Team

Alissa Greenwald

Principal Investigator, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital

Alissa is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. She grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Most recently, she was a postdoctoral fellow and then a staff scientist in the lab of Itay Tirosh at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where she fell in love with cancer systems biology. Before that, she completed her PhD in vascular biology in the lab of Eli Keshet at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her BA in Biological Chemistry at Wellesley College.

As the mother of four children, she is passionate about mentoring and encouraging women to enter and remain in academic science. She believes there is a beautiful synergy between quantitative systems biology approaches, including exploratory data analysis, and classical experimental biology.

Ming-Heng (Ming) Wang

Research Technician

Ming completed her MSc degree at the University of Toronto where she developed a strong interest in cancer biology. At the Greenwald lab, she is excited to work on spatial profiling of tumour tissues and begin elucidating the essential interactions underlying tumour organization. With a strong wet-lab background, she is looking forward to learning more about computational biology, hoping to incorporate both wet- and dry- lab techniques into her project. Outside of the lab, Ming enjoys hiking, swimming and watching movie marathons.

Hanli Jiang

PhD student, Molecular Genetics (Computational Biology track)

Hanli completed his undergraduate degree in 2025 at the University of Toronto, specializing in Computer Science, and he is now a PhD student in the Department of Molecular Genetics. He is broadly interested in cancer biology, deep learning, and how advanced AI technologies can accelerate biological research. His PhD project integrates spatial transcriptomics from developing brain and brain tumors to investigate spatial mimicry of normal developmental organization, with the goal of revealing new therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Samuel (Sam) Salitra

PhD student, Molecular Genetics (Computational Biology track)

Sam grew up in Seattle and moved north to study immunology and computer science at UBC as an undergraduate. His interdisciplinary training enabled a wide-ranging exploration of computational biology, spanning mathematical models of bacterial flow to metagenomics and microfluidic chip design. An interest in benchwork carried him into cancer research, where he studied the impact of viral infection on childhood leukemia. Exploring aberrant B cell development and its detection by the immune system piqued his interest in the regulatory mechanisms that constrain development and promote tissue homeostasis. He aims to understand how these processes break down in cancer and re-emerge to constrain tumor organization, believing that doing so provides insight into basic principles of coordination in multicellular systems. Outside of the lab Sam enjoys live music, art, and being outdoors.

Michelle Tong

PhD student, Molecular Genetics (Computational Biology track), co-supervised wih Kieran Campbell

Michelle is a PhD student co-supervised by Drs. Alissa Greenwald and Kieran Campbell. She graduated with a BSc in Biotechnology from UBC and developed a strong interest in computational biology and cancer research. Her current project aims to characterize spatial heterogeneity and subtypes in soft tissue sarcomas, a group of rare cancers that originate from the body’s soft tissues, such as muscles, tendons, and fat. Outside the lab, Michelle enjoys playing volleyball, skiing, and trying new cafes.

Hannah Exner

MSc student, Molecular Genetics

Hannah is from Winnipeg where she completed a Microbiology degree at the University of Manitoba. Her time working at the Public Health Agency of Canada after graduating sparked her interest in research and using computational approaches to answer biological questions. Her current work in the Greenwald lab involves using spatial transcriptomics to better understand the organization of tumours, with the goal of developing spatially aware therapeutics. Beyond research, Hannah enjoys cross country skiing, quilting, and baking.

Jerry Chen

Undergraduate, Molecular Genetics and Statistics

Jerry is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto pursuing a double Specialist in Molecular Genetics and Statistics. He is interested in characterizing the spatial organization of malignant tumours to find connections between structure and pathogenesis in cancer. He is looking forward to analyzing scRNA-seq data and learning the intricacies of spatial biology in the Greenwald lab. Outside of academics, Jerry is a classically trained pianist, and he enjoys calisthenics, rock climbing, badminton, reading, and cooking.

Tony Shi

Undergraduate, Molecular Genetics and Pharmacology

Tony is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto pursuing a Specialist in Molecular Genetics and a major in Pharmacology. He is interested in deciphering malignant tumor heterogeneity under hypoxic conditions and he is excited to learn about computational and experimental methods in scRNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics in cancer biology at the Greenwald lab. Outside of academics, Tony is a weekend pharmacy assistant, and his hobbies include bartending/wine making (developing carcinogens), cooking, hiking, and playing guitar.

Violeta Tapia

Research Administrative Assistant

Violeta's journey as part of Mount Sinai’s workforce began in April 1992 and for the past 33 years, she has worked as an Administrative Assistant in both the research institution and in the clinical setting. In July 2018, she started to provide administrative support to various PIs at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute.

In 2015, after ten years, she graduated with a BA (Hons.) with distinction, from the University of Toronto, with a specialty in International Relations and a Major in Ethics, Society and Law. Concomitantly with her work and studies, she also served as a Business Manager on a volunteer basis for the Etobicoke Basketball Association.

Violeta enjoys reading and loves to travel, especially to backpack and experience other cultures.

Join Us!

We are seeking inquisitive, creative, and kind scientists with interests in combining computational and experimental biology to address fundamental questions in tumor organization and cancer systems biology.

Graduate students

Our lab is part of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, which has a central admissions committee and a rotation system. Graduate students interested in doing a PhD in the lab must first be accepted to the Department of Molecular Genetics.

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