Lab Members
Andrew Hong, MD
Assistant Professor in Pediatrics,
Endowed Investigator
Andy is board certified pediatric hematologist and oncologist with a focus on identifying new therapeutic targets in high risk pediatric cancers in the:
kidney (Wilms, rhabdoid tumor (MRT) and renal medullary carcinomas (RMC))
muscle (epitheloid sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma)
and brain (ATRT).
He is a faculty member and serves on the GDBBS admissions committees for:
He is also a member of the Department of Pediatrics Faculty Diversity Committee, Aflac Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advisory Team and serves as the Chair of the GDBBS Cancer Biology Program Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Advancement Committee.
Nationally, he is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group Renal Tumors Committee and Chair of the Renal Tumors Biology Sub-Committee. He also serves as the PI for the Rare Cancer Research Foundation’s Pattern.org Biospecimen and Data Resource (PBDR) for the study of Rare Cancers and Diseases.
+ Learn more about Andy
Andy completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago. He then worked as a Business Analyst at McKinsey and Company for several years. He spent a year with a Cancer Research Training Award to study yeast genetics under Dr. Munira Basrai at the National Cancer Institute. He then graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. While in medical school, his research focused on studying sirtuins under Drs. Raul Mostoslavsky, David Lombard and Fred Alt at Boston Children’s Hospital and studying breast cancer risk under Dr. Olofunmilayo Olopade at the University of Chicago. He completed his internship and residency at the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics and went on to complete his fellowship training in pediatric hematology and oncology at the Dana-Farber / Boston Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
He joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School as an Instructor of Pediatrics and completed his post-doctoral studies under Dr. William C. Hahn at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
In 2020, he was recruited to the faculty at Emory University, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Aflac Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
https://www.pedsresearch.org/people/faculty/andrew-l-hong-md https://www.choa.org/medical-services/providers?id=A740DE2D59CA09C9BD837E582B05273068C0C013
Yongdong su, MS, PHD
Postdoctoral fellow
Yongdong graduated with his PhD in Chemistry in 2021 from Massey University, New Zealand. He was under the mentorship of Drs. Vyacheslav V. Filichev, Tracy Hale and Richard Winkworth. He previously completed his Masters in chemistry in 2016. His PhD work was focused on targeting DNA secondary structures using chemically modified oligonucleotides.
In 2023, Yongdong was awarded the DoD Kidney Cancer Research Program Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023-2026) and the Winship Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Award (2023-2026).
Adaysha Williams, MSc, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow
Adaysha received her PhD in 2024 in Physiology from the Medical College of Wisconsin under the mentorship of Dr. Alison Kriegel. Primarily looking at cellular pathways, her interest in genetics led her to microRNAs, with significant regulatory implications in both cardiovascular and renal diseases.
Prior to her PhD, she completed her Masters in Business Management from Dublin City University (Ireland) in 2019, while also playing semi-professional basketball for DCU Mercy Club team.
Adaysha was awarded a position as an Emory FIRST/IRACDA Fellow in Spring 2024, in addition to joining the ATLANTIS program at Emory in August 2024 to interrogate sickle cell trait associated nephropathy.
Sijia Tang, PHD
Postdoctoral fellow
Sijia received her PhD in Translational Biomedical Sciences in 2024 from Georgia State University under the mentorship of Dr. Ming Luo. Her previous work focused on utilizing the oncolytic virus VSV-S in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance anti-tumor immunity across multiple cancer models. She also contributed to structural biology research using X-ray crystallography to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of oncoproteins and their interactions with inhibitors, providing insights for therapeutic development.
Sijia’s publications can be found here.
Garrett Cooper, BS
graduate Student
Garrett is a fifth year PhD candidate in the GDBBS Genetics and Molecular Biology program. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2020 majoring in Genetics. During his time there, he focused on gaining experience analyzing genomic data both as an undergraduate researcher in a bioinformatics lab and as an intern at UGA's sequencing core.
He was awarded a position on the GMB NIGMS T32 (PI: Caspary and Boss) in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) award from the National Cancer Institute (2023-2026). In the summer of 2024, he was on a break in service for his NCI F31 and interned at GRAIL in San Francisco.
Katie Skinner, BS, MS
Graduate Student
Katie is a fourth year PhD candidate in the GDBBS Cancer Biology program. She has a BS in Genetics from the University of Leicester, and an MS in Bioinformatics from Queen Mary University of London. Before coming to Emory, she worked as a research assistant in a bladder cancer lab at the University of York. There she was responsible for analyzing RNA-seq data generated by the lab, and also for developing the lab’s single-cell RNA-seq analysis pipelines.
Christopher Jang
Undergraduate Student (Class of 2027)
Christopher is a sophomore at Emory University on the pre-medical track, studying Biology and Music. On campus, Christopher is involved in performing in the university symphony orchestra and table tennis club. In his free time, he enjoys watching Formula 1 and running.
TBD,
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS AND Graduate Students
We are always looking for bright and talented postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to join the lab. Contact us with your CV or resume by email at TheHongLab[at]gmail[dot]com
Kira Moresco
manager, HSRB research laboratories (including hong lab)
Kira oversees the research laboratories and ensures that the labs keep humming along.
Kizzie Harvey
Administrative Assistant (including hong lab)
Kizzie joined Aflac Fall 2022. If your meeting requires scheduling of 3 or more people, please contact Ja’nekca who can help to coordinate.
Milagros Benitez, MBA
Pre-award administrator (including hong lab)
Milagros oversees pre-award grant (government and foundation) administration for the Hong lab.
ashley Crawley
senior financial analyst (including hong lab)
Ashley oversees Emory/CHOA based lab finances for the Hong lab.
Kimberly Jones
Post-award administrator (including hong lab)
Kimberly oversees post-award grant (government and foundation) administration for the Hong lab.
Prior rotation students and undergraduates
Aerin Engelstad (2024, Undergraduate)
Leo Li (2024, Undergraduate Aflac SOAR Program)
Ian Morris (2023-2024, Undergraduate)
Juhye Yim (Spring 2023, Cancer Biology) - Douglas Graham, MD, PhD
Isabel Petrescu (Fall 2022, Genetics & Molecular Biology) - Jason Yustein, MD, PhD
Sydney Nelson (Summer 2022, Genetics & Molecular Biology) - Steve Bosinger, PhD
Nate Symth (2020-2021, 4+1 CBTO student)
Miranda Adams (Fall 2020, Cancer Biology) - Jenn Spangle, PhD
Brandy Bernabe (Fall 2020, Genetics and Molecular Biology) - Vas J. Michopoulos, PhD and Alicia K. Smith, PhD
Cynthia Perez (Spring 2020, Genetics and Molecular Biology) - Todd M Everson, PhD and Steve Qin, PhD
Tian En “Microl” Chen (2021, Undergraduate)
Emma West (2020-2021, Undergraduate)
Xan Wesley (2020-2021, Undergraduate)
See Alumni page for those who were in the lab for 1 year or longer