Meet the Team

Faculty

 

Juan Manuel Carreño Quiroz, PhD – Research Assistant Professor

Juan Manuel obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and then joined the Arias-Lopez group at the Institute of Biotechnology UNAM to obtain his Master’s Degree. He then pursued his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at the ETH Zurich in Switzerland in the laboratory of Dr. Burkhard Ludewig, and during his studies he focused on the immune responses against Salmonella typhi and the development of vaccines against this pathogen. In the Krammer Laboratory, Juan Manuel oversees and manages the serology core, his work is focused on understanding the immune responses during viral infection and vaccination settings. Outside of the lab, he enjoys to run in central park, to participate in indoor sports, and travel around in his bike. He spends time with family and friends exploring all the culinary, cultural and amusement attractions in NYC.

 

Jordan Clark, PhD – Research Assistant Professor

Jordan Clark graduated from the University of Glasgow with a BSc (Hons) in Genetics in 2014. Following this, he undertook a BBSRC funded collaborative PhD studentship between the Moredun Research Institute and the University of Glasgow. This lasted from 2014 until 2018 and was supervised by Professor Alain Kohl and Dr Roman Biek at the University of Glasgow, and by Dr Colin McInnes at the Moredun Research Institute. This PhD focussed on the characterisation of louping ill virus (LIV), an important but poorly studied animal pathogen in the UK. In 2018 Jordan joined the Molecular Virology Research Group at the University of Liverpool under the supervision of Professor James Stewart. Here, Jordan studied the innate immune protein BPIFA1/SPLUNC1, specifically the mechanism through which this protein inhibits influenza A virus infection in the respiratory tract. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan switched focus to work on elucidating the phenotypic differences between SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in addition to testing antiviral drugs, vaccines, and other therapeutics using animal models. Within the Krammer lab Jordan researches the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and hantaviruses. Outside of science Jordan enjoys films, TV, botany, Buckfast, and watching Scotland be repeatedly humiliated at sports.

 

Research Administrative Staff

 

Ilaria Ceglia, Ph.D. –  Senior Program Manager

Originally from Foggia, a city in the southern-eastern region of Puglia in Italy, Ilaria is an enthusiastic and passionate neuroscientist and neurobiologist. She earned her BSc and MSc in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies at La Sapienza University of Rome and PhD in Pharmacology at the Mario Negri Institute in Milan, Italy. She conducted her post-doctoral and research associate training in the laboratory of the late Dr. Paul Greengard, at the Rockefeller University where she studied novel molecular pathways that affect the progression of neurodegenerative processes. As a Research Assistant Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, Ilaria’s interest was focused on a more clinical translational oriented research by investigating hematological malignancies mechanisms. She returned to Rockefeller University to join the role of Science Informationist, a more project management oriented career pathway position, where she managed multiple databases and projects in the early and late stages of the drug development process. Recently, Ilaria joined the Krammer laboratory as Senior Project Manager where she manages and oversees the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs) program and serves as Quality Control Analyst of Krammer’s Nucleic Acid Production Service (NAPS) facility. She is eager to learn more about viruses and universal vaccines development processes. Away from work, Ilaria enjoys tasting international cuisines and finding the most authentic Italian places in the city, barbeques and happy hours with friends and family, dancing, biking, running in Central Park, cooking, playing and watching soccer – regardless Italy’s qualification to the Word Cup 2022!

 

Bindu Chadaga, MA – Grants Manager and CIVIC Coordinator

Bindu manages the research portfolio and financials for the Krammer lab.  Previously, she served as a Senior Grants Specialist in the Grants and Contracts Office at Mount Sinai and earned degrees from Haverford College and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.  In her free time, Bindu is a printmaker and dreams of owning a really big art studio.

 

Frans Cuevas, MSBME – Data Manager

Frans grew up in Queens, New York and earned her B.S. in Math and Statistics at Stony Brook University. After graduating, she attended Drexel University where she received her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. She was involved in multiple academic projects, some of which included biosimulations of HIV dynamics and bioengineered neural networks used as potential interventions for patients with NDD. Since graduate school, her research interests lie in clinical and epidemiological data. In the future, she hopes to apply her data analysis expertise to public health interventions for underserved communities here in NYC. In her free time, Frans enjoys finding all the best foods in Queens with friends, playing competitive sports and hanging with her family.

