Anna Traunbauer, PhD

About Me
Anna Traunbauer received her PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she studied the molecular mechanisms underlying CD8⁺ T cell dysfunction during chronic infection and cancer. Her research integrates immunology, single-cell genomics, and functional genomics to understand how T cell fate is regulated in human disease and to inform the development of next-generation immunotherapies. Outside of the lab, Anna enjoys cycling, hiking, painting, gardening, and baking.
Publications
Crain CR, Alrubayyi A, Muzhingi I, Traunbauer A, Jeon E, Deo R, Deligiannidis EA, Shrestha P, Etemad B, MacLeod H, Laird GM, Choudhary MC, Peluso MJ, Deeks SG, Rutishauser RL, Li JZ, Gaiha GD. Expansion of stemlike HIV-specific CD8+ T cells and limited viral epitope diversity characterize durable posttreatment control of HIV. Sci Transl Med. 2026 Apr 22;18(846):eaed0042. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aed0042. Epub 2026 Apr 22. PMID: 42018665
Mohammadi A, Etemad B, Zhang X, Li Y, Bedwell GJ, Sharaf R, Kittilson A, Melberg M, Crain CR, Traunbauer AK, Wong C, Fajnzylber J, Worrall DP, Rosenthal A, Jordan H, Jilg N, Kaseke C, Giguel F, Lian X, Deo R, Gillespie E, Chishti R, Abrha S, Adams T, Siagian A, Dorazio D, Anderson PL, Deeks SG, Lederman MM, Yawetz S, Kuritzkes DR, Lichterfeld MD, Sieg S, Tsibris A, Carrington M, Brumme ZL, Castillo-Mancilla JR, Engelman AN, Gaiha GD, Li JZ. Viral and host mediators of non-suppressible HIV-1 viremia. Nat Med. 2023 Dec;29(12):3212-3223. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02611-1. Epub 2023 Nov 13. PMID: 37957382
Adelmann CH, Traunbauer AK, Chen B, Condon KJ, Chan SH, Kunchok T, Lewis CA, Sabatini DM. MFSD12 mediates the import of cysteine into melanosomes and lysosomes. Nature. 2020 Dec;588(7839):699-704. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2937-x. Epub 2020 Nov 18. PMID: 33208952
