Meet the Team

  • Atique Ahmed Ph.D.

    Principal Investigator

  • Sara Fan M.D., Ph.D.

    Lab Manager

  • Hasaan Kazi

    Research Technologist

  • Rebecca Chen

    Undergraduate Scholar

  • Rafal Chojak, M.D.

    Postdoctoral Scholar

  • Umme H. Faisal, MBBS

    Postdoctoral Scholar

  • Shreya Budhiraja

    M4 Medical Student Scholar

  • Irene Lazanyi

    Undergraduate Scholar

  • Jillyn R Turunen

    M1 MSTP Scholar

  • Ian Olson

    Graduate Scholar

  • Sana Khan

    Undergraduate Scholar

Where are they now?

  • Victoria Falkowski

    Undergrad Student

    Ahmed Lab: 2023-2024: High School Student Researcher

  • Clare Kelley

    M1 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab: 2023-2024: Postbac Scholar

  •  Amelia Stepniak, MS

    M1 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab: 2021-2023: MS Student Scholar

  • Divya

    Ventarapragada, MS,

    M2 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab: 2020-2023: MS Student Scholar

  • Linna Lahmadi, MS

    PhD  Candidate

    Ahmed Lab: 2020-2022: MS Student Scholar

  •  Ester Chung

    M1 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab: 2020-2023: Undergraduate Scholar

  •  Graysen McManus

    MS Candidate

    Ahmed Lab: 2021-2023: Postbac researcher

  • Ella Perrault

    PhD Candidate

    Ahmed Lab: 2019-2021: Postbac Scholar

  •  Shreya Budhiraja

    M4 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab: 2019-2021: Undergrad & medical student Scholar

  • Shivani Baisiwala, MD

    PGY4, Neurosurgery

    Ahmed Lab: 2016-2020: Medical Student Scholar

  •  Sia Cho

    M2 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab 2020-2022: Undergraduate Scholar

  • Khizar Nandoliya

    M4 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab 2019-2021: Undergraduate Scholar

  • Tom Commander

    Undergrad Student

    Ahmed Lab 2019-2022: High School Student Researcher

  • Nico Ahmed

    Undergrad Student

    Ahmed Lab 2020-2021: High School Student Researcher

  •  Miranda Saathoff

    M1 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab 2018-2020: Postbac Scholar

  • Jenny Wang

    M3 Medical Student

    Ahmed Lab 2015-2017: High School Student Researcher

  • Noah Islam

    Undergraduate Student

    Ahmed Lab 2019-2020: High School Student Researcher

  • Fatemeh Atashi, PhD

    Global Scientific Publications Momager

    Ahmed Lab 2015-20217: Post Doc Scholar

  • Jack Shireman

    PhD Candidate

    Ahmed Lab 2015-2018: Postbac Scholar

  • Seamus Caragher, MD

    PGY-2, Plastic Surgery

    Ahmed Lab 2015-2017: Postbac Researcher

  • Robert Hall III, MD

    PGY-4, Orthopedics

    Ahmed Lab 2015-2017: Postbac Researcher

  •  Alex Tobias, MD

    PGY4 Resident Anesthesiology

    Ahmed Lab 2008-2010: Postbac Scholar

  •  Brenda Auffinger, MD

    Critical Care Fellow

    Ahmed Lab 2021-2023: Post Doc Scholar

  •  Gina Lee, MD

    Instructor, Academic Career Fellow

    Ahmed Lab 2010-2013: Lab Manager

Alumni postcard 2022

Alumni postcard 2022

Remembering Donna Guo

Donna was our first undergraduate student researcher. She did her Honors Thesis in Ahmed lab, entitled '"THE DEVELOPMENT OF A REPORTER SYSTEM TO STUDY CELLULAR PLASTICITY IN GLIOMAS." She was responsible for designing and developing some of the very early reporter systems to track cellular plasticity in real-time. Donna's reporter systems have been extensively used in our lab to understand the role of cellular plasticity in brain tumor therapeutic resistance, generated numerous publications, and are critical for securing NIH funding. She was a gifted scientist! Her legacy will carry on in Ahmed's lab as we are 100% committed to train the next generation of scientists.

Donna’s Reporter

Donna majored in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the University of Chicago. She joined Ahmed Lab in 2009 as an undergraduate researcher. After graduation, she continued to work with Ahmed lab at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, while also applying to medical school with plans to enter in the fall of 2016.

Donna passed away in a car accident on April 18, 2016, while vacationing in New Zealand with her parents. Both of her parents suffered critical injuries. She is survived by an older sister who was not involved in the accident.

One of Donna's great life passions was lovingly serving and caring for children adopted from China. As president of University of Chicago's China Care, she helped create its first Mentorship and Playgroup Programs, raised money to sponsor medical treatment for children in China, and established a summer internship to send volunteers to China.