Zhao Lab Staff

Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD
Principal Investigator
Mingtao.Zhao@NationwideChildrens.org

Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Center for Cardiovascular Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio. He is an assistant professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Zhao completed his postdoctoral training with Dr. Joseph Wu at Stanford University School of Medicine, followed by an instructor position at Stanford Cardiovascular Institute in 2018. In August 2019, he moved to Columbus Ohio to set up his independent laboratory in Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Zhao’s research laboratory aims to decipher the molecular mechanisms controlling heart development and discover novel treatment for congenital heart disease using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

Dr. Zhao’s research vision is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular development and congenital heart disease using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), combined with the cutting-edge technologies in functional genomics and genome editing (CRISPR/Cas9). In particular, Dr. Zhao is interested in how genetic variants in noncoding regions with open chromatin state could contribute to the clinical phenotypes of congenital heart disease by studying patient-derived iPSCs that retain all the genetic information of the patients in vitro. In addition, Dr. Zhao is exploring the novel regulatory roles of NOTCH signaling pathway in human cardiac and vascular lineage commitment under normal and diseased conditions.

Matthew Alonzo, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Matthew.Alonzo@NationwideChildrens.org

Matthew Alonzo is currently an NIH/NHLBI F32 postdoctoral fellow in the Zhao Lab at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where he has been conducting research since 2021. He earned his PhD in biomedical engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso and now focuses on engineering innovative approaches to detect and diagnose congenital heart diseases during pregnancy, as well as investigating the molecular programs that drive abnormal cardiac development Leveraging his engineering expertise and the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), Dr. Alonzo is committed to advancing translational solutions for congenital heart defects. His work has been recognized with the Outstanding Postdoctoral Scientist – Basic Research award from the Abigail Wexner Research Institute and the Drop The Mic(roscope) Excellence in Research Award from the Heart Center.

Yang Yu, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Yang.Yu@NationwideChildrens.org

Dr. Yu joined the lab in 2021 and comes from Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China. Yang accomplished his doctoral study on the function and trafficking properties of potassium ion channels in the College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Yang looks forward to establishing the 3D cardioid model to unravel the underlying molecular mechanisms and etiologies involved in single ventricle defects. An ongoing training in bioinformatics underscores Yang’s commitment to a multidisciplinary approach in the cardiovascular research.

Meghan Hanley
Graduate Student
Meghan.Hanley@NationwideChildrens.org

Meghan joined the lab in 2023 as a research assistant, when she began her research studying the molecular mechanisms driving single ventricle heart defects using 3D cardiac organoids. In 2025, she joined the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at The Ohio State University where she continued her research in the Zhao lab and has been funded by the AHA diversity supplement. Her current work focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms driving ventricular development and cardiac cell differentiation using a multi-faceted approach, both 3D cardiac organoids and 2D iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.

Javier Contreras
Research Student
Javier.Contreras@NationwideChildrens.org

Jerry Wang
Research Technician
Jerry.Wang@NationwideChildrens.org  

Aaron Argall, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Aaron.Argall2@NationwideChildrens.org  

Argall joined the lab in 2024 after receiving his doctorate in biomedical sciences from The Ohio State University where he identified a novel role for a scaffolding protein, ankyrin-R, in a mouse model of HFpEF. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dr. Argall will employ 2D iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and 3D chamber-specific cardioids to delineate differentiation mechanisms responsible for congenital heart defects seen in nearly half of all Down Syndrome individuals using single cell and spatial transcriptomics. Dr. Argall received an AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2025 for this work and looks forward to continuing his interdisciplinary career at the intersection of the heart and brain.

Rabina Shrestha, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Rabina.Shrestha@NationwideChildrens.org  

Shrestha earned her PhD in biology from the University of Mississippi, where her research identified a PI3K-dependent mechanism that regulates myocardial movement during heart tube formation. In September 2024, she joined the Zhao Lab at Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a Postdoctoral Scientist to investigate the underlying etiology of valve defects in single ventricle diseases. Her research integrates induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based disease modeling, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and bioinformatics to dissect how genetic mutations contribute to congenital valve defects.

Jiyoon Lee
Graduate Student
Jiyoon.Lee@NationwideChildrens.org  

Jiyoon is a PhD student in the Biomedical Science Graduate Program at The Ohio State University. She initially joined the Zhao lab as a research assistant in April 2024 and transitioned in May 2025 as a graduate student. Jiyoon’s research focuses on valve development in patients with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS), a rare congenital heart disease, using patient-derived iPSCs.

John Winbigler
Research Assistant
John.Winbigler@NationwideChildrens.org  

John joined the Zhao lab in May 2025 after graduating from The Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in biology. Besides assisting in the lab, he will be a member of the iPSC core that will generate human induced pluripotent stem cells for investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University. He is applying to medical school this year.

Ramy Bahassi
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ramy.Bahassi@NationwideChildrens.org  

Ramy is pursuing a bachelor's degree in neuroscience at The Ohio State University. He primarily works with Dr. Aaron Argall, assisting with his projects relating to Down syndrome associated congenital heart defects. Ramy plans on attending medical school after obtaining his bachelor's degree.