Craft Lab | Meet Our Team

April Craft, PhD
Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Co-director, HSCI Musculoskeletal Disease Program
Affiliate faculty, Harvard Stem Cells & Regenerative Biology

Outside of science, April spends a generous amount of time spoiling her English and French bulldogs, trying to keep succulents alive, and when New England weather permits, she grows and cans veggies.

Rosanne Raftery, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow

Rosie is a Marie Sklodowska Curie postdoctoral fellow working toward unraveling the molecular mechanisms of articular cartilage differentiation and development. She loves to cook and test out new recipes on willing subjects!
 

Chaochang Li, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow

Chaochang leads our iPSC-based disease-modeling program, and is focused on identifying pathogenic mechanisms of premature cartilage degeneration in children with Progressive Pseudorheumatoid Arthritis of Childhood (PPAC), among others. In her spare time, Chaochang loves reading detective fiction and solving puzzles.
 

Pranidhi Baddam, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow

Pranidhi is involved in our translational research program, and is characterizing cell surface genes that differentiate articular and growth plate cartilage. Pranidhi can speak 5 different languages. She enjoys hiking and playing badminton in her free time.
 

Divya Venkatasubramanian
PhD student

Divya’s project focuses on exploring the role of different transcription factors in the development and maintenance of articular cartilage. When she isn’t dreaming about cartilage, Divya is either practicing calligraphy or finding more corn recipes to try.
 

Nereida Ramirez
MD/PhD student

Nereida is investigating the roles of biophysical/mechanical stimulation on cartilage development and gene expression. Nereida sings in the Longwood Chorus, which is an ensemble comprised of physicians, scientists, and students of the local Boston medical community.
 

Delmy Melendez
Lab manager

Delmy is focused on optimizing human cartilage differentiation and production, and exploring tendon/ligament differentiation in collaboration with the Galloway lab at MGH. Delmy is a nature-loving, well-hydrated, regenerative medicine enthusiast that enjoys analyzing crypto currencies, staying active, and capturing candid street photography in Boston and around the globe.
 

Junming (Jimmy) Cai, MS
Research assistant

Jimmy is focused on stem-cell laden biomaterials for translational cartilage repair, and novel single cell analysis on cartilage developmental lineages. Outside of biology, Jimmy studies the wizardry of flour, sugar and cream.
 

Sophia Kocher
Research assistant

Sophia is looking at the the role of transcription factors in cartilage development. She loves to ski, knit, and dote on her very friendly orange cat.