Janaiah Kota, PhD, MS

Principal Investigator (P.I.)

Satyajit Hari Kulkarni

Research Associate

Satyajit is an international student from India, born and raised in Dubai, and started in the Kota lab in 2021. He previously performed research in the Laulhé lab and the Hickman lab at IUPUI. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at IUPUI majoring in Biology and Chemistry. He is fascinated by animals and plans to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine. Satyajit's ultimate career goal is to work as a veterinary scientist developing therapies for animals. Satyajit's hobbies include reading, cooking, and playing basketball.

Natalie Mikhailov, MS, MA

Research Associate

Natalie was born and raised in Russia, and joined the Kota lab at the end of 2019. After moving to the US, she switched careers from Journalism to Biomedical Sciences. She attended IUPUI as an undergraduate and later as a graduate student majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She hopes that the knowledge and skills she has accrued during her years in the lab will help her succeed later as a medical scientist and as a practicing physician. Natalie's hobbies include spending time outdoors, travelling, watching Formula 1, and spending time with her guinea pigs.

Alex Krylov

Research Assistant

Alex was born and raised in Russia and started in the Kota lab in 2021. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at IUPUI. His long-term goal is to become a doctor, and so he plans to pursue a degree in medicine after he graduates from IUPUI next May. Alex hopes the research skills he has developed in the Kota lab will translate into his medical career where he will need dexterity, focus, and organization to be successful.

Mackenzi Lawson

Research Assistant

Mackenzi is an undergraduate student originally from Illinois. She started in the Kota lab in October 2021, and is currently studying Neuroscience with minors in Spanish and Psychology at IUPUI. She plans to go to medical school and intends to take the skills and knowledge she learns in the lab into her future career. Mackenzi’s hobbies include reading, watching movies and tv shows, and spending time with friends and family.

Shatovisha Dey, BTech, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Shatovisha Dey completed her PhD at the University of Arkansas where she utilized GWAS and NGS approaches for the development of marker-assisted selection of broilers against pulmonary hypertension. She joined the Indiana University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow. The Kota lab provided her with the opportunity and platform to perform cutting-edge research. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kota, she developed approaches to decipher the regulatory role of miR-29a in pancreatic diseases, such as pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, and validated the use of the molecule in developing therapeutic modalities for these fibrotic diseases. She is currently employed as a Research Scientist at the Gene Editing Institute, Christiana Care. Her research interests lie in understanding the underlying mechanisms of oncogenesis to develop targeted therapeutics for the disease.

Jason Kwon, BA, PhD

Graduate Student

Jason Kwon was a PhD student in the Kota lab from 2013-2018. As a graduate student, his thesis work focused on utilizing in vitro and mouse model systems to dissect the molecular mechanisms of microRNA-29 (miR-29) in pancreatic cancer. Under the auspice and supervision of Dr. Kota, Jason worked towards assessing the anti-fibrotic function of miR-29 in stromal cells (pancreatic stellate cells) as well as its tumor suppressor function in pancreatic cancer cells. He obtained numerous awards and training grants during his tenure in the lab, which he directly attributes to the environment and training Dr. Kota provided him. Jason is now an NCI Kirschstein-NRSA F32 postdoctoral fellow in the Hahn lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. His current work deploys CRISPR-Cas9 genome scale screens and deep mutational scanning technology to systematically understand resistance mechanisms of targeted therapies in pancreatic cancer. When asked to comment on his experience in the lab, Jason remarked, "Dr. Kota has taught me that due diligence and hard work always prevails and that science is nothing without a sincere desire to contribute towards bettering humanity. In addition to the scientific training, Dr. Kota's wisdom and personal advice will stay with me for the rest of my life."

Kayla Quirin, BS, MS

Research Intern

Kayla grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and received a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology from IUPUI. Following graduation, she completed a Master of Science in IUSM's Genetic Counseling Program. She was a research intern in the lab for almost 4 years, and assisted on a number of projects. Additionally, she served as the lab manager and helped with ensuring all aspects of the lab were organized and well-stocked. Kayla is currently working within the clinical research realm, and believes her time working with Dr. Kota prepared her for this aspect of her career. When asked to comment on her experience in the lab, Kayla reflected, "Working with Dr. Kota and the other members of the lab was a great help to me in my career as a genetic counselor. I learned a great deal about what goes on behind the scenes of genetics research, which better informed my counseling. Additionally, Dr. Kota provided me with experience in preparing manuscripts for publication, which has been a selling point for me when interviewing for jobs."

