Our Team
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Nickolas Almodovar (he/him)
nia4009(at)med(dot)cornell(dot)edu
Nick graduated from Macaulay Honors College in 2020, where he completed a bachelor's degree in Forensic science, specializing in Toxicology. While at MHC, Nick completed his honors thesis titled "Associations of Plasma Extravesicular MicroRNA Levels in Seropositive and Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis.” Nick is a PhD candidate in the BCMB program at Weill Cornell Graduate School. Outside of the lab, Nick enjoys baking and volunteering.
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Ben Kleaveland (he/him)
bek9059(at)med(dot)cornell(dot)edu
Ben is a board-certified clinical pathologist. He received a Bachelors of Arts and Science in Biology and English from Stanford University and an MD/PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. After completing pathology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Ben pursued postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute and MIT with Dr. David Bartel. There, Ben used genetically engineered mice and a variety of molecular and cellular approaches to investigate noncoding RNAs in the brain. He joined the Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine at Weill Cornell in August 2020. Outside the lab, Ben enjoys spending time with family, trail running, tossing the frisbee, and traveling.
For additional information, please see Ben’s profiles on Google Scholar and Weill Cornell Medicine.
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Yelizaveta Mochalova (she/her)
yem4002(at)med(dot)cornell(dot)edu
Liza received her doctoral degree in biochemistry from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany, under the supervision of Dr. Andreas Mayer. Using a multi-omic approach, she dissected the functions of paralogs of the classical transcription elongation factor TFIIS, uncovering their distinct and unexpected roles in human cells. She joined the Kleaveland and Tilgner labs as a postdoc and is currently developing specialized RNA sequencing methods. Outside the lab, Liza enjoys ballet, theater, and art history.
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Soundhar Ramasamy (he/him)
sor4003(at)med(dot)cornell(dot)edu
Soundhar received his doctoral degree from CSIR-IGIB with a focus on circadian biology. He employed molecular biology and genomics approaches for identifying novel oscillating transcripts using the zebrafish retina as a model. After his doctorate, Soundhar pursued post-doctoral training with Dr. Ganesh N. Pandian at Kyoto University, where he used chemical probes and Oxford nanopore direct RNA sequencing to map RNA modifications. Soundhar joined the Kleaveland lab in May 2022, where his focus is to investigate microRNA degradation in induced human neurons. Soundhar likes to cook, read, play, and travel.
Alumni
Buhagiar, Amber
Fyda, Jacob
Research Technician
Sriramvenugopal, Mughil
2021–2022
Research Technician
Anderson, Jessica
PhD Student
2020–2023
Research Technician
Rahman, Afsana
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
MD Student
2021–2023
Undergraduate Researcher
Research Technician
Fields, Alanna
Undergraduate Researcher
New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA
MD/PhD Student
2021–2023
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
PhD Student
2023–2025
2023–2025
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, NY, USA
PhD Student
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Masters Student
Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA
Dunn, Caroline
Research Technician
2023–2026
MD/PhD Student
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA
Ghosh, Sushmit
Postdoctoral Fellow
2024–2025
Postdoctoral Fellow
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, NY, USA