Our Team | Han Zhu Lab

Who we are

We are a multi-disciplinary group of diverse scientists, physicians and learners from various backgrounds coming together to address important questions using novel techniques to help improve the care of patients with concurrent cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as those with cardiac immune diseases. Our group values passion, curiosity, dedication and collegiality.

Dr. Han Zhu

Director, Stanford Translational Cardio-Oncology Program

Cardio-Oncology/Cardio-Immunology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Dr. Zhu is an Assistant Professor of Medicine whose clinical and research expertise focuses on cardio-oncology and cardio-immunology. She specializes in the cardiovascular care of patients undergoing therapies for cancer, with a particular focus on the effects of immunotherapies on the heart. She received a bioengineering degree from MIT, medical degree from Case Western Reserve University, and completed clinical cardiology fellowship and internal medicine residency training at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Zhu’s laboratory focuses on myocarditis, cardiac inflammation, and the effects of cancer therapeutics on the cardiovascular system. Her current research employs clinical data, bio-banked samples, and in vivo/in vitro preclinical models in combination with single-cell technologies to study immune-based toxicities in the heart. Dr. Zhu's clinic sees cardio-oncology and cardio-immunology patients and her lab focuses on devising new methods for minimizing cardiovascular complications in the cancer and autoimmune patient populations.

Stanford Medicine Profile

Basic/Translational Research Team

Yin Sun

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Yin Sun received his B.S. in Pharmacy from Shenyang Pharmaceutical University (SPU) in 2018. He then completed his Ph.D. in Medicinal chemistry at SPU in 2023. His doctoral thesis focused on the design, synthesis, and anti-tumor activity evaluation of polo-like kinase 4 inhibitors and proteolytic targeting chimeras. After joining the Zhu lab, he is particularly interested in combining his background in drug design and development with novel immunological tools to explore new precision therapeutic strategies in the field of cardio-immunology/cardio-oncology. In his free time, he enjoys running and swimming.

Maria Rosaria Vitale

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Maria earned her B.Sc in Biochemistry from the University of Würzburg, Germany, in 2015, followed by her M.Sc in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of Freiburg in 2018. She completed her Ph.D. at the University Hospital in Würzburg, focusing on induced human pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in the context of Molecular Psychiatry. Her research focused on the role of CDH13, a gene linked to ADHD, where she utilized iPSC reprogramming, CRISPR/Cas9 gene knockout, neuronal subtype differentiation, and multielectrode array (MEA) activity for evaluation.

Joining the Zhu lab at Stanford, Maria is dedicated to establishing iPSC models tailored for investigating myocarditis and sarcoidosis. Her objective is to elucidate the cardiac microenvironment changes underlying the initiation and propagation of cardiac inflammation, ultimately advancing targeted therapies to mitigate cardiotoxicity from cancer immunotherapies. Outside of the lab, Maria finds joy in traveling, attending operas, reading, swimming, cooking and baking.

Noah Wagner

Research Tech

Lab Manager

Noah graduated from UMass Boston with a B.S. in Biology and minor in Political Science in 2023. Before joining the Zhu lab, he conducted research on the role of STING signaling in pressure overload heart failure in the Pilar Alcaide lab at Tufts University. His work primarily involved utilizing techniques such as western blotting, immunofluorescent staining, and flow cytometry to profile effects of the STING pathway on cardiac remodeling. Currently, his work in the Zhu lab is focused on characterizing immune activity in ICI induced myocarditis. Outside of the lab, Noah enjoys lifting, cycling, and reading comic books.

Shaheen Khatua

Clinical Research Coordinator

Shaheen graduated from U.C. Davis with a B.S. in Cell Biology and a minor in Economics. Her expertise lies in data collection, statistical analysis, and protocol development to facilitate bench to bedside research. Her work involves discovering novel biomarkers in risk prediction of ICI myocarditis.

Yuhsin (Vivian) Huang

Bioinformatics & Past Lab Manager

Yuhsin (Vivian) Huang graduated from Cornell University in 2022 as a Computer Science major and Biology minor. She is currently an MD/PhD student at Cornell. Vivian is primarily interested in translational medicine as well as the use of computational tools to analyze biological data, especially regarding targeted therapies in the fields of cardiology and immunology. Her experiences in leading the Cornell Translator/Interpreter Program as well as in volunteering as an ESL tutor and member of the El Camino Hospital Chinese Health Initiative have additionally aided in her goal to further tailor medical care and support for each individual's unique personal and cultural background. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and DC comics and has recently started acrylic painting as well.

