Dana “Kim” Reed, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist and Lab Manager
Dana Kim Reed received her Ph.D. at UT Southwestern and has worked in several different academic positions as well as technical sales. As lab manager for the Danuser lab, Kim oversees the daily logistics of the labs, as well as projects of the Infrastructure Team. Her background is in biochemistry and cell biology with particular interest in electron microscopy. Kim is a native Texan and enjoys outdoor activities (especially if her dog can join), cooking and entertaining, non-science reading and writing, and singing in her church choir.
Kim is also somewhat of a poet, for your enjoyment:
Lab Haiku
Managing the lab:
Place the order, shelves are full.
We are out again.
Kushal Bhatt, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Kushal received his BS in Genetics and MS in Biotechnology at S.P University, Gujarat, India. He went on to earn his PhD in Molecular Biology at Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX. Kushal joined the Danuser lab in 2020. His work focuses on the study and application of CRISPR and molecular techniques to various projects for the research team. In his free time, Kushal enjoys doing astrophotography.
Divya Rajendran
Research and Development Associate
Divya Rajendran was born and raised in Bengaluru, India. She received her B.E in Biotechnology from P.E.S University and MS in Cell and Molecular Biology from University of Texas at Dallas, later joining the Danuser lab in 2019. As a member of the infrastructure team, Divya implements various molecular biology techniques to assist postdocs and grad students in different projects. In her free time, Divya enjoys reading fiction and binge watching shows.
Hsin-Yu Lin
Research Associate
Hsin-Yu Lin earned her B.S. in Medical Science from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and further honed her skills in cognitive neuroscience at National Taiwan University. In 2024, she joined the Danuser lab as part of the Center for Cell Signaling Analysis team, where she implements advanced imaging and cellular biology techniques to support various research projects. Beyond the lab, Hsin-Yu is an avid baker who loves experimenting with new recipes. She also enjoys watching movies and finds relaxation in practicing yoga.
Vasanth Siruvallur Murali, Ph.D.
Senior Research and Development Scientist
Vasanth was born and raised in India. He received his BE in Biotechnology from Visvesvaraya Technological University in 2008. He then moved to University of Texas at Dallas where he acquired his MS in 2011 and PhD in 2015 in Molecular and Cell Biology. His graduate work focused on quantitative and sub-cellular location studies on the use of folic acid-targeted carbon nanotubes in thermal ablation cancer therapies. In 2016, he joined UT Southwestern Medical Center as a postdoctoral fellow where he worked on developing 3D imaging-based functional assays for assessing drug activity. He then worked on understanding how cell cytoskeleton can modulate metabolism to promote drug resistance. He is currently a senior research development scientist and works to develop zebrafish as a prediction model for cancer metastasis. Outside of the lab, Vasanth enjoys travelling, hiking and riding his motorcycle.
Sabahat Munawar
Qiongjing ‘Jenny’ Zou, PhD
Jenny was born and raised in Wuhan, China. She received her Ph.D. at University of Delaware and worked as a Research Fellow in Singapore. Jenny is focused on developing and maintaining scientific software packages to serve the lab’s software and analysis needs. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her family and friends, trying out new restaurants, and watching movies.