We firmly believe that diversity is key to impactful science. Diversity of knowledge, expertise, background and perspective integrate to give us new and creative approaches to solve the most important scientific and clinical problems. We understand that everyone brings something special to the table, and we are all equals in this lab of self-described “quiet skeptics.”
We are all here because we are driven by a common purpose – to lessen the pain and suffering caused by cancer by engineering immune responses. We are firm believers that work and life don’t have to be in conflict, and strive to maintain an environment of support, productivity and fun. Lab should be a place where we can all feel motivated to do and be our best! We all also love food – cooking, eating, talking about food, anything. Please bring us food.
Junu is a hematology/oncology fellow interested in gastrointestinal cancers. He grew up (partially) in Pittsburgh (woo woo!) and did a PhD in Chemistry, which drove him into medicine. His unique perspective has set him up to develop novel approaches to attack GI cancers and study how mechanical stress impacts T cell function. In his spare time, Junu reads books about old wooden ships.
Hannah is a Kornfeld postbaccalaureate researcher and a recent graduate of Fisk University, where she earned dual degrees in Biology and Business Administration. She is interested in understanding the underlying mechanisms that shape disease progression and how the immune system can be leveraged to improve cancer treatment. Looking ahead, she plans to pursue an MD/PhD and a career as a physician-scientist. Outside the lab, Hannah loves traveling to different countries and anything artsy, especially singing. Fun fact: she has performed at the White House as a Fisk Jubilee Singer!
Deepesh grew up in North India. After completing his masters from IIT Roorkee (India), he moved to Uppsala University in Sweden to complete his PhD. His PhD work focused on adhesion dependent mechanisms regulating cell, gaining expertise in cell biology and imaging. He moved to Wash U in 2021 as a postdoc in pediatrics where he developed advanced skills in transcriptomic analysis of clinical samples. In our lab he uses high resolution imaging and innovative biochemistry to understand how CARs interact with other T cell proteins. Outside of the lab, he loves to cook new (ish) vegetarian food - which typically happens due to missing ingredients!
Henry is an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee studying Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology and Russian. He is returning to the Singh Lab for a second summer through the WashU MSTP ACCESS program. His research interests lie in protein engineering and signaling. When not in the lab, Henry can be found going to new restaurants, trying to birdwatch, or running.
Nathan grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Haverford College outside Philadelphia where he studied Spanish Literature and Biology. After college, Nathan started his life-long journey in cellular therapy as a tech in Carl June’s lab, and then stayed at Penn for medical school, residency, fellowship in hematology/oncology, and a post-doc back in the June Lab. When he’s not annoying his lab, he’s annoying his wife Abby, a physician-scientist in pediatric oncology, and his kids Max and Alana. Outside of work, you can usually find him in the kitchen cooking or eating.
Olivia grew up in Philadelphia and is currently pursuing her bachelor's in molecular biology and biochemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. Originally introduced to cell therapy through research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (another Grupp Lab alum!), she is excited to continue developing new CARs. In her free time, she enjoys playing squash, watching football, and trying new restaurants around STL.
Yangdon grew up in northern India and completed her undergraduate degree Macalester College in Minnesota. It was there that she developed an interest in immunology, and enrolled in the Wash U PhD program in 2022. Her interests lie in understanding how T cells interact with innate immune cells and using engineered T cells as mini bioreactors to influence the function of immune cells in tumor microenvironments. In her free time she enjoys running, attempting to cook, or playfully annoying her cat, Shilo.
Bryant grew up in St. Louis before graduating from Case Western Reserve University with a degree in Biochemistry. Prior to joining the Immunology PhD program in 2025, he worked in industry focusing on a sampling of different T-cell-based therapeutic modalities. His research interests currently focus on optimizing the stability of the CAR-T immunological synapse and the efficiency of downstream signaling pathways. Outside of the lab, he enjoys hiking, reading and cheering on his beloved Cardinals.
John grew up just outside of Philadelphia. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in biomedical engineering, he spent two years developing peptide-centric CAR T cells at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2021, he matriculated to WashU and has been frequenting the Arch ever since! He is working to design better CAR signaling domains through wet lab data generation, design of synthetic proteins and machine learning. Outside the lab, he enjoys suffering through Gamecock and Philadelphia sports seasons, working out, and playing guitar.
Oliver is a St. Louis native who returned home after earning his BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. During his undergraduate and graduate studies, he completed internships at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to projects developing cancer vaccines and bispecific antibodies, sparking his interest in cancer immunology. His research interests focus on engineering cytokine signaling into CAR T cells to enhance their function while using these systems to better understand fundamental cytokine biology. Outside the lab, Oliver enjoys mixing cocktails, playing piano, and bouldering.
Former Reseasch Associate
Currently: Taking the (cold) plunge as med student at MCW.
Former Research Assistant Professor
Currently: Exploring new scientific horizons in the Department of Genetics.
Former Reseasch Associate
Currently: Diving into the matrix as a Computational and Systems Biology PhD student at WashU!
Former undergrad researcher
Currently: Medical student at Ohio State!
Former research associate and lab founder
Currently: MD/PhD student at the University of Kansas, officially a convert from cancer genomics to immunology!
Former research associate
Currently: PhD student at MD Anderson Cancer Center, boiling away in Houston
Former lab Capo.
Currently: slaving away as an MD/MPH student at SIU.
Former computational scientist and lab bon vivant
Currently: headed to sunny Los Angeles to start heme/onc fellowship at UCLA!
Former post-doctoral fellow
Currently: Senior scientist at AlloTerra Therapeutics, pioneering ways to make allogeneic T cell therapies a reality.
Former post-doctoral fellow
Currently: Attending physician at Barnes Jewish Hospital, curing myeloma one cell therapy at a time