Current Members

Marwa Afifi, B.D.S, M.D.S, Ph.D, Assistant Professor

Marwa Afifi, BDS, MDS, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center. Dr. Afifi is currently working in Dr. Louis Weiner's lab, where she is interested in understanding early events leading to pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC). She is a clinical pathologist deeply interested in using spatial proteomic and transcriptomic analyses to combine gene expression profiling with spatial information to map the molecular and cellular landscape of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). Dr. Afifi believes that characterizing premalignancies is crucial for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of malignant transformations, the role of the complex microenvironment in promoting carcinogenesis, and the development of therapeutic resistance in PDAC.

Prior to joining Georgetown, Dr. Afifi completed her postdoctoral training at the National Cancer Institute in the laboratory of Dr. Steven Cappell. Her postdoctoral research focused on studying cell cycle behavior, using high-throughput single-cell analysis during early carcinogenesis.

Dr. Afifi earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Dentistry and Surgery from Alexandria University, Egypt. Following graduation, she joined the Oral Pathology Department as a faculty member while pursuing her postgraduate studies. Her Master’s research centered on cancer pathogenesis, specifically high-risk oncogenic viruses. For her PhD, Dr. Afifi's research focus was on nanomedicine, developing targeted therapies for oral cancer using gold nanoparticles. Her work addressed significant issues in traditional treatments, such as the severe side effects of surgery and radiotherapy. She gained substantial experience in both basic and translational research, including cell culture and animal models.

Annie (Hong) Zuo, MD, Research Technician III

Dr. Zuo earned her Bachelor Degree of Medicine from Hunan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Master Degree of Internal Medicine from Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China. She worked as a physician and researcher at Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and as a head of science grand office at Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences in China. In 1999 she started working in Georgetown University LCCC as research assistants in Dr. Dajun Yang lab, Tissue Culture Shared Resources and Dr. Michael Johnson lab. In March 2015 she joined Dr. Louis Weiner lab and since then she has been working as a research technician for supporting general lab research activities and lab managements, maintaining mouse strains and assisting other investigators with their research needs, especially animal studies.

Selime Arslan , PhD Student, Tumor Biology

Selime Arslan started her PhD in Tumor Biology at Georgetown University in 2023. Prior to attending Georgetown University, she earned her bachelors in Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware. She then continued her education at Johns Hopkins University where she earned her Master of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During her master’s program, she studied the molecular mechanisms of how ER+/HER2-mutant cancers acquire therapy resistance in Dr. Utthara Nayar’s lab. After graduating, she continued her research in the Nayar Lab for another year as a research technologist. Selime joined the Weiner Lab in 2024 and is interested in investigating immune regulatory mechanisms involved in pancreatic cancer as well as the role cancer-associated fibroblasts play in altering pancreatic cancers tumor microenvironment.

Annabel Lee (AJ), PhD Student, Tumor Biology

Emily Sherman, MD/PhD Student, Tumor Biology

Nuan Wang, MS student, Tumor Biology

Nuan Wang is a master student from Tumor biology program at Georgetown University. Prior to attending Georgetown University, she earned her bachelor degree in biology from Boston University. After graduation, she continued her eduction at University of Southern California where she earned her master degree of science in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. During her master’s program, she investigated novel immunology therapy that sensitize efficiency of immunotherapy targeting hepatocellular carcinoma. She joined Weiner lab in 2024 and is interested in modulating NK cell to enhance envision in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

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