Vander Heiden Lab Team

Matt Vander Heiden
Principal Investigator

Matthew Vander Heiden is the Director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the Lester Wolfe (1911) Chair in Molecular Biology, and a Professor in the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a practicing Medical Oncologist and Instructor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, as well as an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Vander Heiden received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago, where he worked in the laboratory of Craig Thompson. He completed clinical training in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a Hematology-Oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Massachusetts General Hospital program. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Lewis Cantley at Harvard Medical School, where he was supported by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. In 2010, Vander Heiden joined the MIT faculty. His laboratory studies how metabolism is regulated to meet the needs of cells in different physiological situations. A major focus of his research is the role of metabolism in cancer, and particularly how metabolic pathways support cancer cell proliferation and survival. Using a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology and mouse models, the aim of the Vander Heiden laboratory is to understand how metabolism influences different stages of tumor biology with a goal to improve cancer treatment in the clinic. He also serves on the scientific advisory boards of multiple cancer centers, as well as the investment advisory board and scientific advisory boards of multiple companies.

Favorite Football Team: Green Bay Packers
mvh@mit.edu

Anna Barbeau
Graduate Student
Favorite Lunch Spot: Life Alive
abarbeau@mit.edu
Sam Block
Postdoc
Favorite mixtape: Caprisongs
sdblock@mit.edu
Patrick Cunniff
Postdoc
Favorite Flavor of Sparking Water: Cherry Pomegranate
cunniff1@mit.edu
Ryan Elbashir
Graduate Student
favorite animal: lioness
elbashir@mit.edu
ChiHin (Davey) Feng
Graduate Student
Favorite Superhero: Iron Man
chfeng@mit.edu
Yetiş Gültekin
Postdoc
favorite bake: pistachio almond cake
gultekin@mit.edu
Alissandra Hillis
Postdoc
Favorite Movie: She's the Man
ahillis@mit.edu
Muhammad bin Munim
Graduate Student
Favorite Starbucks Order: Venti Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew with Extra Splash of Vanilla Sweet Cream and Vanilla Syrup
mbmunim@mit.edu
Gillian Oaks
Graduate Student
Favorite Furniture: bean bag
oaksgil@mit.edu
Victoria Paradise
Graduate Student
Favorite Soda: Diet Coke in a can
paradise@mit.edu
Eddie Rashan
Postdoc
Favorite Wintertime Activity: ice fishing
rashan@mit.edu
Amit Roopan
Visiting Scientist
Favorite Response: No way!
aroopan@mit.edu
Dan Schmidt
Postdoc
favorite season: fall
schmidt1@mit.edu
Anya Shevzov-Zebrun
Graduate Student
favorite ice cream flavor: banana
ashevzeb@mit.edu
Sharanya Sivanand
Postdoc
Favorite music: Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons - Spring
sharanya@mit.edu
Abby Ward
Research Technician
Favorite Flower: Lilac
award01@mit.edu
Samkyu Yaffe
Research Technician
favorite energy drink: White Monster
syaffe@mit.edu
Tony Zhang
Postdoc
Favorite Music Genre: electronic dance music
yzhang3@mit.edu
Brooke Bevis
Lab Manager
Favorite Word to Say: phosphatidylinositol
bevis@mit.edu
Erica Burds
Sr. Administrator to the Director
Favorite (almost) everyday fashion statement: patterned socks
ericarie@mit.edu
Peter Jansen
Lab Administrator
favorite country: Belgium
pejansen@mit.edu

Alumni

Keene Abbott
Graduate Student
2018 - 2025
Current Position:
Postdoc at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Sarah Chang
MD/PhD Graduate Student
2019 - 2024
Current Position:
Medical Student at Harvard Medical School
Alicia Darnell
Postdoc
2018 - 2024
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, Duke University School of Medicine
Jeff Davis
Postdoc
2020 - 2024
Current Position:
Senior Scientist, TreeFrog Therapeutics
Brian Do
MD/PhD Graduate Student
2019 - 2023
Current Position:
Internal Medicine Resident at Mass General Brigham
Kian Eghbalian
Visiting Medical Student
2024 - 2025
Florian Gourgue
Postdoc
2021 - 2024
Sophie Honedor
Visiting Scientist
2022 - 2023
Current Position:
Postdoc at University of Technology Vienna, Austria
Chris Nabel
Postdoc
2018 - 2024
Current Position:
Koch Institute Clinical Fellow / Medical Oncologist Mass General
Kiera Sapp
Graduate Student
2018 - 2023
Current Position:
Tango Therapeutics
Sonia Trojan
Postdoc
2023 - 2025
Current Position:
Assistant Professor at Jagiellonian University Medical College
Ahmed Ali
Medical Student
2018-2021
Current Position:
Medical Oncology Fellow, University of California San Diego
Caroline Crosby
Technician
2021 - 2023
Current Position:
Graduate Student in BBS at Harvard University
Laura Danai
Postdoc
2011 - 2015
Current Position:
Instructor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Franny Diehl
Graduate Student
2016 - 2021
Current Position:
Postdoc, Johns Hopkins University
Shawn Davidson
Graduate Student
2011-2016
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Caroline Lewis Chidley
Postdoc
2012-2016
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, UMass Chan School of Medicine
Brian Fiske
Graduate student
2010-2015
Current Position:
Co-Founder and CSO, Mythic Therapeutics
Iva Gramatikov
Technician
2019-2022
Current Position:
AstraZeneca
Dan Gui
MD/PhD Graduate Student
2012-2017
Current Position:
Hem/Onc Fellow, Dana-Farber/Mass General Brigham
Aaron Hosios
Graduate student
2011-2017
Current Position:
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Peggy Hsu
Postdoc
2017-2020
Current Position:
Rogel Fellow, University of Michigan
Will Israelson
Graduate student
2010-2014
Current Position:
Mythic Therapeutics
Allison Lau
Postdoc
2014-2021
Current Position:
Scientist, Pfizer
Zhaoqi Li
Graduate Student
2016-2021
Current Position:
Sesame Therapeutics
Evan Lien
Postdoc
2017-2022
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, Van Andel Institute
Alba Luengo
Graduate student
2013-2018
Current Position:
Principal Scientist at Loxo Oncology at Lilly
Sophia Lunt
Postdoc
2010-2012
Current Position:
Associate Professor, Michigan State University
Nicholas Matheson
Visiting Scientist
2017-2018
Current Position:
Professor, Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease
Katie Mattaini
Graduate student
2010-2015
Current Position:
Lecturer at Tufts University, Biology
Jared Mayers
MD/PhD Graduate Student
2011-2015
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Alex Muir
Postdoc
2015-2018
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, University of Chicago
Ben Olenchock
Postdoc, joint with Kaelin Lab
2011-2013
Current Position:
Executive Medical Director at Early Clinical Development, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Kylee Pait
Technical Associate
2021 - 2023
Current Position:
Novartis
Lucas Sullivan
Postdoc
2013-2018
Current Position:
Assistant Professor, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Mark Sullivan
Graduate Student
2014-2019
Current Position:
Postdoc, Harvard School of Public Health
Anna Westermark
Technician
2019-2021
Current Position:
Senior Research Associate, FL85
Sidney Vermeulen
Masters Student
2021-2022
Current Position:
Biology Graduate Student, Stanford University