Current Lab Members
Staff
Brandon Metge, MS
I received my B.S. in pre-med from Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL, in 2002 and subsequently attended the University of South Alabama for graduate school. I obtained a M.S. in cell and molecular biology in 2004. I began my career with Lalita in 2004 just after graduate school and was in the lab until 2009. I did a short stint at Vanderbilt University from 2009-2013, then I rejoined the lab when it moved to UAB in 2013. I have worked on a variety of projects in the lab during that time span. My current work focuses on the influence of ribosome biogenesis on tumor immunology and cancer progression. In my free time I love spending time with my wife and son doing a variety of things particularly, hiking. I am also an avid runner and enjoy my morning runs. I also enjoy spending time doing projects around my house and yard. I am a huge football fan which takes up most of my free time in the fall!
Amr Elhamamsy, MS, PPharm., PhD
I earned my pharmacy degree and began my career as an oncology pharmacist in my home country. Driven by a deep passion for scientific discovery, I transitioned from clinical practice to cancer biology research. To expand my expertise in molecular biology and genetics, I pursued a master’s degree in the U.S., followed by a Ph.D. through the GBS program. Graduating last year, I remain dedicated to advancing cancer research, striving to uncover novel insights that can improve patient outcomes and enhance their quality of life.
Buffy Reaves
Buffy Reaves
Buffy Reaves is originally from Carmel, Indiana. She completed her undergraduate studies at Auburn University in 2024, where she graduated as a University Honors Scholar with a B.S. in Organismal Biology and a minor in Animation. She joined the Shevde-Samant lab in 2025 as a research technician, with hopes to dive into the world of cancer biology and immunology. In her free time, Buffy enjoys drawing, painting, animation, and spending quality time with her friends.
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Mohamed Elbahoty, MS, MD, PhD
Mohamed Elbahoty graduated from Alexandria University, School of Medicine, Egypt, in 2011. He earned a master’s degree in Hemato-Oncology in 2017 and a PhD in 2022. As a lecturer in the Internal Medicine Department, Hematology Unit, at Alexandria University, he developed a strong interest in cancer molecular pathology and exploring solutions for refractory and metastatic malignancies.
He joined UAB in 2022 and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pathology, focusing on cancer immunology. In the Samant Lab, his research investigates the impact of merlin loss on cancer progression and the role of ribosome biogenesis in tumor biology.
Outside of work, Mohamed enjoys football, reading, and traveling to spend time with family and friends.
Email: melbahoty@uabmc.edu
Graduate Students
Courtney Swain
Courtney Swain graduated from the University of West Florida with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences in 2018. After completing the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s PREP Scholars Program in 2019, she transitioned into the UAB Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). She joined the Graduate Biomedical Sciences program and the Cancer Biology theme. After completing her pre-clinical medical school coursework, she joined the Samant Lab in July 2021 for her PhD training. Her current research in the lab focuses on investigating the role of Hedgehog signaling and hyperglycemia in modulating T cell populations in the tumor microenvironment of breast cancer. In her free time, Courtney enjoys exercising, gardening, traveling, gaming, and spending time with her dog Iris.
Email: cswain@uab.edu
Ian Miranda
Ian Miranda hails from New York! He is a GS-1 in the UAB MSTP. He graduated from Macaulay Honors at Brooklyn College in 2018 with a double major in Biology and religious studies. He then went on to complete a Master of Science degree at Stony Brook University before working at Pfizer in the Bacterial Vaccines department. He has a background in biochemistry and cell biology but has set his sights on cancer biology. Outside of the lab, he enjoys golf, volleyball, cooking, and spending time with friends.
Email: imiranda@uab.edu
Bhavyasree Papineni
Bhavyasree Papineni is originally from India. She completed her master’s in biotechnology here at UAB and joined the Samant lab in December 2022. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in the GBS Cancer Biology Theme. Under Dr. Samant’s mentorship, she is studying the effect of obesity on breast cancer. In her free time, you can find her playing table tennis at the student rec. She also enjoys pencil sketching and camping.
