Lab Members
Yinyin Yuan, Ph.D.
Professor, Computational Pathology & Integrated Genomics
Director, Computational Pathology Program, Division of Pathology
Co-Lead, Imaging and Digital Pathology, Focus Area One, Institute for Data Science in Oncology
Specialized in computational pathology and -omics data integration, Yinyin leads an interdisciplinary team at MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop impact-driven AI solutions for cancer research and treatment. She brings years of experience in digital pathology and machine learning to cancer research.
Previous positions and degrees:
- Team Leader, Computational Pathology & Integrated Genomics, ICR
- Diversity and Equalities champion, Academic Dean’s team, ICR
- Junior Research Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, 2010-2012
- Postdoctoral fellow, Markowetz Lab, Cambridge Institute, Cancer Research UK & Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, 2009-2012
- PhD, Computer Science, University of Warwick
- MSc by research, Computer Science, University of Warwick
- BSc, Computer Science, University of Science & Technology of China (USTC)
Simon Castillo, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Instructor, Computational Pathology
Hailing from Chile and trained in ecology, Simon seeks to understand tumor ecosystems by applying computational tools to extract spatial attributes of coexisting cell types. Simon’s ultimate interest is to relate these emerging spatial ecologies to basic science questions, e.g., in situ regulation of the cell cycle, and translational unmet clinical needs, e.g., prediction of recurrence and progression.
Previous positions and degrees:
- Postdoctoral Training Fellow in Computational Pathology and Integrative Genomics, Division of Molecular Pathology & Centre for Evolution and Cancer, the Institute of Cancer Research, UK, 2020–2023
- MSc, Ph.D. in Biological Sciences mention in Ecology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, 2016–2020
Xiaoxi Pan, Ph.D.
Instructor, Computational Pathology
Xiaoxi brings experience from computer vision and medical image analysis to lung cancer evolution study with digital pathology.
Previous positions and degrees:
- Postdoctoral Training Fellow in Computational Pathology and Integrative Genomics, Division of Molecular Pathology & Centre for Evolution and Cancer, the Institute of Cancer Research, UK, Sep. 2020–present
- Postdoctoral work in Fresnel Institute and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France, Nov. 2019–Dec. 2019
- Ph.D. in Optics, Photonics, and Image Processing, Ecole Centrale de Marseille, Marseille, France, Oct. 2016–Oct. 2019
- M.E. in Astronautics Engineering (Pattern Recognition & Intelligent System), Beihang University, Beijing, China, Sep. 2013–Jan. 2016
- B.E. in Detection, Guidance and Control Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China, Sep. 2009–July 2013
Jake Leighton, Ph.D.
Data Scientist, Computational Pathology
Jake leverages experience in bioinformatics and technology development to integrate spatial genomic, transcriptomic, and AI approaches to enhance computational pathology applications in the context of tumor initiation, heterogeneity and evolution.
Previous positions and degrees:
- Graduate Research Fellow, Department of Genetics, MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
- B.S. in Biochemistry and B.A. in Physics, University of Texas at Austin
Alexandria Lau, M.Phil.
Ph.D. student, Computational Pathology
Alex is excited about large-scale transfer learning for medical imaging and approaches of 'omics' integration for molecular histology.
Previous positions and degrees:
- M. Phil., BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 2016–2022
Zhuohe (Harry) Liu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Computational Pathology
Harry's passion is all about improving and deploying engineering methods to accelerate biotechnology and bio/medical science research. With his past experience in building automated microscope-based high-throughput screening platforms for protein engineering, he continues to explore innovative methods in computer vision and machine learning. He seeks to create impact in lab automation and accelerate clinical workflows with automated data pipelines.
Previous positions and degrees:
- Postdoctoral associate, Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, 2023
- M.S., Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, 2016–2022
- B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), 2014–2016
- B.S.E. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2012–2016
Caner Ercan, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Computational Pathology
Caner focuses on understanding the spatial dynamics of the tumor microenvironment through computational pathology. Within his work, curiosity leads Caner to investigate the practical use of computer vision and bioinformatic methods in translational pathology.
Previous positions and degrees:
- Ph.D. in Translational and Computational Pathology, University of Basel, Switzerland, 2019–2023
- Residency in Pathology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey, 2014–2019
- M.D., Ege University, Izmir, Turkey, 2007–2014
