Shangqin Guo, PhD - Principal Investigator
shangqin.guo@yale.edu
Qiao Wu, PhD - Postdoctoral Associate
Qiao is an Associate Research Scientist who joined the Guo Lab in 2018. She began her research journey in plant biology, working on maize genetics, before moving into cancer research for her Ph.D. at NanKai University in China, where she studied how KLF5 switches its role from tumor suppressor to oncogene. Now in the Guo Lab, she focuses on how cell morphology regulates cell identity in stem cells. Outside the lab, she loves bubble tea, enjoys home workouts and gardening, and stays busy with her two kids and two cats.
qiao.wu@yale.edu
Bruna Mafra de Faria, PhD - Postdoctoral Associate
Bruna is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), where her research focused on studying small molecules against glioblastoma cells. She joined the Guo Lab as a graduate student in the spring of 2020, where she studies linker histone in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells & mechano signaling in normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Outside of the lab, she enjoys taking care of her houseplants, crocheting, and playing board games with friends.
bruna.mafradefaria@yale.edu
Carla Pantoja - PhD Student
Carla is a Ph.D. candidate in Cell Biology from Los Angeles, California. She earned her B.S. in Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology from UCLA in 2020. As an undergraduate, she researched the role of canonical Wnt/β-Catenin signaling in proximal airway repair under Dr. Brigitte Gomperts. After graduating, she completed a two-year IRTA fellowship at the National Institutes of Health with Dr. Nehal Mehta, where she studied systemic inflammation in cardiometabolic disease. She joined the Guo Lab in the Spring of 2023. Her current research focuses on the role of glycoRNAs in acute myeloid leukemia. Outside the lab she enjoys thrifting, watching reality TV, weight-lifting, and deep ocean documentaries.
carla.pantoja@yale.edu
Emma Rudisel - PhD Student
Emma completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Hope College. At Hope, she researched the role of post-translational modifications of the mitochondrial transcription machinery in the regulation of the mitochondrial genome in Kristin Dittenhafer-Reed’s lab. She also worked at the Van Andel Institute in Stephanie Grainger’s lab, where she studied the specificity of Dishevelled paralogs in Wnt9a/Fzd9b-specific signaling during hematopoiesis. Emma joined the Guo Lab in the spring of 2026 and is interested in studying the role of linker histones in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, as well as during aging. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, traveling to new places, watching the Detroit Lions, and spending time with friends.
emma.rudisel@yale.edu
Breana Sinkfield-Tyler - Undergraduate Student
Breana is an undergraduate student at Yale College, planning to double major in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and English. She is on the pre-med track, aiming for an MD-PhD and a career as a physician-scientist. She previously spent two years in Weill Cornell Medicine’s Nam Lab, studying RNA splicing, CALR biology, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Breana joined the Guo lab in the fall of 2026 as an undergraduate researcher, studying hematopoiesis and linker histones. Outside the lab, she is often trying new boba shops, closely reading Frank Ocean lyrics, and watching TLC shows.
breana.sinkfield-tyler@yale.edu