Group Members
Dieter Manstein, MD, PhDAssistant Professor of Dermatology
Cutaneous Biology Research Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Abigail Doyle
Research Technician
BS: Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Contact:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigail-doyle/
Abigail recently graduated with high distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Philosophy. Before joining the Manstein Lab as a research technician, she worked in the Myocardial Regeneration Lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute Gateway Labs where she studied human mesenchymal stem cell viability on media-perfused spinach leaf scaffolds as replacements for cardiac patches. More recently she had the opportunity to work alongside peers to develop a working benchtop model of an esophagus for an outside company to test esophageal stents.
Michael Evers, PhD
Research Specialist
BSc.: Medical Engineering Science, University of Lübeck, Germany
MSc.: Medical Engineering Science, University of Lübeck, Germany
PhD: Biomedical Engineering, University of Lübeck, Germany
Contact:
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-evers
Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WcBmx1UAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra
Michael has been in the Manstein lab for the past 7 years. He started as an intern during his graduate program at the University of Lübeck and continued staying in our laboratory for his master thesis project where he focused on optical setups and the characterization of laser tissue interaction by a tunable infrared laser. After receiving his Master of Science degree, Michael began his doctoral research focused on the metabolic analysis of heterogeneous cell cultures and complex tissues with special focus on adipose tissue. He developed an enhanced analysis algorithm to quantify autofluorescence of endogenous fluorophores using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), which can be widely used for various metabolic studies. Michael received his PhD in 2019, and his current work in the Manstein Laboratory is focused on imaging, diagnostics, project management, and medical device prototyping. During his time in our lab, Michael has been involved in several animal and human clinical studies using energy-based devices, lasers, and imaging methodologies. He is responsible for advanced prototyping, modification of optical and energy-based devices, and designing and executing relevant experiments.
Tammy Heesakker
Head of Translational Research and Program Management
BS: Chemical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
MBA: Finance, Temple University’s Fox School of Business
Contact:
Email: tammy.heesakker@mgh.harvard.edu
Phone: (267) 240-4549
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyheesakker/
Tammy Heesakker is Head of Translational Research and Program Management in the Manstein Lab. Her responsibilities include fostering the development of innovative medical devices, working with internal scientists/engineers and external vendors as well as leading teams to develop new clinical studies for devices originating from Manstein Lab research efforts. Her focus includes all aspects of program management ranging from overseeing engineering projects, advocating for appropriate patent strategy, engaging regulatory counsel where needed, to hiring and managing the day-to-day work of project staff. Prior to joining the Manstein Lab, Tammy was Principal at Tyche Innovation LLC. In this role, she consulted with several clients regarding early-stage technology development and commercialization. In her former role as Senior Business Strategy and Licensing Manager at Mass General Brigham, she was responsible for commercializing technologies from Massachusetts General Hospital supporting the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, the Manstein Lab at the CBRC, and the Plastic Surgery Department. She specifically focused on medical device technologies including aesthetic and laser medicine, wound healing and devices for plastic surgery and vascular surgery. Prior to joining Mass General Brigham, Tammy held a technology commercialization role specializing in nanotechnology at Drexel University. Tammy started her career with Merck & Co., Inc., where she rose to a senior process engineering position. Tammy received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an International MBA with a concentration in Finance from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, and has completed graduate level coursework in Biology at Harvard University.
Daniel Karasik
Clinical Research Coordinator
BA: Neuroscience, University of Chicago
Contact:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-karasik/
Daniel received his BA in Neuroscience with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, Daniel was involved in research focused on investigating the use of medical cannabis for palliative care of oncology patients, as well as ways to improve doctor-patient communication in geriatric oncology patients. Daniel was also involved in clinical research in the Neurosurgical ICU at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Now York where he studied ways to optimize transfer times for ICU patients. Daniel is the clinical research coordinator at the Manstein Lab and is working on studies related to Selective Cryolipolysis and imaging, among others. Daniel also studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and is an accomplished pianist. He has won numerous competitions at the international and state levels and performed at Carnegie Hall multiple times.
Anne Claire Kim
Research Technician
BA: Neuroscience, Wellesley College
Contact:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-kim/
Anne recently received her BA in Neuroscience from Wellesley College. Before joining the Manstein lab, Anne worked in the Graybiel lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology investigating dopaminergic neural microcircuits involving the striatum of the basal ganglia implicated in autism spectrum disorders, depression, and Parkinson’s disease. While at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology for a summer internship, Anne developed an ex vivo brain slice culture bimolecular fluorescence complementation model to examine the effects of environmental and physiological metal ions on cytotoxic tau protein accumulation. Most recently, Anne utilized human patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models to systematically identify underlying molecular and circuit-level mechanisms mediating physiological disruptions in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. As a member of the Manstein lab, Anne is excited to expand on her previous neurobiology and public health research background to further unravel the dynamic mechanisms and processes underlying lipofuscin accumulation in both aging skin cells and in the context of a deleterious Batten disease.
Garuna Kositratna, MD
Instructor in Dermatology
MD: Ramathibodi hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Kositratna holds a joint appointment as an Instructor in Dermatology at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital and at Harvard Medical School. She received her MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. She finished her two-year clinical fellowship in dermatology in the International Training Program in Dermatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. She joined the Anderson Lab at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine in 2007 and then joined the Manstein lab at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center in 2013. Her current projects at the Manstein Lab include translational and clinical research related to novel, energy-based technologies in dermatology to promote healthy skin and prevent diseases related to aging, cancer, metabolism, and inflammation.
