Contact Information
Program Director
- Co-Director, Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis PhD Program
- Associate Professor
233 S. Tenth Street
Bluemle Life Sciences Building, Room 750
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Program Director
- Co-Director, Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis PhD Program
- Associate Professor
233 S. 10th Street, 730 BLSB
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Program Coordinator
1020 Locust Street
M-46 JAH
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Connect with Us
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Current Students
Trevor Baybutt
Adam Snook Laboratory
Trevor.Baybutt@students.jefferson.edu
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. My project focuses on understanding how chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy can be implemented to treat metastatic colorectal cancer using patient-derived models.
Nathalia Benavides
Claudio Giraudo Laboratory
Nathalia.Benavides@students.jefferson.edu
Project description: The synaptic membrane is highly dynamic and upon immune synapse polarization requires rapid replenishment as well as regulation of necessary lipids for continuous signaling. I am interested in characterizing the role of Extended-Synaptotagmins in human cytotoxic T lymphocytes during the immunological synapse formation.
Adam Haines
Fabienne Paumet Laboratory
Adam.Haines@students.jefferson.edu
The eukaryotic cytoskeleton is an incredibly dynamic system that is vital to the proper function of the cell, and has subsequently become a common target for many pathogenic bacteria. Chlamydia trachomatis, the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease, manipulates the host cytoskeleton to enhance its survival and pathogenicity. I am studying the molecular machinery that Chlamydia utilizes to reorganize the cytoskeleton in an attempt to better understand its complex survival strategies.
Christopher Herbst
Botond Igyártó Laboratory
Daniel Hwang
Abdolmohamad Rostami Laboratory
Daniel.Hwang@students.jefferson.edu
Myeloid cells are the most prevalent cell type found in active lesions in the brains of multiple sclerosis patients. My research interests are in understanding how myeloid cells mediate pathology in multiple sclerosis and developing methods for targeting them in a clinical setting.
Saul Kushinsky (MD/PhD)
Christine Eischen Laboratory
Saul.Kushinsky@students.jefferson.edu
I am focusing on understanding the contributions of the DNA replication stress response to hematopoiesis and the effects of different replication stressors on developing hematopoietic cells.
Christine Linton
Fabienne Paumet Laboratory
Christine.Linton@students.jefferson.edu
Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen responsible for significant disease burden as a sexually transmitted infection and as the leading cause of infectious blindness. This bacterial pathogen survives inside its host cell, causing dramatic cellular rearrangements to establish an inclusion in which to grow, replicate, and evade host immune detection. My project focuses on a chlamydial fusion protein involved in inclusion dynamics and the functional consequences of inclusion fusion on pathogenesis.
Shannon Mcgettigan
Gudrun Debes Laboratory
Shannon.Mcgettigan@students.jefferson.edu
IL-10 producing B cells are important in regulating the immune response in autoimmune diseases and cancers, but the signals that control their development are not well understood. I am studying the mechanisms through which IL-10 positive B cells are generated and maintained.
Shantel Rios
Matthias Schnell Laboratory
Shantel.Rios@students.jefferson.edu
My project aids in the development of Rhabdoviral-based Lyme disease vaccines utilizing Borrelia burgdorferi and deer tick antigens.
Nathan Ryan
David Abraham Laboratory
Nathan.Ryan@students.jefferson.edu
Onchocerciasis is a debilitating neglected tropical disease caused by the filarial nematode Onchocerca volvulus. Over the past several years, the Abraham Lab and various collaborators have developed a bivalent, recombinant antigen vaccine that has been shown to induce a protective immune response in various animal models. My project aims to understand the mechanism in which the Onchocerca Vaccine induces protective immunity and how this knowledge can be applied to understanding the broader interaction between the immune system and parasitic nematodes.
Gabrielle (Gabby) Scher
Matthias Schnell Laboratory
Gabrielle.Scher@students.jefferson.edu
I'm developing Rhabdoviral-based vaccines against Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and investigating the immune responses elicited by my vaccine.
Lauren Springer
Christopher Snyder Laboratory
Lauren.Springer@students.jefferson.edu
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) establishes lifelong infection through viral latency and persistence in mucosal tissues, but the mechanisms are not well understood. I am investigating the role of specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators, which modulate tissue homeostasis, on CMV persistence in mucosal tissue, particularly focusing on the nasal mucosa.
Catherine Yankowski
Matthias Schnell Laboratory
Catherine.Yankwoski@students.jefferson.edu
I am investigating the correlates of protection to a Rabies virus-based Ebola vaccine.