The Sykes Lab

David grew up on the chilly prairies of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta. He transitioned to La Jolla, CA to begin the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of California San Diego. His PhD research was mentored by Dr. Mark Kamps. Medical internship and residency were done at the Massachusetts General Hospital before fellowship in Hematology & Oncology at the combined Dana Farber Cancer Institute and MGH Cancer Center program. David did an additional year as Chief Resident in the Department of Medicine before starting his post-doctoral research with Dr. David Scadden in the Center for Regenerative Medicine.

David sees patients in clinic on Fridays and spends four 1-week blocks as inpatient attending on the Hematology consult service. He loves to teach hematology to the residents and fellows, as well as spend time at the microscope going over peripheral blood smears.

Outside of the lab, David likes to spend time with his wife, his Golden Retriever (Arlo), and on the golf course.

Links:  TEMPI    MGH Profile

Jelena was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden where she completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedicine and defended her PhD in 2018 at Karolinska Institutet in the lab of Prof. Per Kogner. During her graduate work, Jelena investigated new treatment strategies in pediatric neural tumors neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. In September 2018, Jelena joined the Sykes laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow to focus on the mechanism linking the inhibition of DHODH and differentiation in leukemia. In her spare time Jelena enjoys traveling, trying out new foods and experiencing different cultures.

Henry is a physician-scientist with a clinical and research focus on solid tumor oncology. Inspired by his clinical and research works, Henry investigates cancer biology and surgical oncology to improve diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for solid tumors. His passion for oncological diseases began as an MD student at Shandong University when he pursued his research on the relationship between GI cancer biology, microbiome, and immune homeostasis. After residency and clinical research training at Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) in 2020, he continued his solid tumor biology and immunology research in his PUMC-Harvard joint Ph.D. training for three years. Henry joined the lab in the year 2023; His projects aim to understand the mechanism of metastatic cancers, with the main focus on solid tumors and bone metastasis.

Outside of his enthusiasm for medical science, Henry enjoys his spare time with his family, on the trip, dining table, or tennis court.

Nate was born in Illinois and lived in Texas and North Carolina before attending high school in the Chicago suburbs. He graduated from Colgate University in May 2020 with a BA in biology. During his undergraduate career, he was a captain of the varsity track and field team, a leader for an on-campus youth mentorship volunteer organization, and a photographer for the student newspaper. He worked in education briefly after graduation before deciding to pursue a career in science. He was drawn to the unique and innovative work being done in the Sykes lab, particularly as a part of the On Demand Blood program. He hopes to one day further his career through graduate study.

In his free time, Nate enjoys reading, spending time with friends, and going for runs along the Charles River Esplanade.

Elizabeth was born and raised in Texas where she attended Texas A&M University and received a BS in Biomedical Sciences in December 2021. She worked in healthcare as a telemetry technician before moving to Boston and joining the Sykes lab. In the Sykes lab, Elizabeth is researching the effects of RNAPII inhibitors on AML. Elizabeth loves learning new things in the lab every day and hopes this will prepare her for a career in medical research. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys trying out new recipes, listening to Taylor Swift and hanging out with her cat Lulu Belle.