Rong Fan

Principal Investigator

Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University

Professor of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine

Our group is focused on exploiting the systems biology principles to develop spatial technologies for comprehensive analysis of cellular and tissue heterogeneity in human health and disease. The goal is to push the understanding of complex human diseases including cancer, infectious and autoimmune diseases and transform diagnosis and therapy to enable personalized medicine.

Meet the team that makes everything happen!

Current Members

  • Dongjoo Kim

    Associate Research Scientist

    B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Semiconductor Science and Technology, Chonbuk National University

    Dongjoo has developed a nanostructure-based platform for separating specific target cells including circulating tumor cells (CTCs). After being a post-doctoral research fellow at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), he joined Professor Fan’s lab in 2016. Currently, he focused on developing a high-plex immune-serological assay and device for comprehensive evaluating immunological and serological response from COVID19 infection or vaccination.

  • Mingyu Yang

    Associate Research Scientist

    Ph.D. Bioinformatics, Peking University

    Mingyu is a bioinformatics scientist with over 10 years of experience in large-scale multi-omics data analyses including her post-doctoral training in the Fan Lab. Prior to her graduate study, she was a Bioinformatics Scientist and Group Leader at BGI-Genomics. Besides science, she enjoys music, yoga, dance, and travel.

  • Bo Tao

    Associate Research Scientist

    Ph.D. in Pathology and Pathophysiology from Zhejiang University.

    Prior to joining Fan Lab, Bo focused on researching how LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) traverses the endothelium to initiate atherosclerosis, a process known as 'Transcytosis,' and the role of cholesterol metabolism in regulating inflammation at VBT, Yale School of Medicine under the guidance of Dr. William Sessa. During his PhD, he investigated how M2 macrophages contribute to the pathology of IPF and aging-related emphysema using various genetically modified mouse models.

    At Fan Lab, Bo's interests lie in developing and applying spatial multiomics (DNA-RNA-Protein) approaches to study developmental and pathological diseases

  • Fu Gao

    Associate Research Scientist

    MD and PhD, Peking University

    Fu received his clinical training at Peking University, where he developed a comprehensive understanding of a wide range of clinical diseases. After earning his PhD/MD degree, he served as both an instructor and a physician in Peking University. Following this, he pursued postdoctoral training at Yale Medical School, further enhancing his expertise. Fu's current interests are in the development of innovative tools for spatially-resolved multi-omics. He is dedicated to applying these cutting-edge technologies to practical clinical settings.

  • Zhiliang Bai

    Post-doctoral Associate

    B.S. Measuring and Control Technology, Tianjin University, 2015

    Ph.D. Instrument Science and Technology, Tianjin University, 2021

    Zhiliang worked as a visiting research assistant at Fan Lab from 2018 to 2020, during which he gained a deep passion on microfluidics, single-cell technologies, and cancer immunotherapy. He is currently working on single-cell multi-omics characterization of CAR T infusion products, the development of spatial immune repertoire technology, spatial alternative splicing profiling technology, and the next-generation spatial technology. He enjoys working out and reading books in his spare time.

  • Di Zhang

    Post-doctoral Associate

    Di is focusing on spatial multiomics research and likes traveling in her spare time.

  • Xiaolong Tian

    Post-doctoral Associate

    Xiaolong received his Ph.D. from Fudan University in 2022, focusing on antibody development and antibody repertoire analysis for infectious diseases. He is presently under the joint mentorship of Rong Fan and Sidi Chen, dedicating his efforts to pioneering spatial omics technologies, including spatial glycomics and spatial CRISPR. His research aims to elucidate the mechanisms underlying cancer development and to advance targeted cancer immunotherapies.

  • Haikuo Li

    Post-doctoral Associate

    B.S. Biological Sciences (Honors Program), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2019

    Ph.D. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, Washington University in St. Louis, 2023

    Haikuo was trained in diverse biological fields including immunology, genetics, systems biology and nephrology. During his Ph.D. study advised by Dr. Ben Humphreys, Haikuo employed split-pool barcoding multiomics approaches to study kidney heterogeneity and tissue fibrosis. At the Fan Lab, Haikuo is interested in studying how gene transcription events are regulated in health and disease, and the underlying spatiotemporal dynamics and epigenetic mechanisms. He likes reading and writing outside of the lab.