Hans-Joachim Laubach, MD
Visiting Scientist
MD: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany and University of Heidelberg, Germany
Dr. Laubach received his MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in München, Germany, and his Doctorate in Medicine, magna cum laude, from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He completed his residency in dermatology at the University Hospital Münster, Germany. He finished his two-year clinical and research fellowship in laser dermatology at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts in 2007. Currently, Dr. Laubach is the Head of the Specialized Laser Dermatology Consultation and Residency Training at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland, the President of the European Society for Lasers and Energy Based Devices (ESLD), and the President of the Association of Aesthetic and Laser Dermatologists of the East of France (ADELE). His contribution to the Manstein Lab includes teaching and clinical research to develop novel laser and energy-based procedures to improve treatment outcomes in cosmetic dermatology.
Neera Nathan, MD, MSHS
Clinical Fellow
BA: George Washington University
MD: George Washington University, AOA
MSHS: Clinical Research, George Washington University
Neera Nathan, MD, MSHS is a third-year dermatology resident at the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program and a clinical fellow in the Manstein Lab. Her role in the lab is primarily clinical and her premiere interest is in ablative laser-assisted drug delivery. She completed the highly competitive seven-year integrated BA/MD program in addition to a Master of Science in Clinical Research at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. Before beginning her dermatology residency, she spent two years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland studying melanoma, genetics, and inherited dermatologic conditions. Neera will be pursuing additional fellowship training in Mohs surgery and cosmetic dermatologic surgery starting in July 2020.
Jenifer Perry
Finance
BA: Finance, University of Florida
BA: Management, University of Florida
MBA: Corporate Renewal and Marketing, University of Florida
Contact:
Email: Jperry13@partners.org
Phone: (631)786-7861
Jenifer Perry has 14 years of Finance experience in the Healthcare Industry. Jenifer is employed part-time at Massachusetts General Hospital where she manages all lab finances and research commitments for Dr. Dieter Manstein, Associate Professor of Dermatology with Harvard Medical School. She also currently works as the Vice President of Finance and Operations at Blossom Innovations, LLC. Before joining Blossom Innovations, Jenifer was the Controller for Mass General Brigham Innovation where she had previously served as a financial consultant for six years. Prior to joining Mass General Brigham, Jenifer consulted at Thomson Reuters Healthcare for three years as well as at Broadview Ventures. Jenifer also consulted to Decision Resources, Inc. on significant M&A transactions for several years. Jenifer obtained undergraduate degrees in both Finance and Management from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Business Administration with concentrations in Corporate Renewal and Marketing.
Nunciada (Nancy) Salma, PhD
Research Associate|
BS: Cellular Biology, Science School, Central University of Venezuela (UCV), Venezuela
MS: Cellular Biology, Science School, Central University of Venezuela (UCV), Venezuela
PhD: Biomedical Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Contact:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nunciadasalma/
Nancy received her BS and Masters degrees from Central University of Venezuela (UCV), where she studied the role of the autoimmune pathogenesis of Chagas disease. Nancy moved to the USA to obtain her PhD in Biomedical Sciences, examining the activation of adipogenic gene expression by ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzymes (SWI/SNF). This work helped establish the paradigm that adipogenic gene regulation and differentiation were completely dependent on this enzymatic cofactor. Nancy’s postdoctoral work at DFCI and MGH focused on transcriptional factors Tfe3 and TFEB, members of the microphthalmia transcription factor (MiT) family. Nancy found that levels of the adipokine AdipoQ, and hence of glucose, in the blood are controlled by Tfe3 and TFEB via direct regulation of the master transcription factor of adipocyte differentiation and metabolism, Pparg2. Additionally, she worked on the role of the SWI/SNF subunit, Smarcb1, in melanoma predisposition in mice. Nancy’s current work in the Manstein Lab focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms of cryolipolysis and the effects of browning white fat in a mouse model.
Alumni
Cuc Bach-Nguyen, PhD
Senior Scientist, 2014 to 2017
Current Position: Senior scientist at the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine
Malte Johannes Casper, M.Sc.
Master Student, 2015 to 2017
Graduate Research Assistant, 2017 to 2018
Current Position: PhD student in biomedical engineering at the laboratory for functional optical imaging at Columbia University.
Anna Dikstein, MD
Summer Student, 2013
Current Position: Anesthesiology Resident Doctor at NYP Weill-Cornell Medicine
Josh Glahn, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator II, 2018 to 2019
Current Position: Medical Student at Yale University
Linh Ha, MD, MSc
Master Student, 2011 to 2012
Visiting Scientist, 2017
Current Position: Dermatology resident and clinical scientist at the Department of Dermatology, Allergology, and Venereology at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, Germany.
Matt Hibert, BSc
Research Technician, 2013 to 2015
Current Position: Project Manager at Blossom Innovations, LLC
Cita Löhr, MSc
Research Assistant, 2015
Current Position: Technical Consultant Navigation, Imaging, and Robotics at Medtronic
Naja Meyer-Schell, MSc
Master Student, 2017 to 2018
Weeranut “Dua” Phothong, MD
Clinical Fellow, 2018 to 2019
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Department of Dermatology, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand
Seyed Reza Monazami, PhD
Research Fellow, 2016 to 2019
Amir Sajjadi, PhD
Research Fellow, 2014 to 2016
Current Position(s): Senior Engineering Consultant at Edwards Lifesciences