Alumni
Luiza Samora received her BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona. She joined the Ahmad lab in the beginning of 2020 as a graduate student volunteer and is working on determining the immunological and genetic factors of HIV-1 in HIV-infected patients. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, traveling and watching tv shows.
Doyle Lab
Frelinger Lab
Assistant Research Specialist-Daniel completed his PhD in 2011 on Structural Modifications of LPS with Bob Ernst at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. His current interests center on the regulation of host adaptive responses by commensal and pathogenic bacteria. In his free time, Daniel enjoys cooking and hiking with his kids.
Harris Lab
Undergraduate Student
Undergraduate Student
Graduate Student
Research Specialist
Senior Technician
Kunhs Lab
Graduate Student
Research Technician
Research Technician
Research Technician
Graduate Student
Nikolich-Zugich Lab
Assistant Professor, Grand Valley State University https://www.gvsu.edu/bms/kristin-renkema-280.htm
Senior Scientist, Vir Biotechnology Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-smithey-9496b88/
MD, PhD Candidate Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai https://mcb.arizona.edu/news/2018/justin-frere-loves-lab-and-feeling-mutual
Chris Coplen obtained his BS in Biology at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. In 2018, he joined the Nikolich-Zugich lab as a doctoral student and began his work investigating the molecular mechanisms which underlie age-related alterations in T cell receptor repertoires. Outside of lab he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, and playing music.
Research Associate
Postdoctoral Fellow, National Cancer Institute
Postdoctoral Associate, Yale School of Medicine https://medicine.yale.edu/immuno/programs/e_goldberg-2.profile
PhD Candidate, University of Arizona - Cancer Biology
Senior Design Quality Engineer, Ventana Medical Systems https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-thompson-b1154b14/
Arveen Asghar is currently a Junior at the University of Arizona working towards a BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Nutrition. Arveen is an undergraduate lab assistant working under MladenJergovic investigating the molecular mechanisms behind age-dependant vulnerabilities to infection with intracellular pathogens. When not studying, Arveen loves to be outdoors, travel, and explore new places!
Yvonne is responsible for subject recruitment, consenting, phlebotomy and coordination of all clinical research studies performed in the lab. Outside of work you can find her in the gym, listening to a medical related podcast, or like any other sport mom at the ball field cheering for her 2 kids.
Elana Terner is an undergraduate at the University of Arizona who is in the process of obtaining a BS in Microbiology. She joined the Nikolich-Zugich lab in 2019 as an undergraduate student volunteer. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing, and exploring Tucson.
Faith Warner is currently a junior at the University of Arizona and is working towards a BS in Microbiology. She is a student volunteer in the Nikolich-Zugich lab studying under Ilijia Jeftic to understand the mechanism of age-related lymph node fibrosis. When not studying, Faith is reading a good mystery book, playing basketball, or hiking around Tucson.
April will be graduating from the University of Arizona College of Public Health with a Masters in Public Health in May 2020, and is the program manager for the Personalized Defense Initiative. She is a Tucson native who enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs, reading, and being outdoors.
Schenten Lab
Research Technician. Current position: Medical Student at University of Massachusetts, Worchester
Current position: Graduate Student at University of Massachusetts, Worchester
Research Technician
Wu Lab
Postdoctoral Research Associate I
Graduate Student
Research Technician
Post Doctoral Research Associate-I
Laboratory Manager
Postdoctoral Research Associate I
Laboratory Manager
Campos Lab
Graduate Student
Postdoctoral Research Associate I
Masters Student
Graduate Assistant, Research
Goodrum Lab
Graduate Student
Graduate Student
Postdoctoral
Graduate Student
Sebastian received his BS in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona. He is interested in how HCMV fine-tunes signaling pathways through differential receptor trafficking. When not “Science-ing”, Sebastian enjoys judo, writing, and pointing out that climate change is real.
Koshy Lab
Postdoctoral Fellow, Lab of Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti (Dept of Immunology, St Jude's Children's Research Hospital)
Anthony "AJ" Aguilar is a freshman majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology as well as Microbiology. Given his majors, he is passionate about the molecular mechanisms behind human health conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. In the past, AJ has conducted research regarding transgenic mosquitoes and the malaria parasite. Wanting to explore more about human health from a new lens, AJ joined the lab in Fall 2018. In his free time, AJ loves to enjoy the outdoors, travel, and has worked with the KEYS research internship as a KEYS Crew mentor to high school students. In the future, AJ plans to pursue a career in medical research by obtaining his PhD and/or MD after his undergraduate years.
Emily graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Biochemistry in 2010. After working in an environmental chemistry company in Wilmington, NC, and a subsequent stay in genetics lab of Dr. Ann Stapleton at UNC-Wilmington, Emily applied for graduate school at the University of Arizona. She joined the fun, yet stimulating Koshy lab in 2016. The focus of her research is to study how toxoplasma gondii infection modulates host pathways in Alzheimer's Disease.
Purdy Lab
Graduate Student
Scientific Investigator
Undergraduate Student
Ian received his BS from the University of Arizona in 2018 where he studied Psychology with a minor in Microbiology. Ian has long been fascinated with virology as both a science as well as its place in science fiction books/movies/games. He joined the lab of Dr. John Purdy in 2019 working with HCMV. In his free time, Ian enjoys off-roading with his Jeep, reading, painting, or playing video games.
Andrea is currently a junior at the University of Arizona Honors College, majoring in physiology and minoring in psychology! In her free time, she enjoys cooking/baking and staying active.
