Dr. Saman Zeeshan

Leroy Wheeler graduated from Saint Louis University with Bachelors degrees in Biology and Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology.  Leroy has worked in both academia and industry with over 20 years of wet lab experience studying in vitro and rodent models of cancer and inflammation.  Leroy entered the MS Bioinformatics program at UMKC in 2025 to learn Bioinformatics and joined Dr. Saman Zeeshan’s lab to continue the fight against cancer.

Evelyn Ho is an undergraduate Biology major who joined Zeeshan Lab in August of 2024. Currently working on the Small Cell Lung Cancer Project with 2 fellow lab members. After graduating, she is planning to apply for medical school and further her research her experience. 

Julius Niyonzima is a Computer Science major with a minor in Mathematics, with a keen interest in Data Science. He is passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technology to analyze complex data and solve real-world problems.

Savi Nistala is a student in the accelerated 6 year BA/MD. program at UMKC. She is excited to grow her computational skills alongside her medical knowledge at the Zeeshan Lab. Savy is passionate about cancer research, oncology and dermatology. She would love to pursue a career in any of the fields or perhaps one that combines all of them.

Anshal Vyas is a first-year medical student (MS1) at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine and a part of the 6-year BA/MD program. He has broad specialty interests that include interventional radiology, anesthesiology, and surgery. Alongside his medical education, he is actively involved in research projects spanning oncology, surgical outcomes, and health disparities. Through his clinical training and research, he is working toward building a strong foundation for a career as a physician who combines technical skill with a commitment to advancing patient care.

Ryan Mohamadi is a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, where his research focuses on bone mechanotransduction and osteocyte signaling, with a particular emphasis on Wnt/β-catenin pathways. He employs a range of experimental and computational approaches including confocal microscopy, micro-CT, histology, finite element modeling, and spatial transcriptomics to study how mechanical loading shapes skeletal biology.

Ryan has contributed to NIH-funded projects investigating PRMT-mediated signaling and bone adaptation, and he is developing pipelines for high-resolution imaging and bioinformatics analysis. Beyond his thesis work, he is actively involved in translational collaborations bridging molecular biology, imaging, and engineering, and is spearheading the design of multiplex primers for complex genotyping studies. His broader goal is to pursue an MD and establish a research program at the intersection of engineering and medicine.

Shafaq Majeed is an International student doing Masters in Molecular Genetics with research interests centered on the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying disease. Her work is focused on integrating genetic and systems-level analyses to better understand oncogenic pathways and biological networks. She is particularly interested in translating genetic data into insights that can inform disease modeling and precision-based healthcare approaches.

Alina Hassan graduated in Computer Science from UMKC in 2024. She conducted research, analysis, and documentation of application of AI/ML in deciphering lung cancer biology. She is a Data Science student at The Johns Hopkins University.

Arielle Janssens is a Bachelor's student in Biological Engineering at the University of Missouri Columbia. She has a strong interest in biomedical innovation and is passionate about integrating engineering principles with biological science to support advances in medical research and technology. 

Gregory Taylor is a Bachelor's student majoring in Biology at the University of Missouri Columbia. He is passionate about the intersection of science, artificial intelligence, and medicine, exploring how these technologies can enhance patient care.

Chair Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics

Director of Research Development

Associate Professor 

School of Medicine