OUR GROUP
Principle Investigator
Associate Professor
sarah.hainer[at]pitt.edu
Sarah performed her postdoctoral work with Tom Fazzio at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in January 2018, earning tenure in 2026.
Sarah is interested in learning how basic biological processes, such as transcription and chromatin dynamics, regulate cell fate decisions.
Sarah cares deeply about mentoring and supporting all individuals in the lab and junior scientists entering STEM.
Graduate Student
rid62[at]pitt.edu
Rinku joined us in May 2024. She graduated from the Institute of Medicine, TU, Nepal, in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy and completed a Master of Science in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Sciences from Western University of Health Sciences, California, in 2023. Rinku briefly worked as a hospital pharmacist in Nepal. Rinku's research experience during her master's evoked her interest in molecular biology. Outside the lab, Rinku likes strolling around the city and exploring parks and cafes.
Undergraduate Researcher
brj54[at]pitt.edu
Bryona joined the lab in February 2024. Bryona is majoring in Molecular Biology with a minor in Chemistry and Global Health Certificate. Bryona is a member of the Honors College and was awarded the Ella P. Stewart award for excellence in first year within Biological Sciences.
CAMILA FRANQUIE (she/her)
Undergraduate Researcher
cif23[at]pitt.edu
Camila joined the lab in January 2026.
Research Technician III / Lab Manager
sml111[at]pitt.edu
Santana joined the lab in June 2018 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in April 2018 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. Since joining the lab, she has found she has a real passion in research and hopes to make it a life-long career. She loves cooking, crafting, and spending time with her friends, family, and cat. She has recently bought a house with her partner and is in the process of flipping it.
Postdoctoral Researcher
zd1[at]pitt.edu
İsa joined the lab in September 2025. İsa earned his MSc at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey, and his PhD at the University of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland.
Graduate student
kar527[at]pitt.edu
Kate graduated from Washington College in 2023 with Bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Hispanic Studies. During a two year postbac in the Usdin lab at the National Institutes of Health, she fell in love with epigenetics and transcriptional regulation. She joined the lab as a PhD student in May 2026. Outside of lab, Kate loves to stay active through rock climbing, tennis, watching sports, and music!
Graduate Student
ris84[at]pitt.edu
Rithika, a graduate student through the Integrative Systems Biology (ISB) program joined the lab in January 2022, after spending her second rotation with us in November 2021. She graduated in 2019 with a degree in Genetic Engineering from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India. After graduation she spent two years working at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, India, studying the role store operated calcium entry in neurodegeneration. Her interests lie in stem cell biology and fate determination. Outside of the lab, Rithika enjoys dancing Bharatanatyam, learning other dance forms, and you can often find her curled up with a good book and coffee.
Graduate Student
aow[at]pitt.edu
Aigbe joined the lab in February of 2022. Aigbe graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2015 from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Biology and completed her MS from CSU Los Angeles in 2018.