Computational Cancer Genomics

Nirvana Nursimulu is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab. She completed her undergraduate degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Toronto, after which she embarked on a journey through graduate school at the University of Toronto studying Computer Science under the supervision of Dr Parkinson and Dr Moses. From her previous work, she remains fascinated by how mathematics can be used to capture biological phenomena and model the growth of parasites. In her free time, she enjoys reading and writing fiction, running, and has occasionally engaged in improvisational theatre.

Research interests: Metabolic rewiring in cancer

Nadejda Boev is a PhD student in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology & Mathematics at Queen's University. In her free time, she enjoys going on walks and listening to podcasts.

Research interests: DNA repair, rare disease and cancer genetics, DNA shape

Nour Hanafi is a PhD student in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto (U of T). She completed her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology with a Chemistry minor at U of T Mississauga, an MHSc in Medical Genomics at U of T, and worked as an analyst at the SickKids’ Centre for Computational Medicine. In her free time, she enjoys long walks, trying out new iced drinks, and watching her favorite sports teams, Atletico Madrid and the Toronto Raptors.

Research interests: Protein structure and motion, variant effect, penetrance and expressivity, rare disease and cancer genetics

Alexander Turco is a MSc student in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto (U of T). He completed his undergraduate degree in Bioinformatics with a research specialization at McMaster University. In his free time, he enjoys Rubik’s cubes, snowboarding, building computers, and playing his favorite video game, Stardew Valley.

Research interests: DNA sequencing, non-coding and dark genome, non-B DNA, tandem repeat expansions, machine learning for genomics

Linghao received his B.S. in Microbiology from Michigan State University (2018) and his M.Sc. in Biomedical Informatics from the University of Chicago (2020). He then worked with the Genomic Data Commons (GDC) group in the Center for Translational Data Science (CTDS) at the University of Chicago (2020-2025). His Ph.D. work, co-supervised by Dr. Rama Khokha, focuses on identifying plasma proteomic and metabolomics signatures in high-breast-cancer-risk germline mutations carriers and exploring potential prevention strategies. Outside of the lab, he likes to play boardgames and ski with friends.

Research interests: Plasma proteomics, metabolomics, breast cancer risk and prevention

Mingjie Zhao is a MSc student in Applied Computing at the University of Toronto. He completed his undergraduate degree in Statistics and Data Science at the University of Waterloo. Outside of his studies, he enjoys long walks, cooking, and exploring his creativity through drawing and painting.

Research interests: Protein language models, protein structure, machine learning, liquid-liquid-phase separation

Sean D’Mello is an MSc student in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto and earned his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He completed several co-op placements applying machine learning to medicine, including at the ORTHOTron Lab at the University of Waterloo and the Tearney Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. Outside of academics, Sean enjoys reading, swimming, and camping.

Research interests: Machine Learning, Generative AI, Computational Pathology, Multi-omic Analysis

Omar Alawamry is an MSc student in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, co-supervised by Dr. Mélanie Courtot, and earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at McMaster University. He has conducted translational clinical research at Sunnybrook Research Institute, focusing on the development of liquid biopsies using emerging technologies such as imaging flow cytometry. His current interests lie in cancer genomics and the development of bioinformatic tools. In his free time, he enjoys preparing café-style drinks at home and playing tennis.

Research interests: Bioinformatics, Machine learning, Generative AI, Cancer Genomics

Lucy Fuccilo is the administrative assistant for the CCGLab. She has extensive experience working at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Outside of the lab Lucy loves to walk her dog Watson, who is extremely cute.