Lab Members

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Defne Bayik is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. As a native of Turkey, she completed her Ph.D. in Bilkent University-National Cancer Institute (NCI) Graduate Partnership Program (GPP) in 2016. Her dissertation work focused on the maturation pathways of myeloid cells. In 2017, she joined Dr. Justin D. Lathia’s laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic as a postdoctoral fellow. Her work focused on targeting myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in brain tumors. Defne enjoys reading, biking, going to the theatre and traveling in her spare time.

ASSISTANT SCIENTIST

Originally from Valera, Venezuela, Oriana migrated to Miami when the political situation in her home country started to deteriorate. She attended the Honors College at Miami Dade Community College, after which she transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry. There she worked in the Kiessling Lab as an undergraduate researcher to optimize high throughput binding/competition assays and identify potent and specific C-Type lectin inhibitors. After graduation, she accepted a two-year biological scientist position in the Cousins Group at the University of Florida and then attended Cornell University to pursue a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Oriana completed her thesis work in the Cerione lab, where she focused on determining the mechanism used by the Guanine nucleotide Exchange Factor (GEF) Dock7 to mediate AKT activation and cancer cell survival. Oriana joined the Bayik Lab on Jan 2023 as a postdoctoral fellow, where she hopes to explore the cellular mechanisms used by immune cells to promote brain tumor progression with the goal of elucidating new therapeutic targets and furthering knowledge in this emerging and exciting field. Besides her scientific interests, Oriana tries to always be actively engaged in organizations that promote DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in academia and the greater community.

Initially from Michigan, Jonathan received his Bachelor of Science at the University of Michigan in 2019. As an undergraduate, he conducted research in academia and industry in cancer immunology and microbiota-driven inflammation. Following graduation, Jonathan worked clinically as a neurophysiology technician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York for two years. In June of 2021, he matriculated into the University of Miami’s MD/PhD program and has completed his first two years of medical school prior to joining the lab. Outside of medicine, Jonathan loves cooking, playing soccer, listening to house music, and watching Michigan football.

Brandon is a Virginia native. He completed his bachelor of science in neuroscience at George Mason University in 2019. There he aimed to optimize genetically encoded voltage indicators to record neural activity in vivo. He then became a PREP scholar at the Mayo Clinic. He studied novel drugs targeting glutamate transporters and adenosine receptors to address mood and alcohol use disorders. He became a PhD candidate at the University of Miami in 2023. He aims to uncover mechanisms of reactive astrogliosis and novel therapeutic strategies for glioblastoma. Outside of the lab, he enjoys the beach, dancing, and going to concerts.

Originally from India, Aashna received her Bachelor of Pharmacy from BITS Pilani in 2022. Following graduation, she worked in a computational systems biology lab, studying the dynamics of gene regulatory networks underlying EMT in cancer. She then earned her Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University, where her research focused on uncovering epigenetic mechanisms of endocrine therapy resistance in breast cancer. In 2025, she joined the University of Miami as a graduate student. Passionate about cancer research, she became a member of the lab in 2026. Here, she aims to understand how sex differences influence the epigenetic regulation of myeloid cell heterogeneity and neurotransmitter signaling in glioblastoma. Outside of the lab, Aashnaenjoys baking, hiking, traveling and all things music. 

SR. RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Originally from İzmir, Türkiye, Tuğçe earned her bachelor's degree in molecular biology and genetics from Gebze Technical University, and then she completed her master's degree in the tumor biology and immunology program at Hacettepe University. There, she became interested in understanding how cancer shapes immune responses and how defining these immune escape mechanisms can contribute to the development of more effective cancer therapies. In her master's thesis, she explored the costimulatory and coinhibitory axes governing the interaction between B-cell lymphoma and T lymphocytes, aiming to better understand mechanisms of tumor immune evasion.

Outside the lab, she enjoys taking long walks while listening to music, trying new recipes, dancing, reading, and playing World of Warcraft, and she is a big fan of parrots.

Bruno is a Florida native that was born and raised in Tampa Bay. He attended the University of South Florida and received his Bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2021. Following his graduation, he moved to Miami to pursue a Biomedical Master’s Degree from the University of Miami. Post-graduation, he worked as a research associate in Dr. Viraj Sanghvi’s laboratory where he worked on early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. As of May 2023, he is a senior research associate in the Bayik Lab. Bruno plans on applying to medical school with hopes of becoming a physician. His goal is to practice medicine while also continuing his love for research. In his spare time, Bruno enjoys powerlifting, pickleball, trying new foods, and hiking with his dog Kylo.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Asmita completed her bachelors and masters in Biochemistry from Delhi, India. She moved to the states to pursue her PhD in primarily protein biochemistry from East Tennessee State University. Her PhD project focused on understanding the evolution and structure-function relationship of C-reactive protein. She started her post-doctoral journey in University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she studied impaired insulin secretion and the negative regulators involved in it during early onset Type-2 Diabetes. She moved to New York and resumed her postdoctoral journey in New York Blood Center working on the role of a worm derived protein as an adjuvant and its potential mechanism. She joined the Bayik Lab in April 2023 where she wants to understand sex differences in myeloid derived suppressor cells contribution to glioblastoma. Aside from science, Asmita is a vegetarian-foodie who loves to travel, hike, occasionally bake and a tv-buff.