 

Na Fatimata Sogodogo – Data Science Analyst

Na Fatimata Sogodogo’s background lies in Public Health and data analysis. She has experience working with data in the healthcare industry and is passionate about analyzing and translating it into key strategic insights that help make evidence-based decisions. Prior to joining the Krammer Lab, she was a data analyst in a Public Health NGO where she was responsible for compiling and analyzing data from a variety of sources to identify trends and patterns, and created reports that helped develop health programs for the disenfranchised communities. In the future, she hopes to specialize in clinical research and make impactful contributions to the development of new vaccines. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and playing tennis.

 

Daniel Caughey – Administrative Coordinator 

Daniel accomplished his BS in Health Policy and Management from Providence College, including a program in Copenhagen, Denmark studying Healthcare Delivery and Prioritization. Prior to his time in the Simon Lab, Daniel worked as a Medical Team Associate in the Boston Children’s Hospital NICU. His research interests include Epidemiology and Global Health, which he hopes to study further in Graduate School in the near future. Outside of the lab, Daniel enjoys running, hiking, and dogs!

 

 

Postdoctoral Fellows

 

Eduard Puente Massaguer, PhD

Eduard received his bachelor’s degree from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where he majored in Biotechnology. He went on to pursue his PhD in Biotechnology working in the development of new generation vaccines based on virus-like particles (VLPs). During his PhD, he visited the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, studying different strategies to produce VLPs at bioreactor scale. Eduard joined the Krammer laboratory to work in the development of universal influenza virus vaccines based on chimeric hemagglutinins in the frame of the CIVICs initiative. Outside of the lab, Eduard enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and exploring the city.

 

Philip Meade, PhD

Philip joined the lab in 2015, defecting from GGS. He has never looked back. Now, he plans to use influenza protein microarrays to answer questions about the antibody response to infection with influenza virus.

 

Irene Hoxie, PhD

Irene earned her B.S from the University of Maryland, studying biology and geology, and did her PhD in biology in Dr. John Dennehy’s lab at the City University of New York, where she focused on Rotaviruses, RNA, and bioinformatics. Her current focuses in the Krammer lab are primarily on neuraminidase-based Influenza vaccines and next-generation sequencing. Outside of the lab, Irene enjoys hiking, painting, bar crawling, and caring for her various pets (pictured above).

 

Nisreen Okba, PhD

Nisreen Okba graduated from the faculty of pharmacy, Tanta University with with a BSc (Hons) in pharmaceutical sciences. Following that, she worked as a pharmacist at the Ministry of health Egypt and then as a teaching assistant at the Microbiology Dept., Faculty of pharmacy, Al-Azhar University. Meanwhile, she obtained a MSc. in pharmaceutical microbiology from faculty of pharmacy, Tanta university. Her interest in virology started when she met her former supervisor Dr. Ali Zaki, who had first discovered MERS-CoV. She then joined the Viroscience dept., Erasmus Medical Center as a visiting researcher and later as a phD and postdoc. to work with on coronaviruses. Her phD project (ZAPI), under the supervision on Dr. Bart Haagmans and Prof. Marion Koopmans, focused on the development of platforms for rapid responses against zoonotic infections, where her focus was on MERS-CoV. Her work involved understanding immune responses to MERS-CoV, development of immunological assays, antibodies/nanobodies and protein-based vaccines. In Jan. 2020, with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she started as a postdoc at the same department. She was heavily involved in SARS-CoV-2 related work including assay set up, understanding immune responses, development and characterization of antibodies and vaccines. In the Krammer lab, Nisreen will focus on broadly reactive vaccines and antibodies for Influenza and Coronaviruses. Outside work, Nisreen enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and hiking.

 

Anass Abbad, PhD

Anass is from Rabat, Morocco. He graduated from Abdelmalik Essaadi University majored his Bachelor degree in Bioengineering and his Master degree in Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology. Afterwards, he decided to pursue a PhD program in Virology at Hassan II University and Pasteur Institute Morocco. His PhD work focused on serological characterization of the emerging MERS-CoV in high-risk areas of Morocco and the impact of the human receptor DPP4 genetic variability in binding to MERS-CoV Spike protein. Anass recently joined the Krammer lab serology core to participate in the characterization of the immune response of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza virus, in addition to study the cross-reaction antibody response of the Sarbecovirus. During leisure time, Anass enjoys spending time with family and friends around tasty meals, roam in NYC to discover new cultures and go for a run in Central park.

