Gina DeNicola | Gina.DeNicola@moffitt.org

Associate Member, Department of Metabolism & Physiology

Leader, Metabolism Program

Gina received her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied the regulation of NRF2 by oncogenic signaling in the laboratory of David Tuveson. She did her postdoctoral work with Lewis Cantley, where she examined the regulation of cellular metabolism by NRF2. In May 2016 she established her own lab at Moffitt Cancer Center. She was Interim Chair of the Metabolism & Physiology Department from 2022-2025, and in 2023 she was appointed as Leader of the Metabolism Program. 

 

Tina Price | Tina.Price@moffitt.org

Executive Assistant

A Florida native, Tina thrives on sunshine, boating, and time on the water. When she’s not outdoors, she supports the DeNicola Lab by placing orders and keeping schedules, meetings, and communications running smoothly. With over 30 years of experience in healthcare administration, she is honored to be part of the Moffitt family and proud to support its mission to prevent and cure cancer.

 

Pritin Soni | Pritin.Soni@moffitt.org

Research Associate II

Pritin received his B.S. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He then joined the lab of Dr. Fred Blattner, where he was part of the team that sequenced E.coli, which at the time was the largest genome sequenced to date. He previously worked at Northwestern University in Chicago in the Feinberg School of Medicine, studying lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis as well as epigenetic changes in prostate cancer and endometriosis.

 

Meredith Long | Meredith.Long@moffitt.org

Research Associate II

Meredith started her academic career studying animal science and received her associates degree in biology, before changing directions and getter her bachelor's degree in Anthropology from USF, focusing on biological anthropology. Before joining the lab, she working in animal care for many years, most recently as a USF lab animal technician in the Stablie Research Building vivarium. As a member of the DeNicola lab, Meredith hopes to gain more experience in research. Her goal is to one obtain her PhD in forensic anthropology studying how infectious disease affects the human skeleton.

 

Basma Yasseen | Basma.Yasseen@moffitt.org

Research Associate II

Basma earned a BSc in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Drug Design Discovery and Development, and a minor in Nanomedicine from the University of Science and Technology - Zewail City, Egypt. She is currently pursuing an Euro-Mediterranean MSc in Neurosciences and Biotechnology, a joint program between Bordeaux University and Alexandria University. Prior to joining Moffitt, Basma was a Senior Research Associate at the Metabolic Studies Lab, Children's Cancer Hospital 57357 in Egypt, leading research on pediatric brain tumors and neurodevelopmental disorders. She also contributed to research on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress at the Center of Aging and Associated Diseases (CAAD) in Zewail City. Her research interests include metabolic profiling of cancer cells, mitochondrial function assessment, and exploring cancer cell metabolic flexibility.

 

Feroza Choudhury | Feroza.Choudhury@moffitt.org 

Research Scientist I

Feroza received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of North Texas, where she studied metabolic reprogramming during rapid systemic signaling in plants exposed to stress. Before joining in DeNicola lab, she worked for 3.5 years in biopharma- AstraZeneca and Genentech, where she applied different aspects of metabolomics technology in various projects ranging from basic research to drug development. In DeNicola lab she is focusing on leveraging advancements in metabolomics technology to elucidate the role of redox metabolism during cancer progression and metastasis.

 

Yumi Kim | Yumi.Kim@moffitt.org

Postdoctoral Fellow

Yumi received her PhD in the Biochemistry from the College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University where she studied the regulation of lipid metabolism by natural products in pancreatic cancer (PDAC) in the laboratory of Hyeung Jin Jang. She now wants to explore cancer metabolism intensively. Her project in the DeNicola lab focuses on identifying key molecules for metabolic reprogramming and cancer progression using organoid and genetically engineered mouse cancer models, with a focus on the serine synthesis pathway in PDAC.

 

Marwa Taya | Marwa.Taya@moffitt.org

Postdoctoral Fellow

Marwa received a PhD in biomedical sciences from Tel Aviv University, supervised by Prof. Ido Wolf and Dr. Tami Rubinek. Her PhD focused on breast cancer ER+ cells with ESR1 mutations, which mediate endocrine and chemotherapy resistance. One project explored how the JNK/c-Jun/MDR1 axis drives this resistance. The other examined how the mitochondrial transporter SLC25A15 contributes to liver metastasis. Building on this, Marwa's current work in the DeNicola lab aims to identify key metabolic adaptations driving lung cancer metastasis to the liver and brain, using 3D models, mouse studies, and clinical data.

 

Lejin Sun | Lejin.Sun@Moffitt.org

PhD Student

Lejin obtained her B.S. from the University of South Florida, majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Mathematics. She is interested in understanding the different biochemical and metabolic pathways involved in tumorigenesis. Her project in the DeNicola lab is focused on understanding how nutrient availability impacts pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma metastasis. 

 

Alumni

Former Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Scientists

  1. Sang Jun Yoon (2021-2024), Postdoctoral Fellow, Cold Spring Harbor Labs
  2. Chang Jiang, PhD (2018-2023), Assistant Member (Professor), Department of Molecular Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center
  3. Laura Torrente Fernandez, PhD (2017-2023), Medical Science Liaison, NS Pharma
  4. Nathan Ward, PhD (2016-2023), Assistant Member (Professor), Department of Metabolism & Physiology, Moffitt Cancer Center
  5. Yun Pyo Kang, PhD (2016-2021), Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University
  6. Paloma Gonzalez Sanchez, PhD (2019-2021), Medical Devices Officer, Asphalion
  7. Guohui Li, PhD (2019-2021), Staff Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific
  8. Joseph Combs, PhD (2018-2020), Project Manager at Jackson Labs

Former PhD students

  1. Janine DeBlasi, PhD (2019-2023), Scientist, Nilogen Oncosystems
  2. Giulia Ambrosini, PhD (visiting 2020), Postdoc at the University of Verona

Former M.S. students

  1. Cheyenne Schneider, MS (2021-2022), Clinical Research Coordinator at Moffitt Cancer Center

Former Postbaccs and Undergraduates

  1. Aditya Gade (2024-2025), Premed student
  2. Jemma Parsons (2024-2025), Premed student
  3. Shravani Inampudi (2023-2024), Premed student
  4. Amanda Sherwood (2022-2024), PhD Student at Northwestern University
  5. Rebecca Polsky (2022-2023), D.O. Student, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine 
  6. Lejin Sun (2022-2023), PhD student, Moffitt Cancer Center
  7. Nicolas Prieto (2018-2022), DDS Student at University of Iowa College of Dentistry (starting Fall 2025)
  8. Anish Thalakola (2021-2022), Medical student at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
  9. Juliana Madej (2021-2022), Medical student at Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine 
  10. Andrea Mockabee Macias (2019-2020), Clinical Research Associate, University of South Florida
  11. Tycee Flynn (2019-2020), Medical Lab Technician at Baycare Health
  12. Cody Elkins (2018-2019), PhD Student at Emory University
  13. Sae Bom Lee (2017-2018), PhD in Cancer Biology from Moffitt Cancer Center (2024), Postdoctoral Fellow
  14. Seth Ingram (2016), D.O. from Nova Southeastern University (2023), Surgical Resident