MEMBERS

Our Members

Luis Batista

Principal Investigator

Luis received his PhD from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Menck), working in close collaboration with Dr. Bernd Kaina at the University of Mainz, Germany. After his postdoctoral training with Steve Artandi at Stanford, Luis joined Washington University in St. Louis as an Assistant Professor in 2014. In 2026 Luis moved his lab to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, where he also serves as an HCI Presidential Endowed Professor in Hematologic Malignancies, and Director of the Telomere Biology Disorder Initiative.

When not in lab Luis enjoys playing tennis, running, watching soccer and spending time with his daughter!

Aniruddha (Ani) Samajdar

Postdoc Fellow

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah. I completed my Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and joined the Batista Lab at Washington University in St. Louis in 2023. My research focuses on RNA processing and decay pathways regulating telomerase RNA and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). Outside the lab, I enjoy cooking, reading history, and have recently started to enjoy hiking.

Roberta Amato

Postdoc Fellow

I’m originally from Italy, where I completed my PhD at the University of Roma Tre. I then moved to the U.S. and joined the Batista lab as a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis, and I am now part of the Batista lab at HCI. My research focuses on liver biology, specifically how hepatocytes communicate with other cell types like stellate cells during liver injury and fibrosis. I’m particularly interested in how telomere dysfunction and DNA damage in hepatocytes influence these interactions and contribute to disease progression. Outside of the lab, I enjoy rollerblading and exploring new places. I love cooking and trying different cuisines, and I’m always happy to share good food. I love the sea and always enjoy it whenever I get the chance to be near it.

Gregory Vandas

Research Technician

I grew up in Missouri, lived in Arizona for a long time, and moved to Salt Lake City in 2022 to work for HCI. I joined the Batista Lab when they moved to Utah in January 2026. I’m not particularly good at thinking about invisible information-containing molecules, but I do enjoy it, and especially about epigenetic inheritance, genome stability, and, most recently, telomere biology. I have no useful skills or talents, but I do have an interest in how things work and sometimes the patience to try to figure it out. I like many types of things, including plants and rocks and maps and beer and metallurgy and music and power washers. I do not like many other types of things. I don’t know what I want to be or do when I grow up, but I have thought about installing mirrors professionally – it’s something I can really see myself doing.

Yuli Magalhaes

I have been passionate about science since I was a child, and over the years, I found my calling in research and in the laboratory. I’m originally from Brazil, where I completed my PhD in Biochemistry at the University of São Paulo, working in cancer research. I recently moved to the U.S. to join the Batista lab at Huntsman Cancer Institute. My current research focuses on how megakaryocytes cope with the DNA damage and replication stress that arise as they increase their DNA content during maturation. I’m particularly interested in uncovering the mechanisms that allow these highly specialized cells to preserve DNA replication, complete their development, and produce platelets despite accumulating genomic stress. Outside of the lab, I enjoy getting to know the city by walking around and discovering new places. I love museums, concerts, movies, and TV series. I’m also passionate about all kinds of literature, and music has always been a big part of my life – I especially love singing.

Ana Baez

Lab Technician

I am originally from Massachusetts and received my bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Wake Forest University. I then joined the Batista lab as a lab technician. Outside of the lab, I love to ski, hike, and read.