People
Research in the Bhattacharya Lab merges the fields of stem cell biology and immunology to understand the basic biology of lymphocyte development, and to develop creative translational strategies to combat infectious disease.
Lucas received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Mumbai and went on to complete his Ph.D. from the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi in 2016. He joined the lab in 2017 and since has been working to define why certain antibody specificities dominate an immune response to viral infections, and how the plasma cells that produce these antibodies persist. Outside of the lab, he enjoys going to movies, exploring new locations and cultures as well as enjoying the local cuisine.
Diana received her Bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and joined the lab in 2017. Diana is working on generating new antimicrobial antibodies and ways to manipulate the intestinal microbiome.
Hannah received her Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and is currently a PhD student in the graduate program of Washington University in St. Louis. She moved with the Bhattacharya lab in 2017 to continue working on her thesis project. Hannah is establishing the metabolic mechanisms of stem cell differentiation and designing strategies to overcoming immune barriers to stem cell transplantation.
Kelvin received his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2010 from the University of Oregon. After this, he obtained his ESL teaching certificate and worked abroad as an English teacher in Prague, CR, and then as a high school science teacher in Bangkok, TH. In 2014, Kelvin moved back to Arizona and received an MS in Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University under Dr. Diane Stearns Studying Uranium Toxicity. Since then, Kelvin has been at the University of Arizona. As a technician, he studied drug resistance mechanisms in pancreatic cancer under Dr. Terry Landowski until joining the lab of Dr. Nathan Ellis in 2015, where he studied DNA repair in human cancers. Kelvin received his PhD in 2019 and is currently helping establish a collaborative project between the Thorne/Bhattacharya groups to develop new ways to target colon cancer using patient specific neoantigen signatures. When not doing experiments, Kelvin basks in the greatest town on the planet, where he enjoys photography, rock climbing, eating tacos, and hanging out with his dog Winston.
Tyler grew up in Hastings, Nebraska before attending Midland University, where he graduated in 2017 with a B.S. in Biology. He entered the ABBS program and joined the Bhattacharya lab in March of 2018. Tyler’s work focuses primarily on better understanding the mechanisms related to transcription factors that affect antibody responses in plasma cells and memory B-cells. Outside of science, Tyler enjoys sports, movies, and the many restaurants of Tucson.
Ran (Ryan) Wei was from originally from Guangzhou, China. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 2017 with BS in Biology. In 2019, he joined Bhattacharya lab as a research technician, where he is currently investigating the genetic pathway of stem cell differentiation into plasma cell. Outside of work, he enjoys movies, TV shows, workout and riding his motorcycle on the Mt. Lemmon.
Rachel received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and is currently a PhD student in the graduate program of Washington University in St. Louis. She moved with the Bhattacharya lab in 2017 to continue working on her thesis project. Rachel is defining how antibody immunity to diverse viruses is achieved. Outside the lab, Rachel enjoys horseback riding, volleyball, and board games.