Team

Sheqouia Nauta, MD, Postdoctoral fellow

Hello! My name is Sheqouia. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and obtained my medical degree at the University of Amsterdam in 2022. During my study, I did a research internship in the lab when it was led by dr. Willem Mulder and I’ve gained a great interest in biomedical research ever since. After receiving my degree I returned to Mount Sinai and joined the van Leent lab as a postdoctoral fellow. My current research focuses on examining inflammatory cardiovascular diseases through molecular imaging.

 

 

 

 

Trea St.Hillaire, Pre-med student

Hi! My name is Trea St. Hillaire, and I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Classics at Haverford College, where I was a part of  the Microbial Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, investigating how interactions between bacteria affect their genomic evolution. Currently the project I am working on involves evaluating radiolabeled beta cell PET imaging agents in mice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kymani Lewis, undergraduate student

Hi! My name is Kymani, I’m an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at Hunter College. This is my first experience working in a research lab, and I’m thrilled to be part of the team. I am particularly interested in exploring the immunological mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular disease and how advanced imaging techniques can reveal previously unknown insights. And I’m very excited to deepen my understanding of imaging and cardiovascular disease.

 

 

 

 

 

Laura Stewart, Associate Researcher

Originally from Wicklow, Ireland, Laura has just relocated to New York after earning her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from University College Dublin. With a strong passion for medical research, Laura is excited to embark on her first research role here at Mount Sinai. She’s eager to gain hands-on experience, contribute to the team, and learn from the groundbreaking work being done in our labs.
Outside of work, Laura enjoys running, going to the gym, traveling, and spending time with friends. She’s also looking forward to exploring the city and getting to know everyone in the BMEII and CVRI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mila Llorca Luth, Summer student

Hello! My name is Mila Llorca Luth. I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan and am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Health, and Society. I have worked as a summer volunteer in the lab since high school and have mostly helped with projects surrounding the use of PET imaging in cardiovascular disease development and visualizing immunological changes. I am very excited to continue my work and gain more experience with PET imaging and its applications to understanding mechanisms of cardiovascular disease development in different contexts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandy van Leent, MD PhD, Principal Investigator

Dr. Van Leent is an Assistant Professor at the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) and the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Van Leent obtained her MD and PhD degrees from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and performed a postdoctoral fellowship at Mount Sinai. Her research focusses on the design, application and validation of imaging methods to better understand, diagnose and treat cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past members

Anna Ranzenigo, PhD

 

 

 

 

 

Camila Modráková

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Umali

 

 

 

 

 

Lola Wheeler