  • Anthony Fung

    Post-doctoral Associate

    PhD, UC San Diego

    Anthony "Tony" received his PhD from the University of California San Diego in 2023 under the guidance of Dr. Lingyan Shi in the Shu-Chien Gene-Lay Department of Bioengineering. He studied biomedical imaging applications and analysis with a specialization in label-free vibrational spectromicroscopy modalities such as Stimulated Raman Scattering. After using the label-free multi-modal imaging platform he set up to study subcellular breast cancer metabolism and diabetic kidney disease, he co-founded Raman Noodle Inc. - a metabolic imaging contract research organization and consultation agency. Tony's current interests center on the integration of spatial omics research and microscopy modalities to elucidate the interplay between biomolecular metabolism and biological fate.

  • Graham Su

    PhD Student

    B.S. Bioengineering, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, 2018

    Graham became fascinated with stem cells, cancer research, and the data science required in the biomedical field during his undergrad. His current work is on the spatial transcriptomic and multiomic mapping human and mouse hippocampus to study the regional profile and expressional mechanisms involved in several key brain functions such as memory and neuroplasticity. In his spare time, he enjoys working out, playing video games, and snowboarding.

  • Xiaoyu Qin

    PhD Student

    B.S. Biological Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China

    Xiaoyu is interested in developing new tools for spatially-resolved multi-omics sequencing, and characterizing the hematopoietic niche within its spatial context. When she’s not doing research, you may find her being outdoors, traveling, or reading about everything.

  • Shuozhen Bao

    PhD Student

    B.Eng., Huazhong University of Science and Technology

    Shuozhen is currently working on applying spatial omics techniques to cancers including glioblastoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. She hopes one day she could help patients with the innovative techniques she develops. She enjoys playing table tennis, reading novels, and eating in her leisure time.

  • Archibald Enninful

    PhD Student

    B.S. Biomedical Engineering, Yale University 2020

    Archie first joined the Fan Lab during his undergraduate studies applying spatial omics technologies to study the mouse lymph node microenvironment. As a graduate student in the Fan Lab, his work is focused on mapping senescent cells in lymphoid tissues as part of the NIH’s Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet) Consortium. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, and playing FIFA, and is a big fan of Liverpool FC.

  • Negin Farzad

    PhD Student

    B.S. Medical Sciences, Shahid Behesti University, 2015

    Negin gained a deep appreciation of cancer, radiotherapy and medical physics and found her passion in biomedical Engineering. In the Fan lab, she works on spatial transcriptomic and multiomic mapping human and mouse liver to profile liver zonation and study Senescence and immune cells as well as complex metabolism involved in several key liver functions. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, playing tennis, and musical instruments.

  • Alev Baysoy

    PhD Student

    B.S. Engineering Sciences, Princeton University 2018

    Alev worked as a research affiliate in both Christophe Benoist's group at Harvard Medical School and The Broad Institute until 2021. During this time, she also became an active member of The Immunological Genome Project and pursued her Master’s in Data Science. In the Fan lab, she hopes to develop spatial CRISPR-screening technology to determine spatial multiomics heterogeneity in the context of disease. When she isn’t in the lab, she likes to play ice hockey, soccer, ski and run. She also enjoys cooking, spending time with family and friends, and traveling.

  • Yao Lu

    PhD Student

    B.S. Mathematics, Fudan University

    M.S. Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University

    Before joining Fan Lab, Yao spend a few years doing research in cancer and cardiovascular disease. She is specially interested in multi-omics, spatial transcriptomics, and advanced algorithms in this field. She is now a member of the SenNet project and hopes to use spatial transcriptomics to decode secrets in aging and age-related diseases, such as cancer. She also enjoys reading novels and searching for nice restaurants in her spare time.

  • Jungmin Nam

    PhD Student

    B.S. Bio-Convergence and Nano Science & Engineering, Yonsei University, 2022

    Jungmin is working on profiling mouse lymph nodes using spatial transcriptomics and multiplexed tissue imaging. Outside of the lab, she enjoys knitting, playing the violin, pilates, and reading.