Das Lab

Jayajit Das, PhD
Principal Investigator

Jayajit Das, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine. Jayajit’s lab uses theoretical and computational approaches based on statistical physics to uncover basic mechanistic principles underlying our innate and adaptive immune response. Obtaining such mechanistic principles from experimental observations alone is often difficult because the pertinent processes include co-operative dynamic events with many participating components. A further complication that confounds intuition is stochastic fluctuations in these systems with small numbers of molecules. However, by synergistically integrating observations from experiments with transgenic animals, single molecule techniques and imaging studies probing molecular events in live animals with these theoretical and computational approaches we can provide system-level understanding into such complex systems. The mechanistic insight gained from such studies not only will help develop future experiments to unravel basic principles of our immune system, but may also help envision therapeutic strategies for infectious disease and autoimmune disorders.

Rajdeep Kaur Grewal, MSc
Post Doctoral Scientist

Rajdeep is a post doctoral researcher, working on computational modeling of NK cell signaling to interrogate mechanisms of signal integration in human NK cells, which play a crucial role in innate immune system response against transformed or infected cells. She completed her MSc in Applied Mathematics from Calcutta University, Kolkata, India. She submitted her PhD thesis, titled “Studies on Biological Networks” in Applied Mathematics, Bose Institute, Kolkata, India. Her aim is to understand the responses of NK cells against different virally infected target cells and tumor cells by combining mathematical modeling and available experimental data from single-cell imaging experiments.

In her free time, Rajdeep likes listening to music.

Nathanael Cox, PhD
Post Doctoral Research Scientist

Nathanael Cox, PhD, is a post doctoral research scientist. Dr. Cox’s research interests focus on applying tools and techniques developed in mathematics to problems in immunology. With recent innovations allowing immunologists to ascertain spatial data from tissue samples, topological data analysis will be a very important tool for interpreting this new information. 

Dr. Cox earned his doctoral degree in Mathematics at Purdue University. He studied applied topology, specifically topological data analysis, and received a concentration in computational science and engineering.

Saeed Ahmad, PhD
Post Doctoral Research Scientist

Saeed Ahmad, PhD, joined IGM on October 2nd as a post doctoral scientist in Das Lab. Saeed is trying to understand immunological response through computational modeling. Previously Saeed was post-doctoral fellow at UC Riverside where he studied icosahedral viruses through modeling. During PhD at IIT Bombay Saeed introduced various optimization techniques to expedite the process in stochastic environment.

In his free time Saeed likes reading, writing native poems, and playing Badminton.

Maheshwor Poudel, PhD 
Post Doctoral Research Scientist

Maheshwor Poudel, PhD, serves as a post doctoral research scientist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, contributing to research in cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Poudel earned his PhD in nuclear physics from Ohio University in 2022. Dr. Poudel's research interests lie at the intersection of physics, biology, and bioinformatics, with a focus on modeling T cell interactions with tumor and cancer cells. Dr. Poudel’s current research focuses on formulating and applying a system of partial differential equations to understand the T-cell population dynamics in the tumor microenvironment of brain tumor patients. Besides, he is also adept at leveraging various bioinformatics tools to analyze genomics data, providing valuable insights into cancer biology. Dr. Poudel is committed to collaborative research endeavors and excels in communicating complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences.

Debangana Mukhopadhyay, PhD
Post Doctoral Research Scientist

Debangana is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in computational modeling of NK cell and T cell signaling, aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of signal integration pivotal in the innate immune system's response to transformed or infected cells. With an MSc in Physics from IIT Kanpur, India, she pursued her doctoral studies in Physical Sciences at IISER Kolkata, India, culminating in the submission of her PhD thesis titled "Understanding the underlying mechanisms of pattern formation: from biological tissue development to biofilm generation.

Her primary goal is to unravel the intricacies of NK cell responses against various virally infected target cells and tumor cells. Debangana employs a combination of mathematical modeling and experimental data from single-cell imaging experiments to achieve this aim, fostering a deeper understanding of immune system dynamics and cellular interactions.

Outside of research, Debangana finds solace in her love for music, often dedicating time to listen and explore diverse genres. Additionally, she enjoys the rhythm of dance and shares a passion for discovering new places during her leisure hours.

Indrani Nayak, PhD
Post Doctoral Research Scientist

Indrani joined IGM in September 2021 from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, India and her master’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. Indrani joined the Ph.D. program at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on stochastic processes, particularly first passage time statistics of a moving target under confined geometry. Indrani’s research goals include understanding how cytokines regulate NK cell proliferation and receptor expressions to enhance the therapeutic potential of the NK cell in in-vitro experiments. She aims to find the optimal cytokine combination that boosts NK proliferation and activating receptor expression to enhance the cytotoxicity of the NK cells. In her free time, Indrani enjoys traveling, painting, and listening to music.

Rajeev Juandoo
Postdoctoral Scientist

Rajeev is a postdoctoral scientist who uses computational methods such as machine learning (ML) to study and develop treatments for pediatric diseases. He earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Alberta located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he focused on applications of in-silico methods (e.g., molecular dynamics, ML, etc.) for drug discovery. Rajeev’s skillset includes cheminformatics and bioinformatics, as well as building ML models for diseases such as cancer, with the goal of one day being able to develop effective treatments using only computational tools and methods.

Abdallah AlShafey
Postdoctoral Scientist

Abdallah AlShafey, PhD, joined the Institute for Genomic Medicine in August 2024 as a postdoctoral scientist. His background is in theoretical AMO and condensed-matter physics, having received his PhD from The Ohio State University in August 2023. Abdallah is interested in applying his mathematical modeling and machine learning skills to better understand the immune system. In his free time, Abdallah enjoys long walks both in the city and on hiking trails.

Kun Xing
PhD Candidate

Kun is an MD-PhD student in The Ohio State University Medical Scientist Training Program. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 and completed a post-baccalaureate fellowship at the National Cancer Institute before joining the OSU MSTP in the summer of 2021. Kun is interested in NK cell cancer immunotherapies and studies the mechanisms of CAR-NK cell signaling through both molecular and computation lenses. Her work is driven by the long-term goal of enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of CAR-NK cell therapy by co-opting NK cell specific signaling mechanisms. Kun is dually mentored by Dr. Dean Lee and Dr. Jayajit Das.