Chandler Lab Staff
Dawn Chandler, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dawn Chandler, PhD, received a bachelor of science in microbiology/chemistry from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and a doctorate in genes and development from the University of Texas’ Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston Texas. She conducted post-doctoral research in human and cancer genetics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas in the lab of Dr. Gigi Lozano. In 2005, Dr. Chandler joined the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and the Center for Childhood Cancer at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and has been studying alternative splicing in pediatric diseases since that time. She is the co-director of the MCDB Graduate Program at OSU and the inaugural director of the Office of Trainee Affairs at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is also co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has mentored high school, undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral research and medical fellows. She was awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award in 2012 and 2013.
When not pondering the intricacies of RNA splicing, Dawn enjoys hiking, kayaking, checking out live music and spending time with her husband, Hadden, and children, Augie and Autumn.
Zac LaRocca-Stravalle
Research Associate
Zac earned his bachelor’s of science in biology from Kenyon College in 2021. He joined the Chandler Lab in 2022, where he manages supply and reagent ordering, as well as mouse genotyping and colony maintenance. His research focuses on the regulation of MDM2-ALT1 alternative splicing, splice-switching technology to target PD-L1, and global alternative splicing in hepatoblastoma.
Chloe Nagasawa, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Chloe earned her doctorate in human pathophysiology and translational medicine from The University of Texas Medical Branch, where she investigated the molecular mechanisms of dysregulated RNA splicing in autoimmune diseases. She joined the Chandler Lab in September 2024 to continue research on RNA splicing, specifically focusing on identifying targetable pathways of dysregulated splicing in pediatric cancer.
Xia Zhou, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Xia joined Chandler Lab in 2024 and has been studying the correlation between RNA alternative splicing and cancer biology and treatment. Xia obtained her doctorate from department of chemistry and biochemistry in Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she worked on the RNA pseudoknot and its function in programmed ribosomal frameshifting of human and viral RNA. Her research interests extend to oligonucleotides, RNA and protein expression regulation in signaling pathways within tumor environment.
Akila Venkataramany, PhD
Graduate Student
Akila Venkataramany is a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Cornell University and joined OSU’s program in 2018. Her doctoral studies were co-mentored by Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD, and Dawn Chandler, PhD, in the Center for Childhood Cancer Research. Her graduate research focused on identifying key RNA splicing events in pediatric bone sarcomas (osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma) and targeting oncogenic splicing events with antisense oligonucleotides expressed in viral vectors. Following her medical scientist training, Akila plans to attend a pediatric residency program with a research emphasis and eventually complete a hematology/oncology fellowship. Her overall goal is to become a pediatric oncologist and physician-scientist who works toward developing novel and effective therapies for pediatric cancer patients.
Whitney Jimenez
Research Student
Whitney Jimenez is a biomedical science PhD student with a research emphasis in cancer biology. She earned her bachelor of science in biological sciences with a concentration in cellular and developmental biology from California State University, Fullerton. Driven by a longstanding passion for cancer research, she joined the Chandler Lab in 2022 to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis. Her research focuses on elucidating the complex interplay between trans- and cis-regulatory elements in MDM2 alternative splicing, aiming to uncover insights into cancer progression and potential therapeutic targets.
Rafia Rahat
Research Student
Rafia Rahat received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the Chandler Lab, Rafia is focusing on developing innovative RNA therapeutic delivery platforms specifically targeting pediatric sarcomas. Her work focuses on creating effective treatment options for challenging childhood cancers through precision delivery mechanisms.
Kristi Akehurst
Kristi received a bachelor of science in zoology from The Ohio State University and subsequently worked as a technician in the Chandler Lab. She maintained the mouse colony and assisted with both the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and MDM2 mouse models with graduate students Tom Bebee and Aishwarya Jacob. Kristi is currently a nurse at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
Tom Bebee
Tom is a 2012 graduate of the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program at The Ohio State University and of the Chandler Lab. His major project in lab was the development of an inducible mouse model to determine the timing of SMN replacement in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Tom also worked on the molecular significance of reduced SMN on splicing in response to hypoxia and its functional significance for disease. Tom worked as a post-doc at the University of Pennsylvania in the lab of Dr. Russ Carstens. Tom is now a biomedical consultant.
Dan Comiskey
Dan studied the regulation of the alternative splicing of MDM2 and the role of cis and trans factors that lead to the aberrant splicing seen in many types of human cancer. The purposes of this research were to develop a better understanding of RNA processing and identify potential targets for therapy in splicing correction. Dan obtained his doctoral degree in 2016 is currently a postdoc in Dr. Albert de la Chapelle’s Lab at OSU.
