Members

Jane earned her BA in Biomedical Science at Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia. For her PhD training, she joined laboratory of Prof. Carl Walkley at St Vincent’s Institute, Melbourne, where she studied how mutation in splicing factor SRSF2 leads to myelodysplastic syndromes and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. Jane graduated in January 2021 and then joined the Viny lab to start her postdoctoral training. Her current research projects focus on understanding how cohesin mutations alter chromatin landscape of hematopoietic cells and promote leukemogenesis. Jane is the recipient of the Walker Family Scholar fellowship. When not in the lab, she enjoys outdoors, running and cooking.

Viviana (Vivi) obtained her BS in Biological Sciences and her Master's degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology at Sapienza, University of Rome, before moving to Paris, France, to join Dr. Di Nunzio's laboratory at Institut Pasteur for her PhD studies. She applied fluorescence microscopy techniques to track HIV-1 in the host nucleus and investigate the viral interplay with nuclear factors in infected cells during early steps of replication. Guided by her interest in epigenetics, Viviana joined the lab in 2023 for her postdoctoral training, where she aims to identify gene regulation mechanisms linked to blood cell development and disease. Her research was funded by the American Italian Cancer Foundation and currently by Blood Cancer United. Her main focus is understanding cohesin and BAF complex cooperation in chromatin remodeling to uncover therapeutic vulnerabilities in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia. Beyond her research, Viviana is committed to fostering a positive academic environment and mentoring the next generation of cancer researchers.

Rong earned his B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University and subsequently worked in the laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Barasch, where he studied mechanisms of systemic iron regulation and developed novel therapeutics to treat iron overload disorders. He graduated with honors from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo before returning to Columbia for internal medicine residency and hematology and medical oncology fellowship in the physician-scientist research track. He joined the Viny Lab as an inaugural Mark L. Heaney and Florence & Herbert Irving Scholar, where he pursues translational research integrating long-read sequencing, epigenomic profiling, and single-cell spatial proteomics to study treatment response and disease evolution in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. His projects include developing rapid molecular diagnostics, identifying biomarkers of therapeutic response and resistance, and investigating how altered chromatin organization reshapes megakaryocyte development and platelet production. He is currently supported by an NIH-funded TL1 training award through the New York Consortium for Interdisciplinary Training in Kidney, Urological, and Hematological Research (NYC-KUHR). Outside the lab, Rong enjoys biking, rooting for New York sports teams, and hot pot.

Kalliopi earned her B.A. in Natural Science with a concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology from Fordham University and her M.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Stony Brook University. At Stony Brook, her research focused on the role of ACER2 and sphingosine-1-phosphate in breast cancer. She began her genomics career in 2021 when she joined the Integrated Genomics Operation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her four years at IGO were spent specializing in next-generation sequencing and high-throughput genomics workflows, including RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, whole-exome sequencing, and hybridization capture for MSK-IMPACT and MSK-ACCESS. During her time at MSK, Kalliopi also helped establish a new GLP-compliant laboratory wing, contributing to its early development through protocol and SOP creation, documentation systems, workflow design, and quality assurance planning. Outside of the lab, Kalliopi enjoys baking, traveling, and staying involved in her Greek community.

Aiden Schiller earned his BA in Biology from Columbia University, through the dual-degree program with the Jewish Theological Seminary. During his undergraduate summers, he worked in Dr. Neil O’Brien’s lab at UCLA, studying extracellular proteins as targets for monoclonal antibody therapy. Given his interest in cancer research, Aiden joined Dr. Aaron Viny’s lab at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he volunteered for several years studying STAG2-knockout AML cell lines and their differential response to the FLT3 inhibitor Gilteritinib, with a focus on TGF-β mRNA upregulation. Beyond the bench, Aiden volunteers at NewYork-Presbyterian in the oncology ward and Cardiac Service Line, and in his free time enjoys playing guitar, watching movies, and weightlifting.

Amanda completed her B.S. in Biological Chemistry at the University of Chicago, where she working in the Rebay lab studying MAPK signaling in Drosophila photoreceptor differentiation. After graduation, Amanda moved to NYC to work in the Mlodzik lab at Mount Sinai. She joined the MD/PhD program at Columbia in 2025. As a rotation student in the Viny lab, she studies erythropoiesis and the cell cycle. If not looking at cells, Amanda is probably climbing, running, or backpacking.