Dr. Chitrala's Lab

Kumaraswamy Naidu Chitrala, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator) 

Dr. Kumaraswamy Naidu Chitrala is currently an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at the Department of Engineering Technology, University of Houston. He was working as an Assistant Professor and Head for the Bioinformatics Core at Fels Cancer Institute for Personalized Medicine, Temple University before joining UH. Dr. Kumar received his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from Sri Venkateswara University in 2015. His research mainly focused on Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Statistical Genetics, Epidemiology, Epigenetics, Cancer Biology, Health Disparities, Neurological Disorders, and Aging. So far, he has published over 52 original research articles, many of which were published in high-impact journals, such as Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, Cell, EMBO Journal, Cancer Research, Genome Biology, Epigenetics, Clinical Epigenetics, Molecular Psychiatry, Scientific Reports, Blood.  In addition, he served as a reviewer at the NIH and NSF study sections and editorial member for several high-impact journals. He recently received HEALTH-RCMI’s Pilot Grant.  Email ID: kchitral@central.uh.edu   Office Phone: 713-743-7965

Tusha Sharma, Ph.D. (Post doctoral Fellow) 

Tusha Sharma is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Chitrala’s lab at University of Houston, working on health disparities and breast cancer through an in-vitro experimental approach. Dr Sharma completed her doctoral degree from the University of Delhi, India in biochemistry. Her area of research interest lies in cancer biology, cell and molecular biology. working on health disparities and breast cancer through an in-vitro experimental approach. 

Ashley Anil (Undergraduate Research Assistant)

Ashley Anil is an undergraduate student majoring in biotechnology at the University of Houston.  She is interested in the research of genetic diseases and the role that certain genes play in cancer and other major diseases. She strongly believes Dr. Chitrala’s Lab will help her build the necessary skills and knowledge needed in the field of research and bioinformatics

Mariam Mamun (Undergraduate Research Assistant) 

Mariam Mamun is an undergraduate student majoring in Biotechnology from the University of Houston. She is interested in pursuing a career in cancer research. She believes that Dr. Chitrala’s lab is an amazing opportunity that allows for a great start in gaining experience and knowledge in research.

Tyler Kwok (Undergraduate Research Assistant) 

Tyler Kwok is an undergraduate from the University of Houston with a major in biology.  His research interest is in cell biology, and he seeks to develop a career in bioinformatics. He believes Chitrala Lab is a way for him to implement bioinformatics tools for cancer research.

Hailey McAndrew (Undergraduate Research Assistant) 

Hailey McAndrew is an undergraduate student majoring in Biotechnology on the bioinformatics track and seeking to develop a career in research. Through Chitrala lab, she aims to implement computational methods and common laboratory techniques for interdisciplinary cancer research

Inara Momin (Alumni) 

Inara Momin is an undergraduate student majoring in biotechnology and is pursuing a career in bioinformatics. She wishes to pursue a career as a scientist and believes Chitrala Lab is the best starting point for her future endeavors. Inara’s current research is on Frontal Temporal Disorders, Breast cancer, COVID-19 with factors of race and comorbidities 

Arianna Islam – Alumni

Arianna Islam is an alumni to Chitrala Lab from 2023 as a research assistant. She is an undergraduate biotechnology student at the University of Houston. She is fascinated by the works of bioinformatics and its use in medical research that is constantly evolving to help those in need. 

Sobia Mahmood – Alumni

Sobia Mahmood is an alumni to Chitrala Lab from 2022-2023 as a research assistant. She is a graduate student at the University of Houston, studying in biomedical engineering. Sobia’s interest in research is in cell biology and  cancer. 

Jessica Rigler – Alumni

Jessica Rigler is an alumni to Chitrala Lab from 2022-2023 as a research assistant. Jessica is an undergraduate student majoring in biotechnology and is pursuing a career in bioinformatics. 

USDA-HSI Research Camp 2023 – Alumni

Project 1: Investigating the Role of RB1 gene mutations in Osteosarcoma Pathogenesis: A Bioinformatics Approach TNBC and Machine learning  Students Mentored: Meet. Project 2: Bioinformatics analysis to locate the mutation in the TP53 gene and decipher its effect on HPV-Induced Cervical Carcinoma Investigating the Role of RB1 gene mutations in  Osteosarcoma Students Mentored: Robell.  Project 3: PTEN Correlation to Skin Cancer Students Mentored: Sudiksha. 

Capstone Students Spring 2023 – Alumni

Project 1:  Title: TNBC and Machine Learning  Students Mentored: Abigail Colbert, Casie Denton, Feng Chen,  Fernando Mendoza .

Project 2:  Title: Breast cancer and DNA methylation Students Mentored: Haania Raja, Raphael Ramiro, Tomi  Adebowale 

Capstone Students Fall 2022 – Alumni 

Project 1:  Title: Elucidating the DNA methylation patterns among  European and African American patients with Triple negative breast cancer. Students Mentored: Erko Thomas A, Oso Taiwo O 

Project 2:  Title: Investigation of transcriptomic patterns among European and African American patients with Triple negative breast cancer using machine learning approaches. Students Mentored: Jessica R, Abboushi Shareef R