Meet the Tewari Lab Team

As Dr. Tewari settles in to his new space at the University of Michigan, Tewari Lab 2.0 will be growing and expanding. Here are the incredible individuals that currently work in our lab.

Post-Doctoral and Research Fellows

Maria D. Giraldez, Ph.D., M.D.

Maria D. Giraldez obtained her MD-PhD at the University of Barcelona (Spain) where she focused her research on improving the strategies for diagnosis and prevention of digestive malignancies, especially hereditary and familial forms of colorectal cancer, using genetic approaches.  After defending her doctoral dissertation, she joined the Tewari lab in 2014 to get involved in the use of cutting-edge technologies to identify nucleic acid-based circulating biomarkers in human cancer.  She is currently evaluating the potential utility of different types of cell-free nucleic acids as non-invasive biomarkers in a variety of clinical settings, with special focus on early cancer detection.  Her final goal is translating laboratory-based discoveries into effective diagnostic/predictive tools suitable for clinical use.

Ryan Spengler, Ph.D.



​Ryan works remotely as a post-doctoral research fellow for the Tewari Lab. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from The University of Iowa in 2013 and joined the lab in 2015. Ryan is interested in using a combination of computational and molecular techniques to study non-coding RNA biology in human biofluids. 

Kuang He, Ph.D.



​Kuang is a post-doctoral research fellow who joined the Tewari Lab in 2017. She received both her Master's and Ph.D. from Indiana University in Biochemistry. 

David Warner, M.D.

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Originally from Salt Lake City, David did his undergraduate and medical school at the University of Utah. During that time, he worked in a lab that focused on iron metabolism. He then completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University and is currently a fellow in hematology/oncology at the University of Michigan, joining the Tewari Lab in 2018. David's interest is in identifying biomarkers for immune related adverse events in patients receiving checkpoint inhibitors for cancer treatment. Additionally, he is interested in early prediction of cytokine release syndrome in patients receiving CAR-T therapy. He hopes to include patient care, translational research, and teaching into his career after fellowship. David also enjoys trail running, skiing, and fly fishing whenever he has a chance. 

Chris Flora, Ph.D.

Christopher joined the Tewari lab as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2018 after earning his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Toledo.  He is interested in how human consciousness (emotional state) influences the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy (e.g. CAR-T).  In addition, Christopher is exploring bioelectromagnetic fields (bioEMFs) as a possible biomarker for disease and how bioEMFs affect growth and development.

Staff

Erin Sandford, Ph.D

Erin joined the lab in 2016.  She is a Research Lab Specialist in the Tewari Lab and is lab manager. She received her B.S. in Animal Science from Michigan State University and her Ph.D. in Genetics from Iowa State University in 2011. Erin oversees our students and technicians, is in charge of specimen management, development of sample collection protocols, and assists post-docs and other staff in day-to-day lab tasks and experiments.  In her free time she enjoys being outside, playing games with family, and hanging out with her husband, their 2 cats, and 2 dogs.

Kirk Herman

Kirk is a Clinical Research Project Manager for the Tewari Lab. He received his B.S. in Healthcare Administration from Eastern Michigan University in 2011. In 2015, Kirk joined the lab to work with study design and as liaison between study participants, physicians, and principal investigators.

Missy Tuck

Missy joined the lab in 2015 and is a Clinical Research Project Manager. She handles subject recruitment, specimen collection, data collection, and regulatory documents. She received her B.A from Albion College and her M.S. from the University of Michigan, and has been involved in cancer research at UM for over 28 years.

Alexander Johnson-Buck, Ph.D.

Alex is a research assistant professor in the Tewari lab. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan in 2013 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School. Alex officially joined the lab in 2016.

​Credit to Michigan Photography for the photo

Ryan Lindstrom

Ryan joined the lab in 2016 and is a Clinical Subjects Coordinator in the Tewari Lab. He co-manages the sample collection process with Annika and Kirsten by recruiting participants and interacting with other study coordinators. He received his Bachelor's in Biology from Rollins College in 2016. 

Annika Goicoc​hea

Annika joined the lab in 2016 and is a Clinical Research Health Coordinator in the Tewari Lab. She co-manages the sample collection process with Ryan and Kirsten by recruiting participants and interacting with other study coordinators. She received her B.S. from Willamette University in Oregon. 

Kirsten Tuck

Kirsten is a Clinical Subjects Coordinator in the Tewari Lab. She works with Annika and Ryan by managing the sample collection process, particularly on our Lynch syndrome study. This study primarily focuses on stool collection for analysis. She joined the Tewari Lab in 2017.

Jenny Barabas

Jenny is a Research Lab Technician Intermediate in the Tewari Lab who joined the lab in 2018.  She transports and processes biofluid specimens collected for biomarker detection, along with updating databases and other lab tasks. Jenny received her bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in Biomedical Laboratory Science. 

Mary Olesnavich

Mary is a sample processing technician who joined the lab in 2018.  She transports and processes biofluid specimens collected for biomarker detection, along with updating databases and other lab tasks. Mary received her B.A. from Swarthmore College in Biology. 

Students

Alison John

Alison joined the lab in 2016 and is a an undergraduate student planning on going into dentistry. She assists in the processing and sample tracking of incoming urine and stool samples.

Noah Welker

Noah joined the lab in 2017 and is an undergraduate student studying biomedical engineering. He works to maintain the databases used by the lab, as well as assisting with other day-to-day tasks. After undergrad, he plans on pursuing a medical degree in internal medicine. In his free time, Noah enjoys cooking, playing the violin, and catching the latest movies.

Emma Cheff

Emma joined the lab in fall of 2018 as a UROP student.  She will be working with Maria as her mentor as she learns about research.

Iris He

Iris joined the lab in 2018 and is an undergraduate student studying pharmaceutical sciences.  She assists in the processing and sample tracking of incoming urine and stool samples.

Anna Bowie

Anna is an undergraduate student studying microbiology. As a bone marrow transplant recipient herself, she is honored to assist with data management for our pediatric bone marrow transplant study. Anna is looking to continue these interests by pursuing a career in pediatric oncology.
Don't forget to check out the Tewari Lab Alumni!