 

Kirill Vasilev, PhD

Graduated from St. Petersburg State University (Russia) in 2014 with BSc in Biology. In 2016 obtained an MSc at the same university. From 2016 until 2020 worked on PhD thesis under the supervision of Dr. Andrey Egorov at the Research Institute of Influenza. The PhD project was devoted to the investigation of immunogenic properties of NS1-truncated influenza viruses. Also participated in various research on the postvaccinal immune response to influenza-based viral vectors. The work in Dr. Krammer’s laboratory will be mainly focused on T-cellular immune response analysis on vaccination and viral infections in animal models. Outside work enjoys reading, cooking, and long walks.

 

Michael J Scherm, PhD

Born and bred in Frankfurt am Main, Michael moved to the north of Germany and graduated from Jacobs University Bremen with a BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology working on biomolecule micropatterning to investigate MHC Class I at the cell surface. During his BSc he visited abroad and spent several months in the laboratory of Sir Prof Tom Blundell at the University of Cambridge working on the tumour suppressor BRCA1 and associated protein complexes. Following this, he decided to honor his heritage as a German-Brit and move there for his further education at the University of Cambridge. At the Department of Biochemistry in the group of Prof Nicholas J Gay he conducted a research MPhil in the field of structural innate immunity and investigated how ligands such as the architectural transcription factor HMGB1 can activate Toll-like receptors leading to sterile inflammation. Following his MPhil, he continued with his PhD under Prof Gay to study the interaction between the Ebola virus spike glycoprotein and Toll-like receptor 4, the main driving force of haemorrhagic fever during Ebola virus infection and cause of death in severe cases. During the pandemic induced by SARS-CoV-2, his fascination with viruses and vaccines grew infinitely and he decided to move across the pond in order to work in the laboratory of Prof. Florian Krammer. Within the Krammer lab, Michael works on the SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza vaccines and perhaps even snake venom. When not wearing a lab coat, Michael enjoys culinary experimentation with fermentation among other things, adventurous mixing of alcoholic solutions and the odd cultural thing such as concerts, festivals, and comedy.

 

Garazi Peña Alzua, PhD

Garazi grew up in Donostia, a small city located in the Basque Country. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Navarra. Later, she furthered her academic career and earned a Master’s and PhD degree from the University of Copenhagen. For the past five years, she has been working on the identification of novel neutralization epitopes of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and developing an inactivated HCV vaccine. Presently, Garazi is engaged in exploring new viruses and challenges to find a cure for emerging viral diseases. She is a positive person, who enjoys dancing, hiking, and many other indoor and outdoor activities outside work.

 

Research Associates & Scientists

 

Gagandeep Singh- Assistant Scientist

Gagandeep Singh grew up in Punjab, India where he completed his studies in Forensic Science and Human Genetics from Panjab University, Chandigarh. In his path as a human geneticist, he studied genetic diversity and structure of different population groups of India. Before joining the Krammer lab, he was working as a Forensic Biologist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) where he gained experience in Wildlife Forensics and Conservation. Outside of work, Gagandeep is very passionate about cooking and enjoys the company of nature.

                       

Disha Bhavsar, MS

Disha completed her undergraduate degree in India in 2015 and decided to continue with her scientific studies by attending graduate school in the USA. She earned her master’s degree in Biotechnology from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2018. During her master’s degree, she worked on the properties and cross-linking in the proteins found in Alzheimer’s plaques. In her time outside the lab, she likes to explore new places and undertake different activities, like hiking.

 

Madhumathi Loganathan 

Madhu earned her Bachelor of Technology degree in Biotechnology in India and did her Master’s in cellular and molecular biology at Long Island University. Later, she worked in infection control at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In the Krammer Lab, she is working on cloning and recombinant viral proteins production in insect cell lines. In her spare time, Madhu enjoys exploring new places.

