Exene Anderson

Graduate Student

Hometown: Tucson, AZ

Education:

B.S. - Microbiology and Molecular and Cellular Biology - University of Arizona 

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Project: I'm studying the expression of S. aureus leukotoxins in various organs during infection and how those genes are regulated. 

Fun Fact: I was named after a punk rock singer

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Ze Chen

Graduate Student

Hometown: China

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Education:

B.S. - Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

M.S. - New York University

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Project: My project involves using genomic data to better understand the interaction between S. aureus and the host.

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Fun Fact: I love soccer!

Joseph Cooper Devlin

Graduate Student

Hometown: Winter Park, FL

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Education:

B.S. - Microbiology - University of Florida 

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Project: I work on the multi-omic integration of immune profiling data.

Fun Fact: I played travel volleyball for 10 years. 

Sophie Dyzenhaus

Graduate Student

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Education:

B.S. - Immunology - University of Toronto

Project: I work on virulence mechanisms of contemporary S. aureus clinical isolates from bloodstream infections.

Fun Fact: My family moved a lot when I was younger, and by the time I was 8 I had lived on 4 different continents.

Sandra Gonzalaz

Assistant Research Scientist

Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia

Education: 

B.S. Microbiology - Universidad De Los Andes - Bogotá, Colombia

M.S. Microbiology - Universidad De Los Andes - Bogotá, Colombia

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Project: I work on the host-pathogen interactions occurring during nosocomial MRSA pneumonia infections.

Fun Fact: I like to dance salsa and cumbia.

Keenan Lacey

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Dublin, Ireland

Education:

B.A. - Microbiology - Trinity College Dublin.

Ph.D. - Immunology - Trinity College Dublin.

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Project: I work on the host-pathogen interactions occurring during nosocomial MRSA pneumonia infections.

Fun Fact: My grandfather was also a microbiologist and worked at the Guinness factory.

Anna O'Keeffe

Research Associate

Hometown: Dublin, Ireland

Education:

B.S. - Pharmacology - University College Dublin

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Project: I am working on developing new vaccines against S. aureus infections.

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Fun Fact: I love open-water swimming. 

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Andrew Perault

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Big Sur, CA / Ann Arbor, MI

Education:

B.S. - Microbiology - University of Michigan

MPH - Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology - University of Michigan

Ph.D. - Microbiology and Immunology - University of North Carolina

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Project: I am studying virulence mechanisms used by the multi-drug resistant pathogen Enterobacter cloacae.

Fun Fact: When I was a kid, the Dalai Lama gave me a stress ball as a gift (should I read into that?). 

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Rachel Prescott

Graduate Student

Hometown: Hampden, ME

Education:

B.S. - Biochemistry - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Project: I study the interactions between Staphylococcus bacteria and Influenza viruses in a co-infection model.

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Fun Fact: I played the tuba in the WPI Marching Band! Go Tech! 

Robert Ulrich

Instructor, Department of Medicine

Hometown: Commerce Twp, MI

Education:

B.S. - Human Biology, Health and Society - Cornell University

M.D. - Medicine - NYU School of Medicine

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Project: I am studying the mechanisms of prophage-mediated virulence driving community-acquired MRSA contagion.

Fun Fact: I briefly toured as a drummer in an indie rock band. 

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Chunyi Zhou

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown:  Xinyang, Henan, China

Education:

M.D. - Clinical Medicine - Xinxiang Medical University

Ph.D. - Microbiology - University of Nebraska Medical Center

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Project: I am working on the study of gastrointestinal tract colonization of CA-MRSA.

Fun Fact: My hometown is famous for Xinyang Maojian tea.

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Daiane Boff

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Education:

B.S. - Biomedicine - IESA

M.S. - Biochemistry and immunology - Federal university of Minas Gerais

PhD - Immunology - Federal University of Minas Gerais

PhD - Microbiology and immunology - Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

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Project: I am studying how S. aureus leukotoxins can target endothelial cells during infection.

Fun Fact: I love American football

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Krystal Ching

Graduate Student

Hometown: Alameda, CA

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Education:

B.A. - Molecular and Cellular Biology, Immunology - University of California, Berkeley

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Project: Mechanisms of exosome secretion in response to infection.

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Fun Fact: I love playing ultimate frisbee!

Ashley DuMont

Associate Research Scientist

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

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Education:

B.S. - Biology - Denison University 

Ph.D. - Microbiology - New York University 

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Project:  I am working on developing a vaccine against S. aureus infections and I study the pathogenesis of multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

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Fun Fact: My artwork has been on the cover of Trends in Microbiology twice.

Juan Gago

Graduate Student

Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Education:

M.D. - University of Buenos Aires

M.P.H. - City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health

Project: I am working on analyzing clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with COVID-19 and sepsis.

Fun Fact: I traveled the Amazonian jungle by boat.

Juliana Ilmain

Graduate Student

Hometown: San Ramon, CA

Education:

B.S. - Biology - Purdue University

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Project: I am studying the structure-function relationship of LukAB toxin diversity.

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Fun Fact: My nails are always painted.

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Ashira Lubkin

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Rochester, NY

Education:

B.A. - Biological Studies - Columbia University

Ph.D. - Immunology - New York University

M.D. - Medicine - New York University

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Project: I am working to charachterize the virulence phenotypes of S. aureus and Candida ssp. isolates from patients with COVID.

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Fun Fact: I can sing really high.

Miranda Pawline

Research Associate

Hometown: Delanco, NJ

Education:

B.S. - Biology and Chemistry - Florida Gulf Coast University  

M.S. - Biology - New York University

Project: Currently studying CA-MRSA colonization of the gastrointestinal tract and assisting in infectious disease hospital surveillance.

Fun Fact:  I’ve had my boaters license since age 14 and can outfish my dad!

Sofya Perelman

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Education:

M.S. - Biophysics and Bioengineering -Lomonosov Moscow State University  

Ph.D. - Cell and Molecular Biology - UT Southwestern Medical Center

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Project: I am investigating the role of leukocidin AB (LukAB) diversity in S. aureus pathogenesis.

Fun Fact: Polo is my favorite sport to both watch and play.

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Amelia St John

Research Associate 

Hometown: Scarborough, ME

Education:

B.S. - Microbiology - University of Maine

Project: I am studying virulence mechanisms used by the multi-drug resistant pathogen Enterobacter cloacae.

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Fun Fact: I was on an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos.

Xuhui Zheng

Graduate Student

Hometown: Beijing, China

Education:

B.S. - Biological Sciences - Peking University 

Project: Secretion and bacteria association of LukAB toxin.

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Fun Fact: My favorite symbol is the Sun not only because I was born during sunrise, my zodiac is related to sun, and my name means sunshine, but also because I have a passion for everything!

Erin Zwack

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hometown: Oxford, CT

Education:

B.S. - Biology with a concentration in Genomics - Davidson College 

Ph.D. - Cellular and Molecular Biology - University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine 

Project: Defining the toxin-dependent and toxin-independent S. aureus response of primary human phagocytes.

Fun Fact: Completed an 8-day, 100-mile hike in the Adirondacks.

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