Our Team
Lisandra Vila Ellis, MD
Principal Investigator
Lisandra’s interest in medicine began as a child growing up in Cuba, offering “medical services” to her family and neighbors, such as taking their blood pressure at home. She received her medical degree at Tecnologico de Monterrey, in Monterrey, Mexico, and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where she fell in love with research. Lisandra is committed to mentorship, and has taught and mentored students of different backgrounds and career stages, including undergrad, medical and graduate students. Building a diverse, creative and supporting environment in research is one of her main goals. She serves on different committees of the North American Vascular Biology Organization, where she also started a podcast, Vascular Crosstalk.
Yun Liu
Research Technician
Yun was born in California but raised in the Houston-area. She graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a B.S. in Biochemistry and a Minor in Statistics. She is interested in genomics and transcriptomics and how they can be used to study cell differentiation. She hopes to use her undergraduate experience with statistics in the Vila Ellis lab. Outside of the lab, Yun likes to spend her time doing puzzles, working on embroidery, and taking care of her house plants.
Amy Ceas
Research Technician
Amy graduated from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in May 2023 with a B.S. in Genetics and Life Sciences Communication. During her undergraduate program, she worked in Dr. Christian Capitini’s lab studying CAR-T cells that target rhabdomyosarcoma and using ɑTEA as an adjuvant. She also completed an internship at Lurie Children’s hospital in Dr. Loretta Li’s lab testing the efficacy of novel type II JAK2 inhibitors. In the future, Amy hopes to continue her education and earn a Ph.D. in cancer biology or a related field. In her free time, she likes to paint and spend time with family and friends.
Andrés Gutiérrez
Postdoctoral Fellow
Originally from Madrid, Spain, his academic path started at the University of Navarra with a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Biochemistry. He then moved to Switzerland for a Master’s in Cellular and Molecular Biology. His next stop was Lisbon, Portugal, where he did his PhD in Biology (Cell Competition), which he completed in January 2024. Now, he’s starting a new chapter as a PostDoc in the Vila Ellis Lab in Chicago. Andrés’ interest in Biology, Chemistry, and Optics began in his childhood, fostered by many hours of reading books about nature. This interest grew in high school when he discovered the world under a microscope. Since then, he’s worked with various Confocal microscopes, focusing on live imaging. When not in the lab, Andrés enjoys sports, plays paddle, soccer, and loves mountain biking.
Anđela Savić
NU PREP Scholar (Post-baccalaureate )
Andela (Angie) graduated from Roosevelt University in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Computer Science. Before joining the Vila Ellis lab, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Oluseye Onajole’s lab at Roosevelt University, where she designed and synthesized new compounds with possibly anti-TB properties. Angie is currently preparing to apply to grad school, still deciding between MD/Ph.D. or Ph.D. programs. In her free time, you can find her playing the piano, drawing, or spending time with her family.
Anastasia Jimenez
Undergraduate Student
Anastasia was born in Chicago and raised in the western suburbs. She is currently an undergraduate student at Northwestern University majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Anthropology & Entrepreneurship. She is interested in cell biology and is looking to apply that interest to her research studies. Anastasia hopes to gain undergraduate laboratory experience during her time with the Vila Ellis Lab and eventually apply to medical school. She loves to sew, weightlift, and play soccer in her free time.
Jonathan Bywaters (former lab member)
Research Technician
Jonathan graduated from Texas A&M University in 2020 with a B.S. in Biology. Prior to joining the Vila Ellis lab, he worked as a research assistant in Dr. Jichao Chen’s lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he studied capillary heterogeneity in the lung and how its development is affected in disease. Jonathan is currently applying to medical school for admission in 2024. In his free time, you can find him playing tennis, running, or watching movies. Update: now in medical school at UT San Antonio!
Join our lab!
Graduate students
Postdocs
Undergraduate Students
Interns and Summer students
Technicians
Master Students
The Vila Ellis lab welcomes grad students from different programs at Northwestern including DGP and MSTP. We also welcome interested postdocs from different backgrounds, undergrads with a genuine interest in scientific research, master students, research techs and clinical fellows. If you are a high school student interested in research and looking for lab experience, Lisandra started her journey in science as a research summer student, let’s talk!
For any inquiries, email Lisandra with your CV and research interests.