Yuecheng received a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from University of Toledo in 2015. She joined Dr. John Purdy's lab in 2017 and completed her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2021. Yuecheng is currently working on the role of lipid and fatty acid metabolism in HCMV replication. In her leisure time, she likes to cook chinese food and play with her dogs.
So Lab
Undergraduate Student
Undergraduate Student
Undergraduate Student
Graduate Student
Undergraduate Student
Kizzy is double majoring in Microbiology and Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Psychology. She is interested in pursuing higher education in Immunology and Microbiology.
Andrew is a Physiology major at the University of Arizona and plans on pursuing a career in medicine after he graduates. Being a Tucson native, he enjoys volunteering at local organizations such as Tu Nidito Children and Family Services and relishing in the intrinsic beauty of the Tucson desert through frequent hiking.
Johnson Lab
Professional Science Masters (PSM), Applied Bioscience Program 2018
Professional Science Masters (PSM), Applied Bioscience Program 2018
BS, Biochemistry 2018
Professional Science Masters (PSM), Applied Bioscience Program 2019
BS, Biochemistry 2019
Henrik received his BS in Biology from the University of Utah in 2016. He joined Dr. Johnson's lab in March of 2018 and is pursuing a PhD in Molecular Medicine – Immunobiology. He is interested in identifying and understanding bacterial pathways utilized in overcoming copper stress. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, playing board games, and solving puzzles.
Volunteer
Nadia received her bachelor's degree in Public Health Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. At Maryland, she was a part of the Women's Track and Field team and other student organizations. She is planning to attend medical school. When she is not in the lab, you will find her running, cooking, hiking, or vlogging.
Sanjay Menghani grew up in Vineland, NJ and received his bachelor's degree from UPenn in biochemistry and economics. During his undergrad years, he spent time working in the lab of Dr. Sara Cherry, a renowned virologist and microbiologist. In her lab, he studied Rift Valley fever virus and innate mechanisms of antiviral defense. After spending a year working at the NIH Clinical Center as a Post baccalaureate IRTA Fellow, he moved to Tucson to begin his MD/PhD training at the University of Arizona. After completing his first 2 years of medical school, Sanjay officially joined the Johnson Lab and is working towards his PhD in Immunobiology. Sanjay is interested in understanding infections from both the host cell and pathogen's perspectives. In the Johnson Lab, he will venture to better understand the role of copper and other metals in the infection process, with the end goal of helping to develop novel therapeutic strategies against bacterial infections that he can bring to the bedside down the road.
Miranda Neubert received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Boston University. After working in Neuroscience at OHSU and the Portland VA Medical Center for over 10 years, Miranda enthusiastically joined the Johnson Lab in July 2016. In her spare time, Miranda enjoys organizing large art projects, gardening, cooking and hiking.
Chansorena received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Arizona in 2019. She joined the lab in June 2020 as a Master’s student in the Applied Biosciences program. She is interested in identifying novel therapeutics to treat infectious diseases. In her spare time, she enjoys art, exploring new food places, reading, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Alison Watson received her Bachelor's degree in Biology from Northern Arizona University. In 2019, she joined the Johnson lab as a Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) student at the University of Arizona. Outside of lab, she enjoys traveling, watching Taika Waititi movies, and hanging out with her cat.
Bhattacharya Lab
Current position: Graduate student, University of Pittsburgh
Current Position: Staff Scientist, University of Virginia
Current Position: Senior Research Technician, Washington University in St. Louis
Current position: Orthopedic surgeon, University of California, Davis
Current position: Senior Scientist, Amgen
Current position: Lab Director, Nestle Purina
Current Position: Research Associate, Ventana Medical Systems
Current position: Senior Scientist, Intellia Therapeutics
Current Position: Medical student, New York University
Current Position: Postdoctoral fellow, with a joint position between Stanford University and Amgen
Current Position: Graduate student, Washington University in St. Louis
Bao grew up in Vietnam, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with his family when he was 14. He attended UC Berkeley and did his undergraduate research in Dr. Christopher Chang's lab studying copper biology in biological systems. After graduation, he worked at UC San Francisco in Dr. Stephen Floor's lab studying mRNAs. There, he had his first experience working with gene editing and stem cells, which he intended to study for his PhD in Dr. Bhattacharya's lab.
Moving to Arizona was a big change for him, but the community of students and faculty at the UA MD/PhD program was so welcoming, making him feel at home. He found groups of amazing and supportive friends and mentors whom he can rely on. In his first years of medical school, he had wonderful opportunities to immerse himself in a great line of healthcare community service activities. He worked with the Shubitz free family care clinic every month where he got the chance to practice his medical interview and physical exam skills with experienced third and fourth year medical students. One of the most rewarding medical experiences he ever had was traveling to Rocky Point, Mexico with MexZona, a non-profit organization that offers monthly free family care to the community. He was with a group of medical students, undergraduates, physicians, nurses and pharmacists who served over 100 patients that day. He is excited to start his PhD journey and is looking forward to a lot of pipetting!
In his free time, Bao enjoys watching TV shows and movies, especially anything horror-related. He is a foodie and has been pleasantly surprised at the food scene here in Tucson. Reach out to him if you need recommendations - ramen, curry katsu, KBBQ , pho, Indian food... you name it!
Current Position: Research Associate, Ventana Medical Systems
Current Position: Senior Scientist, New York Stem Cell Foundation Laboratories
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.
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Vir Biotechnology
Wilson Lab
Shrikant Lab
Research Specialist, Principal