 

Benjamin Francis

Ben is a recent graduate of Brandeis University. He majored in Biology, taking interest in his molecular biology course and microbiology project lab in his last semester of his senior year. Continuing that interest, he is excited to begin his career in the Krammer Lab where he will work in the protein and baculovirus department. Other than biology, he was the captain of the Brandeis University Swimming and Diving Team and in his down time he enjoys playing the saxophone, staying active, playing video games, and cooking.

 

                                    

Kaitlyn Bushfield

Kaitlyn recently completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the New School where she majored in Interdisciplinary Science and minored in Psychology. She is thrilled to continue her research career at Krammer Laboratory where her primary focus is next-generation sequencing. Kaitlyn’s research interests lie at the intersection of communicable disease and novel therapeutics as well as achieving equity in their production and distribution. Outside of the lab, Kaitlyn enjoys drawing, collaging, reading, spending time with friends, and enjoying the outdoors on the West and East coast.

                               

Temima Yellin

Temima Yellin recently graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva University where she studied molecular and cellular biology. Previously, she worked at NYU researching ancient genomic adaptations. She is currently a member of the Krammer lab’s serology core where she is researching the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Outside of the lab, Temima enjoys cooking, photography, and attempting the New York Time’s crossword.

 

Brian Monahan, MS

Brian grew up on Long Island and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Maine in microbiology working with influenza and innate immunity. Continuing his education he just recently graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst with a Masters of science in Public Health: Epidemiology. During his time at UMass he conducted research within the subject of Autoimmune Diseases, and Thyroid Conditions. Brian has general research interests in statistics and modeling within the public health sphere as well as mechanisms of action of pathogens with a special love for viral pathogens. When not working he can be found, volunteering as an EMT, Taking pictures, or playing games.

                                  

Miriam Fried

Miriam graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Yeshiva University in NYC and is currently pursuing her MS in Biotechnology at The Katz School of Science and Health. She recently joined the Krammer Lab in the serology core where she is studying the immune response to the Sars-CoV-2 virus. She is interested in protein expression and is excited to learn more about its application in the biotech field. In her free time, you can find Miriam traveling, reading, or hanging out with her friends. 

 

Jeremy Yong

Born in Mount Sinai and raised in NYC, Jeremy would continue his tour of New York by earning his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences at Cornell University in 2020. From an early age, he has been passionate about science and the natural world; his experiences, most notably as an Organic Chemistry Tutor at Cornell, allowed him to realize an additional passion for helping others. This led Jeremy to pursue a career in academia, where he spent two years attaining a Master’s in Teaching while teaching eighth-grade science. Now, returning to Mount Sinai, Jeremy is seeking to help others by working as a research associate at the Krammer Lab. Outside of the lab, Jeremy can be found getting buckets, playing video games, painting, or enjoying movies.

 

     Visiting Researchers

 

Robert Hoezl, MS

Robert grew up in Upper Austria surrounded by cats, chickens and avian influenza. At the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, he began his bachelor’s program in biotechnology and food science with a focus on brewing beer and improving yeast promoters. His Masters started out with trying to bake sourdough bread during the pandemic and then shifted to working in the lab of Gordana Wozniak-Knopp and Florian Rueker on the affinity improvement of an antibody binding the major apple allergen. He is now looking forward to start working on a universal influenza vaccine in the Krammer lab.

 

Robert Andreata-Santos, PhD

Born in a small town in the Brazilian Northeast, Robert graduated in Biomedical Sciences at the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC, BA, Brazil) after a 10-month stay at the University of Aveiro (UA, Portugal). The intention to work with the development of tools for the control of human pathogens led Robert to the University of Sao Paulo (USP, SP, Brazil. Here, he got his master’s degree after working with the development of dengue vaccines and their application without the use of needles through the transcutaneous route. Robert’s PhD project focused on the development of serological assays against Dengue, Zika, and Chikungya viruses, in Elisa and multiplex assays, which led him to a short stay at the Pasteur Institute of Paris, France. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Robert focused on work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP, SP, Brazil), with the aim to evaluate the immunological responses raised after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. His postdoc work led to a stay in the Krammer lab to investigate possible escape mutants that can trigger new COVID-19 waves as variants of concern. Out of the lab Robert enjoys games, films, TV, cats, and his family.