Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Irene González-Domínguez, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor in Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, developing innovative preventive and therapeutic strategies against viral infections with a focus on vaccine design and immunotherapeutics. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in the molecular design of virus-like particles, viral vector vaccine platforms such as NDV, and preclinical models for efficacy testing. Her current research targets universal influenza vaccines and treatments for persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections in immunocompromised individuals. Originally from Valencia, Spain, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology there before completing a Master’s in Nanotechnology and a PhD in Biotechnology (cum laude) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Dr. González-Domínguez is an inventor on multiple vaccine-related patents and has published in leading journals including Nature Communications, Science Translational Medicine, and npj Vaccines. She also serves as General Secretary of ECUSA and is an active mentor to emerging biomedical scientists.
Assistant Scientist
José Luis Martínez-Guevara earned his Ph.D. in Biochemical Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where his research focused on virus–host interactions regulating the assembly of rotavirus particles, a major cause of severe gastroenteritis in children.
He joined Mount Sinai as a postdoctoral fellow, where he expanded his research focus to viral immunology and vaccine development. His work has contributed to the design and evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines based on the NDV-HXP-S platform and to universal influenza vaccine strategies using hemagglutinin mosaic constructs to redirect antibody responses toward conserved viral epitopes.
In his current role, his research centers on characterizing antibody responses to viral antigens in human and animal models. His work includes dissecting the immunodominance of influenza hemagglutinin antigenic sites, evaluating the magnitude and breadth of vaccine-induced antibody responses, and developing and characterizing monoclonal antibodies targeting influenza viruses. More recently, his work has expanded to the development and characterization of monoclonal antibodies targeting key antigens of different avian paramyxoviruses.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Mitali Mishra is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where her work centers on viral immunology and next-generation vaccine development. Originally, from Odisha, India, her undergraduate and master’s studies focused on Microbiology. She earned her doctoral degree in Life Sciences (Bacteriology) from the National Institute of Science Education & Research, Bhubaneswar, India, awarded with INSPIRE Fellowship from Department of Science and Technology, India.
Dr. Mishra transitioned into virology during her postdoctoral training; in Feb 2021 she started working with Ian W. Lipkin on SARS-CoV-2 viral genome sequencing and biomarker discovery, at the Columbia University Irving Medical center, New York. In June 2023, she joined the laboratory of Peter Palese at to advance the development of universal influenza vaccine candidates and novel mucosal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platforms. Her present research on development of stabilized mosaic HA vaccine was awarded with competitive travel grants from American Society of Microbiology (ASM-2024) and International Society of Vaccines (ISV congress-2025).
Her primary research focus integrates viral immunology, molecular biology, and translational vaccine strategies to generate broadly protective vaccine approaches against emerging and seasonal viral pathogens. She has been a member of National Postdoctoral association (NPA), POSTDocket editorial/writer committee to engage in scientific communication. She also is the abstract reviewer for ASM-ABRCMS conference for undergraduate students. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, art, travelling and spending time with family.
Laboratory Associates
Marta Boza Cuenca is a researcher from Valencia, Spain. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and later completed a Master’s degree in Research & Development in Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the University of Valencia.
During her master’s training, she developed a strong interest in biomedical research, particularly in virology and immunology, which led her to join the Palese Lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to carry out her Master’s thesis in 2023. She is currently enrolled in the PhD program in Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the University of Valencia.
Her research interests focus on viral immunology, and vaccine development. She is involved in several projects related to the novel NDV-HXP-S COVID-19 vaccine, focusing on the evaluation of immune responses and the optimization of vaccine strategies aimed at improving efficacy and accessibility. Outside the lab, Marta enjoys traveling and spending time with friends.
Almudena completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Madrid), during which she conducted her undergraduate thesis research at Columbia University in New York City. She then returned to Madrid to pursue a Master’s in Advanced Immunology, and later joined the Palese Lab as a Research Assistant, where she is currently completing her Master’s thesis work.
- Tsoi Ying (Michelle) Lai
Laboratory Students
- Stefan Slamanig
Laboratory Manager
Adam joined the Palese Lab as a researcher and laboratory manager in 2022. Prior to joining the lab, he completed his undergraduate studies in Biology: Health Science at CUNY College of Staten Island and was a research assistant in the Department of Human Genetics at NYS Institute for Basic Research. Adam oversees the daily operations, personnel, safety compliance, and inventory of the lab to support research goals. In addition, Adam contributes to several projects of the lab, including the pre-clinical development of universal influenza vaccine candidates and the characterization/optimization of viral-vectored vaccines. Outside the lab, Adam enjoys spending time with cats, playing video games, and volunteering across NYC.
Laboratory Administrator