Harrison Chou

Research Tech

Past Clinical Research Coordinator

Harrison Chou received his B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Musicology from UCLA in 2023. Prior to joining the Han Zhu lab, he participated in gastroenterology and hepatology research, utilizing large patient databases to analyze prognostic relationships between cirrhosis and other etiologic disorders. He is currently interested in exploring the field of cardio-oncology and studying the molecular mechanisms behind autoimmune diseases like cardiac sarcoidosis. In his free time, he likes playing basketball and viola.

Bruce Changlong Xu

Masters Student

Bioinformatics

Bruce Xu is a BS-MS student at Stanford starting fulltime at NVIDIA in the Spring. He was born in New Zealand and raised in Hong Kong. He is interested in enrolling in medical school in the future to perform research in immunology and treating patient populations in developing countries, as well as communities with less resources. He has always wanted to work at the Aga Khan hospital in Kenya (he has heard the food is good, and would like to meet Eliud Kipchoge -- marathon world record holder). He is currently working on applying artificial intelligence and language models towards understanding immunotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

Corynn Marie Grayson Branche

Undergraduate Student

Corynn Branche is a sophomore from Redondo Beach, California. She plans on majoring in molecular, cell, and developmental biology. Her research interests lie in understanding the molecular basis of ICI myocarditis and outcome disparities. She also volunteers as a patient navigator with Cardinal Free Clinics. In her free time, she enjoys making music and baking.

Natasha Banga

Undergraduate Student

Bioinformatics

Natasha Banga is a freshman at Stanford from Dallas, Texas. She hopes to study computer science and public policy on the premed track. She is interested in the studying the autoimmune mechanisms underlying cardiac disease and working with animal models. In her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts and going to the gym.

Zachary Lin

Undergraduate Student

Zachary Lin is a freshman from Orange County, California. He is interested in both the clinical and research sides of medicine and hopes to become a physician scientist in the future. He is pursuing a major in bioengineering and a minor in music. In his spare time, he loves to play basketball and the saxophone.

Clinical/Translational Research Team

Evaline Cheng

Clinical Assistant Professor

Former Cardiology Fellow/Postdoc

Dr. Evaline Cheng was raised in Sunnyvale, California. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and a concentration in global health. Afterwards, she spent a year working in health policy in Washington DC, which first sparked her interest in healthcare systems. She earned her medical degree from UC San Diego and completed her internal medicine residency at UCLA. At UCLA, she conducted research investigating disparities of cardiovascular prevention in the cardio-oncology population. During her cardiologist fellowship, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Zhu lab, funded by a Kirschstein-NRSA F32 fellowship to pursue her clinical interest in cardio-oncology combined with her research interests in risk stratification for cardiotoxicities with immunotherapy. She is now a clinical assistant professor as part of the Stanford Cardio-Oncology group.

Miguel Julio Franquiz

Cardiology Fellow

Miguel Franquiz is second year cardiology fellow at Stanford Hospital. He completed undergraduate training in general chemistry at Loyola University in Baltimore, MD, pharmacy training at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, pharmacy residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, where he completed several projects focusing on leukemia at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. His research interests include optimization of pharmacotherapy for cardiovascular disorders, cardio-oncology, and cardiac sarcoidosis. His work with the Zhu lab focuses on cardiac toxicities associated with antineoplastic agents and cardiac sarcoidosis.

Hoda Sayegh

Internal Medicine Resident

Dr. Hoda Sayegh is an Internal Medicine resident at Stanford Medicine. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago where she conducted research in Immunology on gamma-delta T cells. She continued her research career working at Massachusetts General Hospital, with a focus on breast cancer-related lymphedema. She then earned her medical degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she studied human papillomavirus-related cancers via immunological subtyping. She joined Stanford Medicine in 2022 where she continues to explore her research interests within the fields of oncology, cardiology, and immunology. In her free time, she enjoys making pottery on the wheel.

Ryan Batchelder

APP

Ryan Batchelder is a Physician Assistant on the Cardio-Oncology team at Stanford. He earned his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He completed his Master of Health Sciences in PA studies at Quinnipiac University. Ryan spent his first clinical years as a PA in the Boston area, working on inpatient general cardiology teams. He works closely with Han Zhu and Paul Cheng in the Cardio-Oncology Clinic treating oncologic patients with various cardiovascular diseases. His clinical interests include cardio-oncology , heart failure, and coronary artery disease. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, hiking, and music.

Alumni & Past Affiliates

Daniel Lee

Julia Ryan

Sarah Waliany, MD

Maja Ivanovic, MD

Muhammed Fazal, MD

Rania Abdusamad

Antonia (Toni) Chan

Joaquin Parilla-Garcia

Andrew Nguyen, MD