Sarah Nabinger, BS, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Sarah was born and raised in rural, upstate New York and moved to Indianapolis with her family upon graduating high school. She further went on to get her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from IUPUI (Purdue School of Science) and PhD in Medical and Molecular Genetics from IUPUI (IU School of Medicine) with an emphasis on leukemia. When asked about her experience in Dr. Kota's lab, Sarah responded, "My time in the Kota lab expanded my knowledge to include liver and pancreatic cancers and further supported my love and interest in oncology research." Currently, Sarah works for Eli Lilly and Company as a Clinical Research Scientist in Oncology and is very passionate about helping people and bringing critical medicines to patients in need.

Primavera Riverahernandez, BS, MS

Research Intern (LHSI)

Primavera graduated from IUPUI in 2020 with a Bachelor's in Informatics and a Master's in Bioinformatics. She currently works for TrueScripts, a Prescription Benefits Management company, as a Data Analyst. Her hobbies include watching and reading thrillers/mysteries, exercising, and trying new baking and cooking recipes. Her favorite holiday is Halloween and she has a major sweet tooth. She currently lives in Noblesville with her long-term boyfriend, and is expecting to get her first dog next year. Prima's future goals are to continue in her current career, but also to continue her studies and certifications to gain more knowledge in her different areas of interest.

When asked about her experience in Dr. Kota's lab, here's what Prima had to say: "I’ve always been interested in genetics from the moment I watched the Jurassic Park movies, the idea that certain genes combined can bring dinosaurs back to life? I mean, any kid would want to know more! I came to Dr. Kota’s lab through LHSI and my project with him investigated the mechanistic role of miR-29 in pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). After my semester ended with the lab, I decided to stay on and take on the role of doing further experiments with miR-29, such as doing the first initial acute pancreatitis (AP) experiments in our mice colonies. I enjoyed my time at the lab; everyone was super helpful, and I learned a lot of new skills before I left. One of my greatest achievements before I left the lab was gaining a sense of confidence in my work, and I think this was a great push of Dr. Kota and my lab members, and it helped me tremendously with my current job and my personal self."

Sushuma Yarlagadda, BS, MD

Undergraduate Researcher

Sushuma was born in Hyderabad, India and brought up in Carmel, Indiana from a young age. She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a Bachelor's of Science in Biology with a concentration in Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics and minors in Spanish and Psychology. She then completed her M.D. at Indiana University School of Medicine with a Scholarly Concentration in Public Health. Medical school cultivated her strong passions for neurology, humanistic medicine, and mentorship. Sushuma is now completing her Neurology Residency training at Emory University School of Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys trying new restaurants and coffee shops around Atlanta or learning about Interior Design and Art History. During her undergraduate degree, Sushuma spent multiple summers in the Kota lab assisting with various projects and gaining laboratory skills such as cell culture, immunohistochemistry, and cloning/recombination. She also collaborated with other lab members to author a book chapter for Springer Methods In Pharmacology and Toxicology titled "Methods for MicroRNA Profiling in Cancer." Sushuma's time in the Kota lab played a large role in her pursuit of academic medicine and laid the foundation for her interests in translational research.

Arafat Aljoufi, MD, PhD

IBMG Graduate Student

Arafat graduated from the Cairo University School of Medicine, and then transitioned into basic and translational research. He worked as a research technician at New York University and Columbia University, New York, for three years before he was accepted in the IBMG PhD program at IUPUI. His dissertation research is focused on normal and preleukemic hematopoietic stem cells behavior in physiological and extra-physiological oxygen tension. Arafat rotated in Dr. Kota's lab while the lab was in the final stages of manuscript preparation. He describes it as an informative experience that helped him in later publishing his first first-author paper.