Meet the Team

Kate Alexander, PhD. Principal Investigator

Originally from Oregon, Kate followed her curiosity for science to Long Island with stops in Northfield MN, Ithaca NY, and Philadelphia PA. Outside of science, Kate enjoys jiu jitsu and swimming in the sound.

Hiroe Namba, PhD. Postdoctoral Fellow

Hiroe is interested in gene expression regulation and how these mechanisms shape cell identity during development and tumorigenesis. Beyond the lab, her favorite things to do on Long Island include horse riding and driving through the beautiful autumn trees.

Sana Mir, Research Technician and Lab Manager

Born and raised in Kashmir, Sana received her Master’s in Immunology from the University of Rochester, where her research focused on improving CAR-T cell migration to solid tumors using 3D tumoroid models.She is interested in cancer biology, particularly how the tumor microenvironment shapes immune cell behavior, therapeutic response, and disease progression.When she’s not pipetting, she can be found reading, exploring cafés, recreating recipes, hiking, photography and watching cat videos (a scientifically proven mood booster).

Milena Stepić, Visiting Master's Student

Excited by additional layers of gene regulation, Milena joined the lab as a visiting Master’s student from Serbia. Beyond her scientific interests, she is passionate about music and enjoys singing in the CSHL choir.

Judy Weigold

Judy is the Scientific Administrator for the Alexander Lab.  She received an Associate’s Degree in business from Farmingdale State University and a degree in Paralegal Studies from Long Island University.  She supports our lab in all matters that relate to administration, recruitment, grant applications and organization.