Meet the Lab

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.

 

Eduard Puente Massaguer, PhD – Research Assistant Professor

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.

 

Nisreen Okba, PhD – Research Assistant Professor

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.

 

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. Bindu is also a jewelry designer and printmaker in her spare time, and dreams of owning her own art studio.

 

 

 

Leonardo Imatani – Program Manager, NDV-HXP-S

Leonardo “Leo” Imatani is an organizational development executive with over 15 years of experience in driving cultural change, departmental proficiency, and overall growth and performance. He thrives on collaboration, possesses a keen sense of intuition, and is known for his solution-driven approach.  He currently administratively manages the NDV-HXP-S program in Dr. Florian Krammer’s laboratory.  Before his role in the Department of Microbiology, Leo served as the Research Program Director for the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at the Tisch Cancer Institute. Beyond his professional pursuits, Leo’s interests span travel, culinary adventures, art (from mainstream to pop culture), movies, music, graphic design, and technology.  He may not be a scientist, but he’s a passionate supporter of scientific growth, engaging with scientists who share their work with infectious enthusiasm. With a blend of professionalism and a touch of fun, Leo adds a creative spark to his life and work.

 

 

Frans Cuevas, MSBME – Data Science Analyst 

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

 

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).

 

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.

 

 

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

 

Rajagowthamee R.Thangavel – Associate Scientist, PhD

Gowthamee is from Tamilnadu, South India, where she completed a master’s in Life Sciences, with a specialization in Animal Sciences, at Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappali. Her master’s thesis was completed at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India, and focused on the effects of low dose radiation on immune system. She moved to the United States to pursue her graduate school, and has a master’s and Ph.D. in Microbiology, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi. Her work primarily focused on influenza viruses; for her master’s, she completed a thesis, on the innate immune response to influenza virus in mouse model and for her Ph.D., she focused on understanding the selective forces involved in influenza virus evolution in a cell culture model, in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen. J. Stray. She briefly worked on epigenetics, in the laboratories of Dr. Naila Mamoon, Milsaps Collage, Jackson, Mississippi, and Dr. David Sidransky, Dept of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. For her post-doctoral fellowship, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Nicole. M. Bouvier, Dept of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, and worked on understanding the transcriptomic changes following influenza virus infection in animal models, and developed primary cell culture model for guinea pig respiratory tract. In her current role, she will focus on understanding influenza virus transmission in guinea pig model. She enjoys politics, non-fiction, music, movies and hiking.

 

Gagandeep Singh – Associate Scientist, PhD

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.                                       

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, MS

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.

 

Josh Yueh

Josh’s journey began in Durham, North Carolina, where he was born and raised. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in genetics and honed his skills in biotechnology as a minor field of study at North Carolina State University. During his time at NC State, Josh became a member of the Plant and Virus Vector Interactions lab where he worked on the transient expression of thrips salivary genes in tomato and tobacco crops. Outside of the laboratory he is a passionate outdoors enthusiast, seizing every opportunity to connect with nature. In the warm months, you’ll often find him on the tennis court, hiking trails, or navigating the thrilling rapids while whitewater kayaking. When winter blankets the landscape with snow, Josh swaps his paddles for his snowboard and skis, carving his way down the mountain. Josh is an expert in getting lost in the woods, occasionally being able to find his way back out.

 

Brian Lerman

Brian recently graduated from Yeshiva College with a degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Chemistry. He looks forward to the work he will be doing with his colleagues in the Krammer Laboratory. In the future he looks to enter the public health and public service sector and continue to work towards health equity and progress. Brian enjoys spending time with his family, in the outdoors, and reading all kinds of things.

 

 

     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.