New Faculty Profiles

Welcome!

Priyadarshini "Priya" Kachroo, PhD
Alexandros "Alex" Papachristodoulou, PhD
Alex K. Wong, MD
Tania Wong, PhD
Vijay K. Yadav, PhD

Dr. Priyadarshini Kachroo received her Ph.D. in Natural Sciences at the University of Kiel, Germany (2016). As a postdoctoral fellow and Instructor at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Dr. Kachroo utilized multiple large-scale, well-characterized population-based cohorts and clinical trial data with comprehensive coverage of the various ‘omes’ (whole genome, metabolome, transcriptome, methylome, quantitative trait loci – QTLs) and led various studies to establish early-life origins of respiratory diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dr. Kachroo has received the K99/R00 award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), whose primary focus is to identify integrative genetic, epigenetic and metabolomic biomarkers by using machine learning and network methods to examine inflammatory pathways predictive of an early decline in lung function in children with asthma. Her long-term goal is to study gene-environment interactions across life-course and gain insights into the most complete profile of disease development through multi-omic integration. Dr. Kachroo has published over 30 research articles in prestigious national and international journals including European Respiratory Journal, Nature Medicine, Scientific Reports, and eBioMedicine, given several talks at national and international conferences and serves as an editorial board member for PlosOne and peer reviewer for several esteemed academic journals.

Dr. Kachroo joined the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, Rutgers School of Health Professions at RBHS as an Assistant Professor and the Center for Immunity and Inflammation, i3D as a core Member in June 2024.

Dr. Alex Papachristodoulou is a translational cancer biologist, focusing on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of prostate carcinogenesis. He obtained his MSc degree in Cancer Therapeutics at the Barts Cancer Institute of the Queen Mary University of London and went on to complete his doctoral training in Cancer Biology at the University of Zurich. Following the completion of his PhD, Dr. Papachristodoulou joined the laboratory of Dr. Cory Abate-Shen at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he identified novel subcellular homeobox gene functions in prostate cancer initiation, developing novel approaches to improve prostate cancer prognosis and treatment. The focal point of his research, for which he obtained the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Young Investigator and National Cancer Institute (NCI) K99/R00 Pathway to Independence awards, is to decipher the role mitochondrial dysfunction in tumorigenesis to enhance our understanding of prostate cancer initiation, predisposition to aggressive disease and precision therapy. Dr. Papachristodoulou is particularly interested in determining the functional impact and clinical relevance of genetic and metabolic factors for prostate cancer progression and disparities. By understanding how these alterations confer specific vulnerabilities to more aggressive tumors, his studies aim at developing novel precision medicine strategies that can improve patient care.

Dr. Alex Wong graduated cum laude in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. As a medical student he was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Pre-doctoral Fellowship to study angiogenesis and cancer biology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Wong pursued post-doctoral clinical training in Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and post-doctoral basic research fellowship training in progenitor cell biology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Prior to starting his first faculty position, Dr. Wong completed additional sub-specialty clinical fellowship training in Reconstructive Microsurgery at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Dr. Wong started his research laboratory in 2010 at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California and was most recently at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope. His group has had a longstanding interest in studying fundamental aspects of tissue regeneration as it relates to lymphangiogenesis and wound healing. Over the past decade, Dr. Wong's group has received extramural support from numerous agencies including the National Institutes of Health (K08 &R01), Plastic Surgery Foundation, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and Lymphatic Education & Research Network. Dr. Wong will be joining Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School as Professor & Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Surgery and Member of the Center for Immunity and Inflammation in April 2024.

Dr. Wong obtained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia.  There, she focused on effector proteins that are secreted by gastrointestinal pathogens and how they interfere with host cell signaling pathways involved in inflammation and cell death to establish infection.  Following the completion of her PhD in 2016, she joined the laboratory of Professor Alice Prince at Columbia University where she continued to investigate the interaction between the host and bacterial pathogens, particularly those that are multidrug-resistant.  She has gained experience with various mouse models of pulmonary and skin infection.  A major focus of her research, for which she was awarded a K99/R00 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is the host-pathogen metabolic interplay, which shapes the infection outcome.  She is interested in understanding how opportunistic pathogens such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus subvert the host metabolic response and how this in turn dictates the immune response. In addition, she aims to manipulate the immunometabolic response to promote bacterial clearance via dietary intervention and changes in the microbiota. Dr. Wong joined the Center for Immunity and Inflammation at Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School as an Assistant Professor and Chancellor Scholar in the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics in April 2024.

Dr.Vijay K. Yadavis a biogerontologist. He did his doctoral training at Indian Institute of Science in molecular endocrinology and postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine and Columbia University in mouse & human genetics. During this period, he uncovered how organ physiology is regulated by central and peripheral signals. Dr. Yadav started his independent research laboratory in 2010 with an overarching theme ofhow (semi)essential nutrients regulate whole-body homeostasis, and how this process gets dysregulated during aging to identify novel avenue to treat diseases of aging. Dr. Yadav’s laboratory in the last decade has shown that self-imposed domestication in humans has led to an imbalance in nutrient-genetic interactions leading to increased incidence of diseases. Dr. Yadav is best known for his research on evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of aging, in particular on how nutrients such as vitamin B12 and taurine regulate aging. Dr. Yadav’s research over the years has been covered by over 600 media outlets around the world, including NY Times, Time, Forbes, Nature, BBC, WSJ, CNN. Dr. Yadav's group has received extramural support from numerous agencies including the National Institutes of Health (K99, R56 & R01), Wellcome Trust, European Research Council, Marie Curie Foundation, DFG, and Department of Biotechnology. In August 2024, Dr. Yadav joined the Center for Cell Signaling and the Center for Immunity & Inflammation at Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine to set up a basic biology of aging program.

Yadav Lab