Faculty and Staff — South Campus
Jared Burks, Ph.D.
Professor
Associate Director of Shared Resources CCSG
Director of Flow Cytometry & Cell Imaging Core Facility
Primary Contact
JBurks@MDAnderson.org
B8.4512A
713-792-6592
Burks' scientific journey began as a research assistant in Dr. Max D. Summers' laboratory at Texas A&M University, where he first became fascinated with protein trafficking and confocal imaging. During his doctoral training, he developed a keen technical skill set, ultimately identifying importin-alpha-16, a critical shuttling protein involved in nuclear membrane protein transport. This early work demonstrated his ability to leverage advanced imaging techniques to uncover fundamental cellular mechanisms.
After completing his postdoctoral research at Baylor College of Medicine, where he refined his collaborative skills and problem-solving approaches, Burks joined MD Anderson Cancer Center. Over the past 14 years, he has transformed from a core facility researcher to a professor and associate director of shared resources for the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) and founded the Innovation Nexus to drive technological advancement in cancer research.
Research Expertise
Recognized by the National Cancer Institute as a Research Specialist in Spatial Biology, Burks has introduced revolutionary technologies impacting research. His current research focuses on developing comprehensive data integration methods to understand cellular communications within tumors. By synthesizing spatial metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, and microbiome data in 3D spatial contexts, he aims to unravel complex functional interactions in unique cellular microenvironments.
Key Achievements and Impact
- Secured $5 million in novel technology partnerships
- Established cutting-edge imaging systems like Lunaphore Comet
- Introduced STOmics spatial transcriptomics
- Received prestigious NCI R50 Research Specialist Award
- Successfully contributed to a funded transformative U01 HTAN grant
As a Key Opinion Leader, Burks consistently bridges technological innovation with scientific discovery. His expertise lies in identifying, adapting, and leveraging emerging technologies to address critical research questions, driving collaborative innovations in cancer research and molecular biology.
Burks' approach combines technical precision, collaborative spirit and a relentless pursuit of understanding cellular complexity, ultimately advancing our comprehension of cancer biology and potential therapeutic strategies.
Karen Ramirez, B.S.
Laboratory Manager
kmramirez@mdanderson.org
713-563-3344
Ramirez has been involved in Flow Cytometry since 1983. She has worked in clinical research labs and in product development and technical support in the flow cytometry industry. At MD Anderson, Ramirez has worked in the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility — South Campus since 1992. Since that time, the core has grown significantly in terms of instrumentation, technical capabilities, and number of users served. Ramirez now manages the ACSF. She is responsible for operation of all instruments, management of consumables, verifying billing and training new staff and clients. She participates in staff selection and training, staff management activities, SOP development and other projects for the ACSF. Ramirez has been involved in teaching flow cytometry concepts and techniques to numerous undergraduates, summer students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists. She is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility — South Campus.
Veena Papanna, M.S., SCYM(ASCP)CM
Coordinator, Flow Cytometry Lab
vpapanna@mdanderson.org
713-563-3345
Papanna received her master's degree in microbiology from the University of Bangalore, India in 2002. She received an M.B.A. in hospital management from USU Russia in 2015. She has more than 10 years of biomedical and immunology research experience, including more than five years of experience working in flow cytometry core facilities. Papanna received cytometry certification from ISAC in March 2015, and she has attended many hours of cytometry training provided by BD, ISAC, FloCyte, Leica and Amnis. She has expertise in handling sorting and analysis flow cytometry assays and Amnis ImageStream experiments. Along with acquisition software, she has knowledge of other analysis software, including FlowJo, Kaluza and FCS Express. She has been associated with the core facility since 2011.
Kathryn Cox, B.S., SCYM(ASCP)CM
Coordinator, Flow Cytometry Lab
kequinta@mdanderson.org
713-563-3350
Cox became a part-time member of the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility — South Campus in June 2011. She obtained her B.S. in biology from the University of Houston. She has more than 16 years of flow cytometry experience and 10 years of experience with mAb conjugations for ACSF users upon request. She has several years of experience staining, acquiring and analyzing samples with 30+ parameters. She maintains and orders all supplies for the core facility. She consults with core users to help them design panels for their experiments and assists with high parameter FlowJo-based data analysis. Cox also provides acquisition assistance on cell sorters and analyzers within ACSF.
Matthew Ramirez
Research Technician
msramirez1@mdanderson.org
713-563-3345
Born in Houston, Ramirez attends the University of Houston, where he studies Biology. He joined the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core Facility — South Campus in June of 2018 as a student extern. He assists in cell sorting. Ramirez is very interested in learning about the instrumentation and basics of flow cytometry.