Meet the Principal Investigator
Suzanne D. Conzen, M.D.
Professor, Internal Medicine
Division Chief, Hematology and Oncology
Suzanne D. Conzen, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Chief of the of Hematology and Oncology. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
Dr. Conzen earned her medical degree at Yale School of Medicine and completed her residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. She then received advanced training in hematology and medical oncology through a clinical fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and in molecular oncology through a research fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School. She also holds a master’s degree from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Current Lab Members
Lynda Bennett, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Bennett is originally from England and received her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, Imperial College in London. She came to UTSW for her first postdoctoral fellowship in the McDermott Center to study inherited genetic diseases. In research at other institutions, she then studied genome-wide gene expression in pediatric autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and global epigenetic alterations in B-cell malignancies. She also studied DNA methylation in multiple myeloma and ovarian cancer. Dr. Bennett recently came back to UTSW bringing expertise in genetic, epigenetic, and genomic methodologies to study breast and ovarian cancer in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Bennett’s outside interests include her family, tennis, reading, and cooking.
Chris (Woei-Yaw) Chee, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
A native of Malaysia, Chris earned a double bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the National University of Malaysia and biological science from Bournemouth University in the UK. He earned his Ph.D. in biological science from Osaka University, where he focused on the remarkable longevity of the naked mole-rat, and found that lipid metabolism and senescence are linked via the β-catenin-regulated pathway. In Dr. Conzen's laboratory, he studies the mechanistic correlation between nicotinamide N-methyl transferase and the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in association with metastasis. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, bouldering, and gorge climbing.
Baylee Porter, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Baylee received her BS from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. She studied zebrafish neuroanatomy under the guidance of Thomas Mueller, PhD and was both a KINBRE scholar and McNair Scholar. She then pursued graduate school at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY where she received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2022. Her research focused on identifying a novel binding partner, abl interactor-1, with the androgen receptor and their co-phase separation abilities, which contributed to the progression of treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Her current research focus in the Conzen laboratory is in understanding the role of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in invasive lobular carcinoma tumor biology. Specifically, determining GR’s contribution to anti-proliferative effects while ameliorating migratory and mesenchymal phenotypes, thus promoting metastasis. In her free time Baylee loves gardening, skiing, and watching the Kansas City Chiefs with her husband.
Eleanore Gray
Research Assistant I
Eleanore Gray is a Research Assistant in the Conzen Lab. She received her bachelor's degree in biology from Baylor University in 2022, with a focus in molecular and cell biology and a minor in biochemistry. Eleanore joined the Conzen Lab immediately after graduating and has since been working with Dr. Manisha Taya on her project to elucidate the role of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the generation and recruitment of immunosuppressive cell types to the tumor microenvironments of ovarian cancers. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, running, weightlifting and baking.
Praveen Jaiswal, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Praveen obtained his Ph.D. degree in urological cancer from King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, India. His research focuses on understanding oncogenic signaling, mechanism of therapy resistance, and application of small molecule inhibitors in prostate cancer. Apart from science, Praveen loves to spend time with family and friends, and watch movies.
Christine Shiang, M.D., Ph.D.
Fellow
Christine earned her Ph.D. in cancer biology from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston, where she worked on novel therapeutic targets for triple-negative breast cancer with Dr. Lajos Pusztai. She earned her M.D. from UT Southwestern. Christine is a fellow in the Hematology/Oncology Division and a participant in the Physician Scientist Training Program. In the Conzen Lab, she is working on enhancing antitumor immunity via glucocorticoid receptor mechanisms in the tumor-immune ecosystem of triple-negative breast cancer. In her free time, Christine enjoys family, golf, and snowboarding..
Manisha Taya, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Manisha received her Ph.D. from the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY (2019). Her research focused on a rare lung cancer called LAM that predominantly affects women. She studied the interplay between estrogen receptor (ER) and immunosuppressive cells, namely myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and their secreted product, called neutrophil elastase, which is an angiogenic factor promoting cancer cell metastasis. She joined Dr. Conzen’s laboratory as a postdoctoral research fellow to investigate the role of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation on immune cell infiltration and tumor microenvironment regulation in ovarian cancer. In her free time, Manisha enjoys watching documentaries, going to live concerts, practicing street photography, and traveling.
Lily Hoefner
Research Technician I
I received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin where I studied RNA-binding proteins in bacteria under Dr. Lydia Contreras. In the Conzen lab, I study how nicotinamide N-methyltransferase promotes metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer. In my free time, I enjoy hiking and spending time with family, hiking, and gardening.