Graduate Students

Abigail Dutton

Undergrad Institute: Yale University
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Leib
Project: Investigating neurological morbidity following neonatal infection with herpes simplex viruses

Alexander Pastora

Undergrad Institute: Middlebury College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. O'Toole
Project: The production and localization of RTX adhesins in Pseudomonas fluorescens

Alexander Rapp

Undergrad Institute: The University of Connecticut
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Obar
Project: CD4+ T cell responses against the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus

Alia Sajani

Undergrad Institute: Grinnell College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Noelle
Project: Peripheral T cell tolerance and naive T cell heterogeneity

Alicia Bostwick

Undergrad Institute: Hope College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Usherwood
Project: Investigating mechanisms of enhancing metabolic flexibility and function in CD8 T cells

Amy Conaway

Undergrad Institute: Middlebury College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Hogan
Project: Unique biofilm strategies used by LasR- Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Asmaa Mohamed

Undergrad Institute: University of California, Merced
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Huang
Project: Identifying the role of DC11c myeloid cells in maintaining skin tissue resident CD8 T cells 

Bassam El Hafi

Undergrad Institute: American University of Beirut
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. O'Toole
Project: Polymicrobial communities within the cystic fibrosis lung

Casey Latario

Undergrad Institute: Grove City College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Ross
Project: Microbe-microbe interactions in the mammalian gut

Cecilia Gutierrez Perez

Undergrad Institute: Central Connecticut State University 
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Cramer
Project: Antifungal drug discovery in the context of invasive fungal infections

Chenkai Mao

Undergrad Institute: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Fiering
Project: Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) and its underlying mechanism for the excellent antitumor efficacy as an in situ vaccine

Chris Park

Undergrad Institute: University of California, Berkeley
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Pioli
Project: The role of immune system in progression of systemic sclerosis and using immunotherapy to treat the disease

Colin Hartman

Undergrad Institute: Northern Kentucky University
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Ackerman
Project: Ex vivo arming of immune cells with cancer-specific antibodies for antitumor responses

David Ritz

Undergrad Institute: Ohio State
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Schultz
Project: The dynamics of antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa

Fiona McEnany

Undergrad Institute: Plymouth State University 
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Leib
Project: Characterizing the morbidity and mortality of neonatal HSV-2 clinical isolates in a murine model

Gregory Ho

Undergrad Institute: Colby College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Fiering
Project: The mechanism and durability of the immune memory generated by our lab's in situ vaccination model 

Hao Geng

Undergrad Institute: Rice University 
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Schultz
Project: Antibiotic resistance mechanisms adapt to new environments in the context of a dynamical drug response

Heetaek Yang

Undergrad Institute: University at Buffalo
Current Lab Affiliation:  Drs. Pioli & Whitfield
Project: The roles of macrophage and the cellular origins of diseased fibroblasts during the development of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc)

Jichang Han

Undergrad Institute: Nankai University, Tianjin, China
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Turk
Project: Profiling the durable anti-tumor T cell responses in melanoma patients 

Jordan Isaacs

Undergrad Institute: Smith College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Rosato
Project: Targeting anti-viral resident memory T cells as cancer immunotherapy

Leena Abdullah

Undergrad Institute: Lahore University of Management sciences, Pakistan
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Huang
Project: Understanding commitment to T vs B cell fate in the primary lymphoid organs

Lily Charpentier

Undergrad Institute: University of Maine
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Stanton
Project: Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, & Prevotella-derived vesicles on airway epithelial cells when these bacteria are cultured in artificial sputum media

Mirjana Stevanovic

Undergrad Institute: New York University 
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Schultz
Project: Stochasticity and heterogeneity in bacteria during antibiotic responses

Natasha Kelkar

Undergrad Institute: Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Ackerman
Project: Developing novel techniques to improve vaccine studies

Nicole Kordana

Undergrad Institute: Saint Michael's College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Cramer
Project: Innate immune effector cells (particularly neutrophils) and mechanisms of host response to Aspergillus fumigatus, a high mortality fungal pathogen

Nicole Loeven

Undergrad Institute: Wells College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Bliska
Project: The T6SS effector TecA in Burkholderia cenocepacia pathogenesis during lung infection

Paige Canova

Undergrad Institute: University of Maryland Baltimore County 
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Leib
Project: Determining the role of autophagy in HSV-1 latency and reactivation

Rebecca Valls

Undergrad Institute: Florida International University
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. O'Toole
Project: Understanding how the gut microbiome in infants with cystic fibrosis can affect disease progression

Sharanya Sarkar

Undergrad Institute: St. Xavier's College
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Stanton
Project: Host-pathogen interactions in the context of co-infections in Cystic Fibrosis

Stacie Stuut

Undergrad Institute: Grand Valley State University
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Hogan
Project: Investigating factors that provide Pseudomonas aeruginosa a fitness advantage in microoxic environments

Sweta Shrestha

Undergrad Institute: SANN International College, Kathmandu, Nepal
Current Lab Affiliation:  Dr. Ackerman
Project: Study characteristics of IgGs in the context of Antibody-Mediated Rejection (AMR) and HIV Neutralization 

Xin Li

Undergrad Institute: Peking University (China)
Current Lab Affiliation: Dr. Jakubzick
Project: The mononuclear phagocyte system and its importance in homeostasis maintenance