Isa Arias
PI: Warner Greene (UCSF)
Research Interests: My project(s) center around the mechanisms of HIV CD4 T cell depletion.
Danica Helb
PI: Phil Rosenthal (UCSF)
I am studying the relationship betweeninfection withPlasmodium falciparumand the resulting immune response in humans in order to determine which antibodies are required for protection against malaria disease. I am also working to identify biomarkers that can be used to assess population-level dynamics of exposure to P. falciparum,with the goal of developing a public health tool for malaria surveillance and assessment of control interventions.
Liana Chan
PI: Henry Chambers (UCSF)
Research Interests: I am interested in mecA-independent mechanisms of beta-lactam resistance in Staphylococcus aureus as well as bacterial stress responses to antibiotic exposure.
Chris Baker
PI: Mike McCune (UCSF)
Research Interests: My dissertation work will be on mother-to-child transmission of HIV in uteroand its consequences on the immune system of the developing fetus.
Leif Sorenson
PI: George Sensabaugh (UCB)
Research Interests: My dissertation project focuses on the community-acquired uropathogen, Staphylococcus saprophyticus. In this project, we use a multi-locus sequence typing approach to study the population genetics of this organism, as well as the relationship between clinical strains and those from environmental sources.
Ebere Sonoiki
PI: Philip Rosenthal (UCSF)
Research Interests: Study of the development of drug resistance to Artemisinins and ACT (Artemisinin Combination Therapy) partner drugs in malaria patients in Uganda.
Mao Taketani
PI: Michael Fischbach (UCSF)
Research Interests: I am studying a cryptic surface structure produced by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, an abundant gut bacteria found inhumans. I am interested in understanding the role of this structure during colonization of the human host and its potential interaction with the mucosal immune system.
Hillary Berman
PI: Lee Riley (UCB)
Research Interests: I am currently interested in drug resistance in gram negative bacteria and metagenomics.
Zoe Davis
PI: Britt Glaunsinger (UCB)
Research Interests: My interests are in host-pathogen interactions, specifically exploring how viruses hijack cellular machinery as a necessary part of their lifecycle.I am studying the relationship between host and viral proteins in the AIDS-related pathogen Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)
Michael Schump
PI: Lee Riley (UCB)
Research Interests: My current project focuses on the evaluation of a therapeutic, post-exposure vaccine candidate to prevent tuberculosis reactivation/relapse.
Aaron Whiteley
PI: Daniel Portnoy (UCB)
Research Interests: My interests are in host-pathogen interactions of intracellular pathogens. I work on the conserved bacterial secondary messenger cyclic-di-AMP, which is essential to a wide variety of pathogens and a ligand for the mammalian innate immune system. My project seeks to understand bacterial processes and pathogenesis coordinated by cyclic-di-AMP in Listeria monocytogenes.
Jonathan Portman
PI: Daniel Portnoy (UCB)
Research Interests: My research is centered on the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and the repertoire of virulence factors it employs to evade the host immune system. More specifically, my current project explores how Listeria interprets environmental cues throughout its pathogenic lifecycle necessary to orchestrate the differential regulation of virulence factors essential for its survival in the host.
Sheila Adams-Sapper
PI: Lee Riley (UCB)
Research Interests: My current project focuses on bacterial factors mediating carbapenem heteroresistance in KPC-producing Enterobacteriaceae.