Arlind B. Mara, PhD

Post Doctoral Associate
BS, Molecular and Cell biology, University of Connecticut, 2017
MS, Pathobiology, University of Connecticut, 2019
PhD, Bacteriology, University of Connecticut, 2021

Arlind was born and grew up in Albania and moved the U.S. when he was 13. Outside of the lab, Arlind enjoys videogames, soccer, reading sci-fi novels, traveling, and supporting the 11-time national champion UConn Women’s Basketball team. He is a proud dog dad to two rescues, Diogi (pronounced D-O-G) and Pepe. In his Ph.D., Arlind became interested in virulence factors of bacterial pathogens and studied the interactions between Mycoplasma pneumoniae lipoproteins and the host immune system. Arlind joined the lab in 2022, and he is interested in the role of mononuclear phagocytes in the neuro-immune axis during pulmonary inflammation. His long-term career goal is to become an independent principal investigator in the field of infectious diseases and host-pathogen interactions and to harness the findings of this research for the development of rationally designed vaccines and therapeutics.