email: zbayyat1@jhmi.edu | linkedin
Education
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Ph.D. Candidate, Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB)
2023 – Present
Member of Dr. Bert Vogelstein and Dr. Kenneth Kinzler's lab at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics.
University of South Florida, Honors College
Biomedical Sciences B.Sc.
2014 – 2018
Magna Cum Laude, Dean's List of Scholars, Director's Honors Award
Experience
The Lab Post
Founder
2025 – Present
- Built a research paper recommendation platform that searches academic databases, scores papers against researcher profiles, and delivers personalized digests.
- Engineered a multi-stage pipeline: federated search, cross-encoder reranking, and structured evaluation on relevance, methods, novelty, and evidence.
- Designed and shipped the product end to end: frontend, backend, billing, email delivery, and deployment.
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Research Associate II – William Sellers Lab
Dec 2022 – July 2023
- Identified and evaluated newly discovered genetic hits in the KRAS(G12C) mutant setting.
- Managed the technical training of new associates and trainees in a variety of laboratory techniques.
- Collaborated with pharmaceutical industry leaders from Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer to advance therapeutics.
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Research Associate I – William Sellers Lab
April 2021 – Dec 2022
- Conducted large-scale combinatorial CRISPR-Cas9 screens to uncover novel paralog dependencies in cancer.
- Identified gene pairs that enhanced sensitivity or resistance to KRAS pathway inhibitors in various cancer lineages.
- Developed and optimized new biochemical assays and experimental protocols.
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Process Development Associate – Genomics Platform
Sept 2020 – April 2021
- Spearheaded the launch of a new pooled COVID testing system for public schools across Massachusetts.
- Scaled laboratory operations from 0 to over 10,000 samples processed per day.
- Facilitated the reopening of public schools after prolonged pandemic closures.
Skills
- Cancer biology
- Immunotherapy
- Gene delivery systems
- VLP engineering
- Viral vector engineering
- CRISPR-Cas9 systems
- Mammalian cell culture
- Molecular cloning
- Transfection / electroporation
- In vitro transcription
- RNA extraction
- PCR / RT-qPCR
- Flow cytometry
- Western blot
- Assay development
- In silico sequence design
Publications
Comparative optimization of combinatorial CRISPR screens
Li, R., Klingbeil, O., Monducci, D., Young M., Rodriguez, D., Bayyat Z., et al. Nature Communications, 2022
Presentations
Optimization of Combinatorial CRISPR Screens to Identify Novel Digenic Dependencies in Lung Cancers
Broad Institute 18th Annual Conference, Dec 2022
Leadership
Horizons for Homeless Children
Playspace Activity Leader
March 2022 – Sept 2022
- Volunteered at homeless shelters in the Cambridge area, supporting children in overcoming trauma through interactive play and engagement.
Certifications
- General Business Certification, University of South Florida
- Biomedical Investigators and Key Personnel, CITI Human Research