Our Team
Meet the talented researchers and staff members who make our work possible.
Na Sun
Principal Investigator / AI Whitehead Fellow
Dr. Na Sun is a Whitehead AI Fellow and Principal Investigator at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. She received her S.B. in Life Science from Linyi University in 2009, followed by an S.M. in Bioinformatics and Developmental Biology from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2013. In 2017, Dr. Sun moved to Cambridge and worked at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard as a Bioinformatics Specialist. She began her graduate studies in computational biology at MIT in 2020, earning her Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2024.
Email: nasun@wi.mit.edu
Publications: Google Scholar
Sumiko Williams
Administrative Lab Manager
Sumiko is an Administrative Lab Manager who has worked at the Whitehead Institute for 15 years. She enjoys learning and creating new craft projects.
Email: swilliam@wi.mit.edu
Yuxiang Zhan
Postdoctoral Researcher
Bio coming soon.
Maureen Cowan
Postdoctoral Researcher (co-mentored, Sun & Sullivan Labs)
Maureen holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Virginia. After training in experimental biology, she transitioned to bioinformatics, developing a specialization in spatial transcriptomics technologies as a Data Scientist at the UVA Center for Brain Immunology and Glia and later as a Bioinformatics Scientist at the Allen Institute in Seattle. She joined the Sun and Sullivan labs at the Whitehead Institute as a postdoctoral researcher, where her work applies AI tools to bridge experimental and computational biology for mechanistic discovery at the intersection of neuroscience and immunology.
Email: maureen@wi.mit.edu
Joana Liu Donaher
Senior Technician
Joana is a Senior Technician working with Na to investigate how disrupted signaling between the brain and immune system drives neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's. She is super energized and excited to join the Sun Lab. When she is not in the lab, she coordinates a community apiary in her town and tends to 12 tomato plants and a variety of other garden vegetables during the growing season.
Email: liudonaher@wi.mit.edu
Mariah Culpepper
Bioinformatics Technician
Mariah is a Bioinformatics Technician, intrigued by how communication between biological systems manifests in disease. She recently graduated with a B.S. in Computational Biology from Duke University. Outside of the lab, she loves to sing, play an array of logic games, and explore natural history.
Email: mculpepper@wi.mit.edu
Mary-Tyler Mosley
Experimental Technician
Mary-Tyler earned her B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford University, where she composed an honors thesis on transcriptomic analysis of maladaptive myelination in epilepsy as a member of the Knowles Lab. She is excited now to join the Sun Lab in investigating cellular brain-immune crosstalk in health and disease. Outside of lab, Mary-Tyler enjoys overanalyzing movies, singing her favorite songs, and exploring new places.
Email: mtmosley@wi.mit.edu
Albert Hung
Graduate Student
Albert is a PhD Student in EECS at MIT. His research interests lie at the intersection of biology and machine learning. Specifically, he aims to develop novel machine-learning algorithms that utilize multimodal biological data to streamline discovery and improve medical treatments. Prior to MIT, Albert received his B.S.E in Computer Science at the University of Michigan.
Email: azhung@wi.mit.edu
Anna Lian
Master of Engineering Student
Anna is a Master of Engineering student joining the Sun Lab after graduating from MIT in May with an S.B. in Computer Science and Molecular Biology. She is excited to develop and utilize computational approaches to study the mechanisms of cancer formation and tumor-immune interactions. Outside of the lab she loves drawing, reading, and exploring Cambridge with friends and family.
Email: alian@wi.mit.edu
Amy Zheng
UROP Student
Amy is an undergraduate at MIT studying computer science and molecular biology. She works jointly between the Sun Lab and the Weissman Lab, combining MERFISH experiments with computational approaches to study spatial transcriptomics. She previously used expansion microscopy to investigate inhibitory synapses and interned with the Cell Therapy team at Genentech.
Email: amyzheng@mit.edu
Join Our Team
We are always looking for passionate and talented individuals to join our research group. If interested, please contact Dr. Na Sun with your CV and a brief statement of research interests.