Li’an Williams
Li’an Williams is originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 2020 with a B.A. in Biology and Spanish, along with a minor in Psychology. After graduation, she worked as a Research Specialist at the University of Pittsburgh before joining the UAB Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) in 2022. Li’an is currently pursuing her PhD through the Graduate Biomedical Sciences program with a focus on the Cancer Biology theme. She joined the Samant lab in July 2024. Outside of the lab, Li’an enjoys cooking, traveling, hiking, and playing pickleball with friends.
Email: lwilli29@uab.edu
Undergraduate Students
Geneice Thompson
Lab Alumni
Graduate Students
Major Professor, Dissertation of Lillianne Harris, Ph.D.
Graduated December 2011
Thesis title: The role and mechanisms of Hedgehog signaling in promoting tumor vascularization and malignancy
Honors: AACR WICR (Women In Cancer Research) Scholar Award, awarded to Lillianne Harris at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), 2011, Orlando, FL.
Current position: Assistant Professor of Biology, Claflin University, South Carolina.
Major Professor, Dissertation of Kyle Adam Morrow, Ph.D.
Graduated May 2012
Thesis title: Elucidating the role of the tumor suppressor Merlin in breast cancer.
Current position: Assistant Professor, VCOM, University of Louisiana-Monroe, Monroe, Louisiana.
Major Professor, Dissertation of Andrew Vincent, M.D. with Research Honors
Graduated May 2012
Thesis title: Understanding the Diametric Role of NUPR1 in Human Breast Cancer
Current position: Radiologist, Acumen Medical Imaging, Florida.
Co-Major Professor, Dissertation of Christopher Graham, Ph.D.
Graduated April 2016
Thesis title: Examination of 4-Hydroxy Tamoxifen and BH3 mimetic-induced cell death pathways in glioblastoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cells.
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Surgery, UAB.
Major Professor, Dissertation of William Jackson, M.S. (Cancer Biology)
Graduated May 2016
Topic: Investigating the impact of Merlin on tumor cell metabolism in breast cancer.
Current position: Instructor, Jackson State University.
Major Professor, Dissertation of Ann Hanna, Ph. D.
Status: Graduated December 2018
Honors: AACR Scholar-in-Training Award, Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), 2018, Chicago, IL and the Biennial Congress of the Metastasis Research Society, 2018, Princeton, NJ.
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow, Vanderbilt University.
Major Professor, Dissertation of Mateus Mota, Ph. D.
Status: Graduated December 2020
Honors: Nominated for the Carmichael Award, 2019
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow, University of Michigan
Major Professor, Dissertation of Tshering (Tesh) Lama Sherpa, Ph. D.
Status: Graduated December 2020
Honors: Pritchett Award winner, 2018
Current position: Postdoctoral fellow, U T Southwestern
Major Professor, Dissertation of Dominique Hinshaw, Ph. D.
Status: Graduated Fall 2022
Current Position: Scientific Editor at ASCO
Postdoctoral Fellows
- K.H. Chandramouli, Ph. D. – Current position: Assistant Professor, University of Mysore, India
- Shamik Das, Ph. D. – Current position: Research Associate, University Oklahoma.
- Uttio Roy Chowdhury, Ph.D. – Current position: Research Scientist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
- Suping Ren, M.D., Ph.D. – Current position: Scientist, Beijing Institute of Transfusion Medicine, Beijing, China
- S. Mruthyunjaya, Ph.D. – Current position: Assistant Professor, Modern College Ganeshkhind, Pune, India
- Erhong Meng, Ph. D. – Current position: Scientist, Beijing DOING Biomedical Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing, China
- Victor Lin, M. D., Ph. D. – Current Position: Instructor, Department Of Medicine (HemeOnc), UAB.
