Principal Investigator

Dr. Giannarelli is an associate professor in the Division of Cardiology, part of the Department of Medicine, and an associate professor in the Department of Pathology. Dr. Giannarelli received her MD at the University of Pisa, Italy. She completed her clinical training in internal medicine, specializing in vascular disease, and received her PhD in pharmacological sciences and pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiovascular disease at the University of Pisa, Italy. After completing her research fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai she was recruited as an instructor and then promoted to assistant professor (tenure-track). Dr. Giannarelli has established an independent National Institutes of Health–funded research program investigating immune mechanisms of vascular disease. A major goal of her laboratory is to leverage single-cell technologies—such as single-cell mass cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, and cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing—to map the cellular and molecular composition of human atherosclerotic plaques to aid in the discovery of new precise immunotherapies.

Email: chiara.giannarelli@nyulangone.org

Senior Research Scientist

Letizia earned her BS in biology and her MS in molecular biology from the University of Milan, Italy. She received her PhD in molecular oncology and human genetics from the European School of Molecular Medicine (SEMM), Milan, Italy. She then joined the Cancer Genetics Department at Columbia University as postdoctoral research scientist to pursue her research in the cancer genetics field. After that, she decided to broaden her scientific interests into cardiovascular diseases by moving to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she had the chance to collaborate with Dr. Giannarelli in several projects. In 2021, she joined Dr. Giannarelli’s team at NYU Grossman School of Medicine as a senior research scientist, where she focuses on drug repositioning approaches for new treatments of atherosclerosis and on how ART compounds affect cardiovascular diseases.

During her free time, she loves music, art, photography and she is always challenging herself in learning new languages (she stopped at five for now)!

Email: letizia.amadori@nyulangone.org

Jordan obtained his bachelor’s degree in human biology and biotechnology from Aix-Marseille University and his master's in human physiology and pathophysiology from Pierre and Marie Curie University (Sorbonne University, Paris). His prior research spans cardiac development, cardiovascular issues in metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis. As of 2023, he is a research assistant in the Giannarelli Lab, contributing notably to projects involving lymphocyte functions in atherosclerosis.

Research Intern

Burak completed his bachelor’s degree at Ondokuzmayis University, Turkey, and earned two master’s degrees, from Queens College and University of Connecticut. He is currently a PhD candidate at Syracuse University in the field of physiology, specifically focusing on cardiovascular health. His previous research experience includes the influence of acute and chronic exercise on vascular structure and function, blood pressure regulation, and autonomic activity in health and disease across the lifespan. In 2022, Burak joined in Giannarelli Lab as a research intern and is involved in a project investigating mechanisms of immune checkpoint inhibitors that can potentially increase the atherosclerosis cardiovascular risk. In addition to science, he is a very good soccer player and is interested in philosophy and literature.

Email: burak.cilhoroz@nyulangone.org

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dayasagar (Daya) received his BSc in zoology from Berhampur University and his master’s in medical microbiology from Kasturba Medical College (Manipal University, India). After his master’s he joined All India Institute of medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS, New Delhi, India) for his PhD. During his doctoral training he explored the role of unconventional gamma delta T-cells in the immunopathogenesis of the autoimmune skin disorder pemphigus vulgaris. He has key inclination towards the immunobiology of chorionic inflammatory diseases. He joined the Giannarelli Lab in August 2021. Besides his love for immunology, Daya is a half marathon runner and likes to play badminton and table tennis.

Email: dayasagar.das@nyulangone.org

Postdoctoral Fellow

Natalia completed her PhD in immunology from the University of Cordoba, Argentina. Her doctoral work focused on understanding the regulation of cardiac immune response by the purinergic system and its contribution in the development of Chagas cardiomyopathy. In 2019, she participated in the Next Generation Scientist program at Novartis, Switzerland, where she evaluated the immune repertoire and signature changes in clinical samples from patients with Sjogren syndrome. She joined the Giannarelli Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2020. Her current project includes investigating immune mechanisms that finely control the T-cell effector functions and sustain chronic inflammation in atherosclerotic disease.

Email: natalia.eberhardt@nyulangone.org

Computational Biologist

Michael is a computational biologist working for the Cardiovascular Research Center at NYU Langone. He received his BS from the State University of New York at Albany, where he studied biology and chemistry. He received his PhD from Cornell university in genetics and genomics where he studied pre-mRNA splicing mechanism and function in the Pleiss Laboratory. Michael contributes bioinformatic and computational expertise and analysis to Giannarelli Lab projects.

Email: michael.gildea@nyulangone.org

Bioinformatician

Ravneet obtained her master’s degree in bioinformatics from George Mason University in 2018. After graduation, she worked as a bioinformatics analyst in the Pulmonary Department at Emory University School of Medicine. There she worked on multiple projects focusing on metabolomics data and integrative omics. In 2021, she joined the Giannarelli Lab as a bioinformatician and is currently working on developing computational methods to process high dimensional single-cell sequencing data and multiomics data to help understand the molecular phenotype of human atherosclerosis.

Email: ravneet.kaur@nyulangone.org

Clinical Research Scientist

Swathy received her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from University of Hyderabad and master’s in molecular sciences from Louisiana Tech University. She has more than nine years of clinical trial experience in different therapeutic areas. Her prior experience at PAREXEL International and Mount Sinai Health System was focused on the different phase of clinical trials, image processing, and clinical data analysis. Currently she is working as clinical research scientist for the Giannarelli Lab. Outside work, she loves gardening and cooking.

Email: swathy.sajja@nyulangone.org

Panos is a talented aspiring vascular surgeon. He earned his MD from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and immediately embarked on his residency at Edessa General Hospital, fueling his passion for vascular surgery. Fascinated by the molecular mechanisms of vascular diseases, Panos joined the Giannarelli Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in June 2022. His current research focuses on dissecting the immune cell composition in atherosclerotic lesions within heart transplant recipients' coronary vasculature. Beyond medicine, Panos is a classical music enthusiast, holding a violin diploma and a harmony certification. Panos is also an avid traveler.