Corinne Linardic, MD PhD
Principal Investigator; Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Corinne Linardic is a physician-scientist who knew she wanted to be a pediatric oncologist at the age of 11. She did most of her training at Duke University and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In her professional life, Corinne takes care of patients in the hospital and leads a lab studying rhabdomyosarcoma. She loves mentoring and seeing her trainees follow their passion while they make important discoveries that will improve the lives of children with cancer. She values her work with researchers and clinicians world-wide to unify the effort to tackle rhabdomyosarcoma. In her free time, Corinne spends time with her family hiking, traveling, reading, and baking, and she has a secret wish to travel to Mount Everest Base Camp.
Contact: corinne.linardic@duke.edu
Aanandi Munshi, MS
Research Technician III; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
Aanandi Munshi is a biochemist coming to us from NC State University. She obtained her Master’s in Biochemistry in December of 2022. Aanandi started out her research career investigating plant viruses that affect everyday crops like tomatoes, cabbages, and cassava. She plans on going to medical school one day and loves the hands-on patient experience she gets from being an EMT at Youngsville Rescue Squad. She hopes to further her understanding of cancer mechanisms through her time here and gain valuable insight into the physician-scientist path for her future endeavors. Outside of work she enjoys exploring new restaurants, hiking, watching comedy Bollywood movies, and traveling.
Contact: aanandi.munshi@duke.edu
Assil Fahs, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology; Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Assil Fahs is a molecular biologist from Lebanon, interested in pediatric cancer and the role of exosomes in tumor microenvironment. Before joining Duke University, she worked on the different types of cargo present in rhabdomyosarcoma-derived exosomes and their contribution to rhabdomyosarcoma tumor development during her Ph.D., completed at the Lebanese University. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral associate in the department of Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology at the Linardic lab, where she is working on exploiting therapeutic components of the PAX3-FOXO1 fusion protein interactome. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, photography, and traveling to get introduced to different cultures.
Contact: assil.fahs@duke.edu
Elizabeth A. Mendes, MS
Doctoral Student; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology; Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology; Department of Cellular & Molecular Biology
Elizabeth is a second-year graduate student here at Duke SoM. Interestingly, she began her undergraduate career as an archaeology major, but soon discovered a love for science and pursued a degree in biology instead. After her first four years, she taught middle school math / science and participated in AmeriCorps. Following her exposure to teaching, she enrolled and completed a masters program in molecular biology while working in the legal field part-time as a technical patent writer. Graduate school and research experiences influenced Elizabeth to apply for PhD programs and the rest is history! In the lab, she studies the tumor microenvironment and signaling mechanisms associated with fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma. In her free time, she likes to sing, mentor, and play video games!
Contact: elizabeth.mendes@duke.edu
George Turco, MD
Medical Research Fellow, Department of Pediatric Hematology – Oncology; Duke University Medical Center
George is a physician currently in fellowship training for specialization in pediatric hematology/oncology. He is from Buffalo, NY, where he attended medical school and residency before coming to Duke for fellowship training. He is particularly interested in the growing advancement of precision medicine and targeted molecular therapy in cancer treatment and hopes to contribute to its progression in fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma. Outside of work, he enjoys exercise, scuba diving, and supporting his hometown Buffalo sports teams!
Contact: george.turco@duke.edu
Leen Barbar, MD (IMG)
Research Scholar, Department of Pediatric Hematology – Oncology
Contact: leen.barbar@duke.edu
Aretha Gao
Undergraduate Student; Duke University
Aretha is a second-year undergraduate at Duke University planning on majoring in Biology and Global Health. She has been working in the Linardic Lab since January of freshman year and has been focused on developing her wet lab techniques like cell culture and DNA isolation. She hopes to further her understanding of rhabdomyosarcoma research and eventually aspires to become a physician scientist. Outside of the laboratory, Aretha fences for the Duke Fencing team and is an epeeist. In her free time, she enjoys baking and cooking for her friends and family, taking care of her numerous houseplants, reading fiction novels, and watching movies.
Contact: aretha.gao@duke.edu
Alex Kovach, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology; Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Alex is a chemist by training, but now studies pediatric cancer with us here in the Linardic Lab! He received his doctoral training at Duke as well after moving from Indiana to the Research Triangle. Currently, Alex is interested in aberrant RAS signaling mechanisms associated with fusion-negative rhabdomyosarcoma.
