Our Lab

michael.rendl@mssm.edu

Michael is the PI of the lab. He received his MD from the University of Vienna, Austria. After his postdoctoral research in Elaine Fuchs’s lab at Rockefeller University he joined Mount Sinai in 2008. Michael focuses on keeping the money flowing, the lab growing and the papers coming.

sangeeta.ghuwalewala@mssm.edu

Sangeeta received her Ph.D. in cancer biology/cancer stem cells from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata in 2016. She then pursued her postdoctoral training in the lab of Tudorita Tumbar at Cornell University from 2016 to 2021. She then joined our lab as a Senior Scientist in March 2022. Sangeeta is interested in the regulation of stem cell induction and hair cycle progression by the dermal papilla.

martina.rangl@mssm.edu

Martina received her PhD in Biophysics from Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria, in 2012. She then trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the Scheuring lab at INSERM Marseille (2012-2016) and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York (2017-2019). She then joined our lab in 2020. Martina is in charge of the epigenomics and transcriptomics efforts in the lab.

nicholas.heitman@mssm.edu

Nick graduated with a BS in microbiology from U Wisconsin, Madison, and an MS in Biomedical Sciences from Mount Sinai. He had joined the lab for his Ph.D. work in the MD/PhD training program in 2014 and graduated in 2019 and finished Med School in 2022. Nick is interested in Dermal Sheath cell functions during hair formation and the hair cycle. Being a resident in Dermatology, he continues to pursue his research interest in the mesenchymal control of hair cycle regression.

raghava.sunkara@mssm.edu

Raghav received his PhD from the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in New Mumbai, India. He joined the lab in February 2021. His research interest lies in uncovering the molecular properties and functions of hair follicle dermal stem cells.

xin.wang@mssm.edu

Xin received his PhD from Fudan University in Shanghai in 2021. He joined the lab in June 2022. Xin is interested in defining the biological functions and molecular controls of the dermal sheath during the hair growth cycle.

yan.huang@mssm.edu

Yan received her PhD from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. She joined the lab in December 2023. Her research focuses on discovering the stem cell-activating features of dermal papilla cells in normal physiology and in hair loss diseases.

daniel.osorio-mendez@mssm.edu

Daniel received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. He joined the lab in July 2024. His research focus centers around defining the molecular controls of DP fate acquisition during the developmental transition from fibroblasts into dermal condensates. 

sky.kihuwa-mani@icahn.mssm.edu

Sky graduated with a BS in biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), Greensboro, North Carolina. She joined the lab for her Ph.D. work in the MD/PhD training program in August 2024. Sky is interested in the cellular and molecular controls of skin wound healing.

jenny.cao@mssm.edu

Jenny graduated with a BA in Bioscience, Empathy, and the Human Condition from NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York, NY in 2023. She joined our lab in 2023. Jenny aims to dissect the role of hormone signaling pathways in dermal papilla functions.

imelda.adjei@mssm.edu

Imelda graduated with a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science, New York, NY in 2023. She joined our lab in 2023. Imelda strives to find out the regulatory controls of endothelin expression in hair follicle progenitors.

adrian.kwiatkowski@mssm.edu

Adrian graduated with a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois. He joined our lab in July 2024. Adrian strives to find out the lineage relationships of hair follicle dermal stem cells.