Lab Members

Professor

Lucio Castilla obtained his B.S. in Biology in the University of Buenos Aires, and his Ph.D. at The University of Michigan. He continued his training as a postdoctoral fellow at the National   Institutes of Health. In the fall of 2000 Castilla joined The UMass Chan Medical School as an Assistant Professor. Castilla has received the Special Fellow (1999) and Scholar (2007) Awards from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Sidney Kimmel Symposium for Cancer Research Scholar Award (2002), and a UMASS-Medical School Dean’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Graduate Education (2011). He has been elected as a Fellow in Medical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2021.  In the spare time, Lucio enjoys hiking, swimming, volleyball, and watching international football.

Research Specialist

Mahesh received his B.S. in the M.M. Arts and Science College, the M.S. IN Karnatak University, and the Ph.D. at University of Mysore. Mahesh joined the lab in 2016 and his research centers on determining the molecular targets of CBFB-SMMHC fusion oncoprotein that are responsible for the survival of leukemic cells in inv(16) AML. Outside of work, Mahesh enjoys cricket and tennis.

Research Associate

Snuhi received her B.S. degree in Microbiology, Chemistry, and Zoology at St. Joseph's College in Bangalore, India and her MS in Microbiology at Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India. She joined the lab in late 2022. Outside the lab, Snuhi enjoys painting and dancing.

Postdoctoral Associate

Asifa Khan received her B.S. and M.S. degrees at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India and completed her Ph.D. at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. She is also a university gold medalist. Asifa joined the lab in early 2024, and her research focuses on deciphering how RUNX1 mutations predispose to hematologic malignancy in Familial Platelet Disorder. In her spare time she enjoys painting and traveling.