of Mississippi. He is currently a medical student at Washington University School of Medicine participating in research via the Office of Medical Student Research's MD5 program. He intends to apply into an internal medicine residency. When not busy with school, you can find him at your local neighborhood bar trivia, struggling to answer even the most basic of questions, or at Forest Park practicing rugby.
Email: jparmely@wustl.edu
Kristin Casey
Kristen is a rising Junior at Washington University in St. Louis. She majoring in Biology with a focus in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Kristen joined the lab in the fall of 2021 and continued doing research with the lab in the summer of 2022 as a part of WashU’s BioSURF program. She is interested in pursuing an MD-PhD after receiving her undergraduate degree.
Email: kristen.c@wustl.edu
Alumni
Jennifer Soll, Ph.D.(Postdoc 2014-2022) - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington University, MO.
Brittany Townley (Graduate Student, 2022) - DBBS Program
Alex Mabry (Graduate Student, 2021) - Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program.
Andrea Byrum,Ph.D.(Molecular Genetics & Genomics program, 2019)–Postdoctoral Fellow, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH.
Joshua Brickner, Ph.D. (Molecular Cell Biology program, 2019) – Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, CA.
Miranda Mudge (Lab Manager 2015-2018) – Ph.D. candidate, Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Washington.
Yu Zhao, Ph.D. (Postdoc 2013-2018) – Staff Scientist, Hunan Normal University, China
Mona Majid (Lab Manager 2012-2015) – Pursued graduate work at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work.
Hua Sun, Ph.D. (Staff Scientist,) - Hua earned his Ph.D degree in Biotechnology in 2009