Catey Dominguez
Catey was enrolled in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology program at The Ohio State University and graduated with her doctorate in 2016. In the Chandler Lab, she studied splicing events in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Her project involved increasing the severity of the lab’s mild SMA mouse model to mimic the more severe cases, corresponding to human SMA Types I and II and to determine at what point treatments must occur in order to be most successful in alleviating the degenerative effects of this disease. Catey is currently a molecular epidemiologist at the Maryland Department of Public Health.
Jordan Gladman
Jordan Gladman graduated from the Integrated Biomedical Science Program with The Ohio State University in the summer of 2010. His thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Dawn S. Chandler consisted of researching the pediatric disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Jordan generated a new mouse model of SMA and uncovered the factors that influence the mRNA splicing of the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) gene. Jordan published three during his graduate studies. Jordan moved on to a postdoc with Dr. Mani Mahadevan at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and is currently a project specialist at the National Institutes of Health.
Aishwarya Jacob
Aishwarya, who was enrolled in the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology program (MCDB) at The Ohio State University, graduated with her doctorate from Dr. Chandler's Lab in 2014. Her thesis focused on understanding the mechanisms and implications of alternative splicing of the MDM2 oncogene under cellular stress and in pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma. Aishwarya performed a post doc at UC-Santa Cruz and is currently a postdoc in Dr. Chris Smith’s lab at the University of Cambridge in the UK.
Safiya Khurshid
Safiya joined Chandler Lab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2017. She received her bachelors and masters from the University of Hyderabad and her doctorate from Cologne Graduate School of Ageing. In the Chandler Lab, Safiya studied alternative splicing in response to tumor specific stresses such as metabolic starvation and hypoxia. In 2025 Safiya joined the Sanford Research Group as an assistant professor at the University of South Dakota where she will continue her investigations into splicing alterations in the tumor microenvironment.
Eleftheria Matsa
Eleftheria studied tumorigenesis in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma and other relevant cancers. Her primary project examined the significance of MDM2 alternative splicing under cellular stress, as well as understanding the various characteristics of resulting isoforms and their implications in the p53 pathway. Eleftheria left the Chandler Lab to attend medical school at The Ohio State University.
Chase Meacham
Chase graduated from St. Charles Preparatory School and is attending George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Matias Montes
Matias was a graduate student in the molecular, cellular and developmental biology graduate program at The Ohio State University and completed his doctoral studies in the Chandler Lab. As a Pelotonia fellow, Matias studied RNA splicing in mouse models of cancer and investigated new roles for miRNAs in the nucleus. After graduation he joined the chemical and systems biology program of Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow in the Martinez Lab. There, Matias will be joining the burgeoning field of RNA modifications and how such modifications influence RNA metabolism.
Ryan Rauck
Ryan graduated from Johns Hopkins with his bachelor of science and is currently attending medical school at The Ohio State University.
Brianne Sanford
Brianne was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab who received her doctorate from The Ohio State University in 2014. She joined the Chandler Lab to gain experience in the field of RNA splicing and cancer and to learn cell-based and in vivo techniques. Brianne worked to define mechanisms involved in alternative splicing of the insulin receptor as it relates to pediatric cancer. She is strove to define global splicing networks found to be important in response to DNA damage and cancer. Brianne is currently an Assistant Professor at Viterbo University in Wisconsin.
Mark Serpico
Mark was and undergraduate research volunteer in the Chandler Lab. He is a graduate of the Microbiology Program of The Ohio State University.
Ravi Singh
Ravi received his bachelor and graduate degrees in India, before coming to Columbus. Ravi graduated with a doctorate from Chandler Lab, and The Ohio State University’s MCDB program in 2009. His research at Nationwide Children’s in Chandler Lab involved trying to better understand the global signaling affecting regulation of RNA processing factors through the identification of the minimal cis elements and trans factors that bind to MDM2 pre-mRNA and regulate alternative splicing in response to stress. Ravi worked as a postdoc in Dr.Tom Cooper’s lab at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Texas and is now an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaulkee, WI.
Axia Tapia
AixaTapia was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and obtained a bachelor of arts in applied microbiology from Universidad del Este, PR. Aixa joined the Chandler Lab after relocating to Columbus to pursue a doctoral degree with Ohio State’s MCDB program, and graduated in 2011. During her time in the Chandler Lab, Aixa focused on understanding the alternative splicing mechanism of the MDM2 pre-mRNA molecule under genotoxic stress, along with identifying and characterizing the cis and trans factors that might play a role in this process that relates to several types of human cancers.