Contact: alexander.kovach@duke.edu
Brian Masters, BS
Research Technician; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
Brian is a recent graduate in Biological Sciences from North Carolina State University, working jointly with the Linardic and Blobe labs. He is passionate about microbiology and understanding the interactions of the gut microbiome. Soon after graduating, Brian worked as a team lead in processing COVID-19 testing at LabCorp. Additionally, he has participated in work studies under NC State’s Departments of Physics and Civil Engineering while pursuing his undergraduate degree. He also served as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at the YMCA. In college, Brian was a senior member of his Quidditch team (he plays Beater!). Outside of work, he spends much of his time playing with Koda, his German Shepherd Dog. He also enjoys hiking, board games and being an uncle to his three nieces and nephew.
Contact: brian.masters492@duke.edu
Brian Guedes, MD
Medical Research Fellow; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
under construction
Contact: brian.guedes@duke.edu
Christian Stackhouse, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology; Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Christian is a bioinformaticist interested in neuroscience and the roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in disease etiology. In his spare time, he enjoys rowing, hiking, and gardening. Before coming to Duke, Christian received his doctoral degree from The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he studied glioblastoma and high grade glioma.
Contact: christian.stackhouse@duke.edu
Marissa Just, MD
Medical Research Fellow; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
Marissa is developing her career as a physician scientist by working in the Linardic Lab. She became passionate about finding a cure for cancer when her father was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic lymphoma. Her focus shifted from adult medicine to pediatrics in medical school when fate brought her to the pediatric oncology unit and she developed a deep regard for these patients and their families and passion for finding a cure for them. Her primary research area currently focused on finding novel therapeutics to treat fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma. Marissa’s unique background as an industrial engineer trained to think globally about a problem, makes her poised to find a solution to this problem.
Contact: marissa.just@duke.edu
Malaika Kimmons
Research Intern & Undergraduate Student; West Virginia Wesleyan College
Malaika Kimmons is from from Apex, NC. She is a rising senior at West Virginia Wesleyan College, majoring in Biochemistry with an Honors minor. Since Freshman year, she has been a player on the WVWC Women’s Basketball team and this year, she is captain. Along with being a student-athlete, she is still heavily involved with different organizations on her campus such as the Black Student Union, where she serves as president, the Benzene Ring Chemistry Club, WE LEAD Team Coordinator, a fellow for the Center for Restorative Justice and so many more! This summer, she is participating in Duke’s SURPH Program where she will serve as an intern for 10 weeks in the Linardic Lab, working closely with post-doc, Christian Stackhouse.
Kristianne Oristian, PhD
Graduate Research Assistant; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology; Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Charlotte Pollack
Research Intern & Undergraduate Student; University of South Carolina Honors Program
Charlotte is a Goldwater Scholar and undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina Honors College where she majors in biochemistry and molecular biology. She became involved in the Linardic Lab as a Duke University Amgen Scholar, in which she helped with the design and validation of CRISPRi and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) systems to measure the effects of KCNQ1OT1 lncRNA knockdown on RMS cell growth. She is an aspiring physician-scientist with several years of experience in bacteriology and a drive to learn more about pediatric oncology. In her free time, she can be found working on a science fiction novel, baking bread, and browsing the dark corners of Wikipedia for random fun facts with which to bombard her friends and fellow lab members.
Vithi Patel, MD
Medical Scholar; Department of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology
Vithi is an international medical graduate from Gujarat University, India, who recently joined the Linardic lab to pacify her long-standing in contributing to cancer research. After graduation, she practiced Internal Medicine in a state-run hospital and then branched into family medicine as a physician at the National AIDS Control Organization, India. All the while, she has volunteered her skills in various activities such as blood donation drives and organizing continuing medical education programs. She wishes to pursue a career in Hematology-Oncology in the future. Outside work, she enjoys painting, beach trips, rom-com, and spending time with loved ones. She also has a deep love for traveling, and while she has not been able to do that as much, she has a long list of places she wishes to visit in the future!
Sam Weitzel
Undergraduate Student; Duke University
Sam is a sophomore at Duke University studying Cell and Molecular Biology and Global Health. She has been with the Linardic Lab since August of her freshman year, working primarily with long noncoding RNA expression and effects in rhabdomyosarcoma. So far, she has found her passion in understanding signaling pathways and the presence and effect of the non-coding genome. Sam plans to eventually become a physician scientist and dedicate her professional life to pediatric oncology. In her free time, Sam loves to explore Durham, read thrillers, do yoga, and go for hikes.
