Welcome to the Lang Lab! We have a great group of people working with us.
Jessica Lang, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Center for Precision Medicine Faculty Member
Center for Genomic Science Innovation Affiliate Faculty Member
Jessica obtained her bachelors (Genetics, 2009) and doctorate (Cancer Biology, 2014) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She then completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Arizona State University and The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). Jessica was awarded an NCI K99/R00 in 2019 to focus her studies on the role of super-enhancers in high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty in 2021, where she will leverage her experience in translational biology, genomics, and epigenetics.
In her spare time, Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, outdoors activities, reading, and game nights.
Jae Rim (Kendra) Wendt, MS
Researcher I
Kendra obtained her bachelors (Microbiology, 2015) and masters (Veterinary Medicine, 2017) at Chungbuk National University in South Korea. For her master’s thesis, she studied the potential of engineered stem cells as delivery vehicles for treatment of malignant melanoma. Kendra joined the Lang lab as a Research Specialist in 2022. Outside of work, Kendra enjoys reading, working out, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Zhongmou Jin, MS
Graduate Student
Jin is a graduate student from the Cellular and Molecular Biology program. His work focuses on characterizing the functional requirement of super-enhancers in ovarian cancer.
Christina Gao, MS
Graduate Student
Christina is a graduate student from the Cancer Biology program. She obtained her bachelors (Physiology, 2023) at the University of Washinton-Seattle and her masters (Molecular Pathology and Experimental Medicine, 2025) at the University of Southern California. In her free time, Christina enjoys pilates, trail walking, cooking, and traveling.
Amelia Rancour
Research Assistant
Amelia is an undergraduate majoring in biochemistry at UW-Madison. She joined the lab in May of 2024 as a research assistant. Amelia plans to go to graduate school and become a scientific researcher. In her free time, she likes to play the piano, read, crochet, hang out with friends, and play soccer.
Ava Busch-Manske
Research Assistant
Ava is an undergraduate majoring in biochemistry, and she aspires to attend medical school following graduation at UW-Madison. She joined the lab in October of 2025 as a research assistant. In her free time, Ava likes to spend time outside, do crafts, hang out with friends, and solve crossword puzzles.
Anabelle Hodges
Research Assistant
Anabelle is an undergraduate majoring in genetics and genomics. More to come!
Former Lab Members:
Kristin Adams - Resarcher I (2021-2026) Lauren Kersten - Research Intern and Research Assistant (2024-2026) Josie Wood - Research Intern and Research Assistant (2022-2024) Srihari Gopalan - Research Assistant (2022-2024) Kevin Shine George - Research Assistant (2024-2025) Ryan Moreno - Graduate Student (2023-2024) Sydney Olson - Research Assistant (2022-2025)
We’re growing our team!
Postdocs
We continuously review highly qualified postdoc applicants. Send Dr. Lang an email with CV and cover letter.
Affiliated graduate programs
Cellular & Molecular Pathology
Cancer Biology
Cellular & Molecular Biology