Jessica Elmore is a Sloan Scholar and Ph.D. candidate in the August Lab. She uses a model of pulmonary inflammation, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) to study the relationship between, the pro-inflammatory immune cell, Th17, the anti-inflammatory immune cell, Foxp3+ Tregs, and the protein kinase Itk. She enjoys traveling, running, cooking, gardening, and sleeping.
Mariela Rivera-De Jesus is a Ph.D. candidate in the Putnam Lab where she conducts research on developing bacteria membrane-derived vaccines that better mimic pathogens and induce immune systems in a similar way. Mariela loves crafts like knitting, crocheting, and cross-stitch.
Brian Imbiakha is a Ph.D. candidate in the August Lab and Aguilar Lab. His project focuses on understanding the immune response to the Nipah virus, specifically how viral proteins interact with the innate immune response, and the mechanisms they employ to evade detection. Brian enjoys outdoor activities, photography, and soccer.
Luisa Fernanda Castillo is a 3rd-year Ph.D. Student in Nutritional Sciences. Her research interests include gene-nutrient interactions and mitochondrial function. Her Ph.D. focuses on the contributions of folate and enzyme expression on the de novo synthesis of thymidylate on mitochondrial health and disease. Luisa enjoys praying and being with her family and friends.
Beatriz Carmona is a first-year Ph.D. student in Community Nutrition. She is working with Dr. Laura Bellows to investigate the efficacy of nutrition literacy interventions to improve health-related behaviors in low-income communities across New York state. Outside of school and the lab, Beatriz enjoys Sudoku, planning elaborate hike/picnic mashups, and roller skating!
Rigoberto Vazquez Jr. is a first-year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering. He is currently rotating between labs that focus on working with isolated mouse islet tissue, culture and histological analysis, immunostaining, and microscopy, and cellular assays for proliferation, etc., as well as human islet tissue and stem cell-derived human beta cells. When Rigoberto is not cooking and baking, you will find him dancing, singing, painting, laughing, and most importantly mingling and listening to other people’s stories.
Herbert S. Castillo is a 1st year Ph.D. student in Biochemistry. Some of his scientific interests include epigenetics, transcriptional regulation, chromatin regulation, and protein structure and function. Herbert enjoys watching anime and designing succulent plant pots in his spare time, which he has created for himself and as gifts for family and friends.
Janine Comrie is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (Concentration in Molecular Nutrition). She researches the role of microbiota in the effects of dietary compounds on host health and the biochemical mechanisms underlying these diet-microbe-host interactions. Outside of school, her hobbies include everything food- and nutrition-related, from grocery shopping at the farmers market to baking bread and reading food magazines. For her career, in addition to investigating nutrition through a biological lens, she hopes to participate in initiatives that advance food justice.