Watowich Lab Members
Stephanie S. Watowich, Ph.D.
Professor
email
LinkedIn
Yusra Medik, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
email
My research interest is in cancer immunotherapy and mechanisms of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) to checkpoint blockade therapy. Currently, I am studying the role of the innate immune system-microbiome axis in the anti-tumor response and enterocolitis associated with checkpoint blockade. Elucidating the underlying pathophysiology of irAE is important to overcome current limitations of onco-immunology.
Bhakti Patel, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
email
My research interests lie in understanding the anti-inflammatory role of STAT3 in bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDM) and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function. I am further interested in determining transcriptional targets of STAT3 in HSCs and myeloid cells, to elucidate the mechanism by which STAT3 protects HSCs and BMDMs from inflammation-induced DNA damage.
Yifan Zhou, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
email
- To study the role of DC-intrinsic STAT signaling in inflammation and tumor development.
- To access the therapeutic role of DC-based vaccination in cancer.
- To determine the role of DC in immune-related adverse events of cancer immunotherapies.
Rachel Babcock
Ph.D. Student
email
My research interests are in innate immunity, dendritic cell biology and molecular biology. With my project, I use both in vitro and in vivo models to study the role and regulation of lineage-specific transcription factors in DC immune function.
Taylor Chrisikos
Ph.D. Student
email
My interests lie in both dendritic cell biology and tumor immunology. Currently, I have two main projects, 1) elucidating how myeloid cells promote pulmonary metastasis in breast cancer, and 2) uncovering novel aspects of how tumor infiltrating dendritic cells respond to the tumor microenvironment.
Laura Kahn Serrudo
Ph.D. student
email
Colitis is a major immune related adverse event (irAE) that occurs upon checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. I am interested in elucidating the role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and IL-6 family cytokines in checkpoint blockade-associated colitis.
Watowich Lab Alumni
Prior Postdocs
David K. Wooten, Ph.D., 11/1998-3/2000
Current: Partner, Tumey LLP, Intellectual Property Law, Houston, TX
Eiji Esashi, Ph.D., 2/2005-1/2009 (co-supervision with Dr. Yong-Jun Liu)
Current: Director and Executive General Manager, SBI Biotech Co, Toyko
Huiyuan Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., 4/2007-8/2013
Current: Assistant Professor, The National Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Clinical Cancer Center, Sichuan University, China
Haiyan Li, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., 4/2008-8/2013
Current: Research Scientist, Pharmacyclics, Sunnyvale, CA
Xianxiu Wan, Ph.D. (2019-2020)
Prior Clinical Fellows
Natalie Slone, DO, 9/2016-6/2018
Current: Hospitalist, Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplant Department, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
Prior Students
Donghoon Yoon, Ph.D., 4/1999-6/2004
Current: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas
Donna Badgwell, Ph.D., 4/1999-8/2004
Location unknown
Athanasia Panopoulos, M.S., Ph.D., 6/1999-8/2007
Current: Gallagher Family Assistant Professor of Stem Cell Biology, University of Notre Dame
Jack Bevers III, M.S., 6/2002-7/2004
Current: Senior Scientific Researcher at Genentech, South San Francisco, CA
Hoainim Nyugen-Jackson, Ph.D., 11/2004-7/2011
Current: Teacher, Seven Lakes High School, Katy, TX
Nathanial Greeley, M.S., 5/2011-8/2012
Current: Researcher, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia | CHOP · Department of Neurology
Prior Undergraduates
Keysha Lopez Vega
University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
U54 UPR Undergraduate Student, 6/2010-7/2010
Allison Matthews
Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2011-8/2011
YeJi Jun
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2011-8/2011
Allison Bloom
Brown University
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2012-8/2012
Marisa Luck
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2012-8/2012
Elisabeth Massey
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2013-8/2013
Emily Hillmer
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Summer Undergraduate Student, 6/2014-8/2014
Jessica Wilder
Rice University, Houston, TX
CPRIT-CURE Summer Undergraduate Student, 6/2014-8/2014
Malavika Suresh
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2016-8/2016
Katherine Ortell
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2017-8/2017
Oleksandr Kyrysyuk
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2018-8/2018
Emma Lederer
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
CPRIT-CURE Undergraduate Student, 6/2019-8/2019