Lab Members

Natalia Andreeva, MD, received her medical degree in biochemistry (2020) from Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University in Moscow. After participating in many research projects in Russia, she joined the Grivennikov Lab in 2019. Her research focus is studying the role of inflammation and microbiota in colorectal cancer and liver metastasis. She uses different approaches including various mouse models, tumor organoids and cell lines to understand the mechanisms of cross-talk between cancer cells, immune cells and bacteria.

Sophia Chikhladze graduated with a degree in human medicine from Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University (Georgia) and Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg (Germany). She earned her doctorate in pancreatic cancer at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg in Germany. She is a board-certified visceral surgeon specialized in surgical oncology, with a particular interest on pancreatic surgery. She was awarded with a fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and is currently working in the Grivennikov Lab. Her research focuses on the role of inflammation, cytokine pathways and microbiota in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancers.

Katarzyna Chojnacka received her master's degree in genetics at the University of Lodz, Poland, in 2017. She is also a PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry at the Medical University in Lodz, Poland. Her main research focuses on the usage of natural substances in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases as well as colorectal cancer.

Railia Gabbasova received her master’s degree in medicinal chemistry from the Kazan Federal University, Russia, in 2019. As part of the Grivennikov Lab, her research focus is on identifying microbial contributions to inflammation and colon cancer.

Elena Ivleva graduated from the Russian National Research Medical University in Moscow, Russia. She joined the Grivennikov Lab in 2019. As part of the Grivennikov Lab her research focus is on in-depth investigation of pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-γ) signaling pathway in different cell types within the tumor microenvironment, and its receptor IFN-γR2 in the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and its metastasis.

Dan Kamen received his bachelor's degree in sociology from UCLA in 2021. As part of the Grivennikov Lab, he is aiding other lab members with their projects in order to develop his skills in research. His research interests include the microbiota and its influence on inflammation and cancer metastasis.

Svetlana Khoziainova received her master’s degree in molecular biology and biochemistry from Kazan Federal University, Russia. During university time she studied the role of cryptic peptides in wound healing and tissue repairing mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. Her research interests are in understanding the role of different cytokines and immune cells in colon cancer development and progression, particularly with a focus on IL-1 and IL-27 biology.

Vanessa Neitzke Montinelli completed her master's degree in molecular biology and human genetics at the Institute of Biophysics from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and her doctorate at the Brazilian National Institute of Cancer (INCA) in studies of memory CD8 T lymphocyte differentiation. In 2021, she joined the Grivennikov Laboratory to study the role of microbiota, inflammation and cytokine pathways in regulation of colorectal cancer metastasis.

Danish Umar, PhD, received his master's degree in biotechnology from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and doctorate at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. His doctoral work focused on the effect of febrile temperature and role of TRPV1 in the context of fever temperature on naive CD4 T cell differentiation. Umar joined the Grivennikov Lab in 2021 to study the role of inflammatory environment in tumor progression, metastasis and anti-tumor therapies.