“Behind every great idea, there’s a great team.”
Dabeiba Bernal Rubio
Senior Associate Researcher
Lab Manager
As a lab manager, I provide technical and administrative support to ensure smooth daily lab operations. I have previous experience in clinical laboratory in Colombia and USA as managing a Core Facility at NYU. Outside of the lab, I enjoy walk in this beautiful city that changes and amazes me constantly. Big fan of stand-up comedy, concerts, good food and gardening. I am proud to be a NYC marathon finisher. I live by a motto my “mami “taught me and had served me so much: Do it! Do it right away. Do not Procrastinate.
Tarrell Malloy
Program Coordinator
tarrell.malloy@mssm.edu | (212)241-0852
“My main role is to manage the multi-investigator project DHIPC, organize conference calls and coordinate all the needs for the different groups involved. I act as the liaison between the investigators and the administrative and financial offices both at ISMMS and the NIH. I also manage all the other projects of Dr. Fernandez-Sesma and assist Dr. Fernandez-Sesma and her team with grant submissions and scheduling”.
Rafael Fenutria, PhD
Associate Scientist
“My major area of interest is to understand the earliest events that occur when flaviviruses interact with human immune cells, and trying to understand the mechanistic details by which flaviviruses modulate human immune responses. We are also working to develop a novel (improved) mouse model for immunological evaluation of flavivirus infection”.
Victoria Zyulina, MD PhD
Assistant professor
https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriazyulina/
She is a medical doctor who received her PhD training in Human Medicine at Medical University of Graz, Austria where she gained expertise on immune cell development and role of miRNAs in regulating human immune cell fate in human and mice. She further advanced her immunology training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, where her research focused on investigating how the lupus skin environment contributes to Langerhans cell dysfunction. Currently, Victoria is a Research Assistant Professor in the Fernandez-Sesma Laboratory, where she applies her expertise in immunology to study mechanisms of innate immunity in the context of Influenza and Dengue viruses. In the lab, she integrates innovative techniques, including the use of hematopoietic stem cell-derived dendritic cells, to better understand viral pathogenesis with the ultimate goal of developing more targeted therapeutics. In addition to her research, Victoria oversees and manages the Immune Phenotyping Core and teaches at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at ISSMS. Outside the lab, she is passionate about skiing, going to art museums and semi-professionally dancing west coast swing. In her free time, she’s also learning Spanish and enjoys practicing new words with the team.
Danielle Novillo, MS
Associate Researcher I
Danielle grew up in Cuenca, Ecuador, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Politecnica Salesiana University. She also earned an MS in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine from Cantabria University in Santander, Spain. Danielle’s research focuses on the interaction of human immune cells with the Dengue virus, aiming to better understand the immune response and potential therapeutic strategies. Outside of the lab, she is a passionate soccer fan, with a special love for Real Madrid. She also enjoys traveling, exploring different cultures, discovering new foods, and watching movies.
Jeury Veloz
PhD Student
Jeury (He/Him/His) is a PhD candidate in the Sesma lab. He grew up in Brooklyn, NYC and graduated with a bachelors degree in biology from the City College of New York (CUNY). Jeury is interested in studying the innate immune response to arthritogenic alpha viruses like Chikungunya virus and Mayaro virus in a primary human macrophage model. He is also part of the QCRG-AViDD team, a collaborative inter-institution research program focused on developing and characterizing therapeutics for RNA viruses of pandemic concern. Outside of the lab, Jeury enjoys to travel and plays shortstop for the New York Groove, an uptown born amateur baseball team part of NYC’s growing sandlot baseball community. In addition to pursuing his MLB dreams, Jeury plans to continue his career in infectious disease research in the public health, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries.
Eva Chebishev
PhD student
Hi I’m Eva and I’m a PhD candidate in the Fernandez-Sesma lab. My research focuses on the immune response to Dengue virus and what drives the high immunogenicity and pro-inflammatory immune signature we see in DENV-4 infections, with hopes of creating a safe, effective vaccine that is protective against all four serotypes of DENV. Outside of the lab, I dabble in scientific outreach and communication. I was an attendee of ComSciCon-Flagship-2024 and most recently, been featured on the podcasts “The Story Collider: Stories about Science” and “Mattsplaining”. My dream is to do science communication through a musical theatre lens, and to this end, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to perform Off-Broadway in Lifeline The Musical, which tells the story of Alexander Fleming’s discovery of Penicillin and the ongoing, rising global threat of antimicrobial resistance (lifelinemusical.com). I also like playing DnD, singing any chance I get, and attending live performances. Lastly, I am a diversity and disability advocate for equal opportunities in science.
Vrushali Dhamapurkar
Master Student
vrushali.dhamapurkar@icahn.mssm.edu
Vrushali is a microbiologist currently working in a Virology and Immunology lab. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Microbiology from the University of Mumbai, India, and is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her research focuses on understanding innate and adaptive immune responses to Influenza viruses in primary human systems.
ALUMNI
Uma Potla, MS, Associate Researcher, 2015-2019
Former Postdoctoral Fellows:
Annika Hunziker, PhD
Irene Sanchez Martin, PhD
Sebastian Aguirre, PhD
Irene Ramos, PhD
Ana Maestre, PhD
Eric F. Mayer, MD, MSc
Kevin Maringer, PhD
Juan R. Rodriguez-Madoz, PhD
Graduate Students
Jessica Pintado, PhD (graduated 2023)
Tinaye Mutetwa, MSc, (graduated 2019)
Rebecca Hamlin, MD (graduated 2018), PhD (awarded 2016)
Edwin Carbajal, PREP (2015-2017)
Anthony Fredericks, MSBS (graduated 2015)
Sarah Pagni, PhD, MPH (PhD awarded 2013)
Phoenix Bell, MSBS (2012)
Timothy Savage, MSBS (2010)