Student Profiles

Supipi Auwardt

Mentor: Erietta Stelekati, Ph.D.
Project Title: "Delineating the mechanisms of CD8 T cell differentiation by the family of microRNA-29"

Christopher Bollinger

Mentor: George Munson, Ph.D.
Project: “Elucidating the Novel Fatty-Acid Inhibition of AraC-VRs”

Lance Buchness

Mentor: Erietta Stelekati, Ph.D.
Project: "Rescuing Mechanisms for T Cell Exhaustion: MicroRNAs"

Amber Castillo

Mentor: Mario Stevenson, Ph.D.
Project: “Investigating a potential role for myeloid cells in HIV transmission”

Alyssa Cornista

Mentor: Kevin Van der Jeught, Ph.D.
Project: "Tumoral IL33/ST2 Signaling Drives Immune Escape Through Reduced Antigen Presentation"

Sheldon Davis

Mentor: Savita Pahwa, M.D. & Suresh Pallikkuth, Ph.D.
Project: “T follicular helper cell Dysfunction in HIV and Aging”

Gianna Faraci

Mentor: Thomas Malek, Ph.D.
Project: "The Role of ILC2’s in mIL-2/CD25 therapy in NOD mice"

Neil Ferland

Mentor: Rana Chakraborty, M.D.
Project Title: TBD

Victoria Frerichs

Mentor: Dr. Marjana Tomic-Canic & Dr. Andrew Sawaya
Project Title: TBD

Miguel Angel Gallardo

Mentor: Robert Levy, Ph.D. & Erietta Stelekati, Ph.D.
Project: “Donor Alloreactive CD8+ T cell Differentiation in Graft-vs-Host Disease”

Michael Griffith

Mentor: Dr. Kevin Van der Jeught
Project: TBD

Anna Hudson

Mentor: Ashish Shah, M.D. & Thomas Malek, Ph.D.
Project: “Exploring the Immunosuppressive Role of Human Endogenous Retrovirus K in the Glioblastoma Microenvironment”

Ariane Kalifa

Mentor: Natasa Strbo, M.D., DSc & Irena Pastar, Ph.D.
Project: "Anaerobic Bacterial Colonization and Immune Dysregulation in Hidradenitis Suppurativa"

Jonah Kupritz

Mentor: Savita Pahwa, M.D. & Suresh Pallikkuth, Ph.D.
Project: "Elucidating and targeting T cell senescence-driven immune dysfunction in aging and HIV"

Victoria Kuznetsova

Mentor: Paolo Serafini, Ph.D.
Project: “Upregulation of PDL1 expression on endogenous β cells by saRNA-Aptamer Chimera as a therapy for T1D"

Clarisel Lozano

Mentor: Zhibin Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
Project: “The role of tumor-intrinsic MHC II in immune tolerance induction.”

Grace Marshall

Mentor: Mario Stevenson, Ph.D.
Project: “Assessing the chronicity of the HIV-1 myeloid reservoir”

Corbin McElrath

Mentor: Mario Stevenson, Ph.D.
Project: "Identifying the Mechanisms Underlying HIV Disease Progression in Virally Suppressed People who Use Methamphetamine"

Andrea Mirauti

Mentor: George Munson, Ph.D.
Project: "Defining a Novel Lipoprotein Secretion System and its Regulation in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli"

Patricia Murphy

Mentor: Alfred Tector, M.D.
Project: "Evaluating the efficacy of anti-thymocyte globulin in xenotransplant"

Victor Novara Gennuso

Mentor: Alfred Tector, M.D.
Project: "Modulation of the SLA-Bound Peptide Repertoire to Study Pig-to-Human Xenoantigenicity"

Zelmira Nunez Del Prado

Mentor: Thomas Malek, Ph.D.
Project: "The interrelation of TCR and IL-2 signaling in Treg homeostasis and IL-2 therapy"

Marlene Redlich

Mentor: Paolo Serafini, Ph.D.
Project: "Modulating the Fas/FasL Pathway in Type 1 Diabetes via Targeted Nanocarriers to Restore Immune Tolerance"

Justin Ruiz

Mentor: Dionysios Watson, M.D.
Project Title: "Reprogramming Tumor-Associated Macrophages with Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles in NSCLC"

Natalie Ruiz-Ocana

Mentor: Noula Shembade, Ph.D.
Project Title: TBD

Aaron Schultz

Mentor: Alejandro Villarino, Ph.D.
Project: "Somatic STAT3 mutations impel heterodimerization and IL-10 production to promote T cell malignancy"

Constanza Stortini

Mentor: Dr. Pilar Alcaide
Project Title: TBD

Allie Welham

Mentor: Dr. Alice Tomei
Project Title: TBD

Kelli Wysoglad

Mentor: Emmanuel Thomas, M.D., Ph.D., FAASLD
Project: "Determining the Role of Innate Nucleic Acid Sensing Pathways on Antiviral Responses During Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Differentiation to Hepatocytes"

Sujad Younis

Mentor: Natasa Strbo, Ph.D.
Project: "Microbial modulation of gamma delta T cells in wound healing"