Sid Puram, M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Joseph B. Kimbrough Professor of Otolaryngology
Division Chief, Head & Neck Surgery
Director, Robert Ebert and Greg Stubblefield Head and Neck Tumor Center
Dr. Puram joined the Department of Otolaryngology at WashU in 2018. He is fellowship trained in head and neck surgery and microvascular reconstruction. He is also the recipient of numerous research awards and is devoted to improving the lives of head and neck cancer patients through his clinical practice and research, with a broad focus on various head and neck tumors including squamous cell carcinoma, salivary tumors, and thyroid cancer.
- Email: sidpuram@nospam.wustl.edu
Current Members
Fudong Wang, Ph.D.
Lab Manager and Staff Scientist
Fudong received his PhD in Chemistry from WashU and joined the Puram lab in 2020. His research focuses on characterizing epigenetic and transcriptomic heterogeneity in head and neck cancers and understanding the mechanisms that underlie their growth, development, and spread using single cell technologies. His hobbies include sports, hiking, reading, and photography.
- Email: fwang@wustl.edu
Robert Crowder, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
Bob earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the University of Rochester, followed by post-doctoral studies at WashU. He joined the Puram Lab in 2019. His research focuses on the role of RNA modifying enzymes and epi-transcriptomics in HNSCC metastasis.
- Email: crowder.robert@wustl.edu
Ananya Pal, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ananya received her Ph.D. degree from National University in Singapore before joining the Puram Lab in 2020. She is currently studying partial EMT regulators and their downstream regulatory pathways in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Outside of the lab, she enjoys painting and trying out different cuisines.
- Email: pal@wustl.edu
Jesse Zaretsky, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Jesse obtained his M.D./Ph.D. degrees from UCLA before joining the WashU internal Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program. He joined the Puram Lab in 2023 and currently studies the role of distinct T cell states and tumor-immune cell interactions on immunotherapy response.
- Email: jzaretsky@wustl.edu
Aparna Biswas, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Aparna joined the Puram lab in 2025 for her post-doc after receiving her Ph.D. from Saint Louis University studying ribosome anti-association factors. Her project focuses on the SNAI2 interactome in head and neck cancer. Outside of lab, Aparna enjoys gardening and reading fantasy novels.
- Email: aparnab@wustl.edu
Yi-Hsuan Chang
Graduate student
Yi-Hsuan is a graduate student in Molecular Cell Biology program. He graduated from National Taiwan University with a Master in biochemistry and joined the Puram lab in 2020. His project focuses on the transcriptional regulation by mutant p53 in HNSCC.
- Email: yi-hsuanchang@wustl.edu
Marina Nogueira
Graduate student
Marina is an M.D./Ph.D. student in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics graduate program studying transcriptional regulation by p63 in HNSCC. She joined the Puram Lab in 2020.
- Email: marina.n@wustl.edu
Reilly Alex Sample
Graduate student
Reilly is a Molecular Genetics and Genomics Ph.D. student studying the epigenetic mechanisms driving therapeutic resistance and metastasis in HNSCC. He joined the Puram lab in 2020. In his free time, Reilly enjoys swimming, weightlifting, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.
- Email: r.a.sample@wustl.edu
Riley Mullins
Graduate Student
Riley earned his BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences at The Ohio State University in 2019. In the same year, he joined the M.D./Ph.D. program at WashU and joined Dr. Puram’s lab in 2021. He studies the mechanisms by which head and neck cancers suppress the immune system.
Michael Moore
Graduate student
Michael is a WashU MD/PhD student studying epigenetic regulation of cellular state heterogeneity in HNSCC. He studied chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis before joining the WashU MSTP in 2021.
- Email: moore.michael.j@wustl.edu
Former Members
Tom Barrett, M.D.
Fellow in Head and Neck Oncologic and Microvascular Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital
Zongtai Qi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow – Now Bioinformatics Scientist at Exact Sciences