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LAB MEMBERS

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Principle Investigator

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Takuji Enya

Post Doctoral Research Associate 

I have been working as a pediatrician since 2013, and obtained PhD in Kindai university faculty of medicine, Japan. My specialty is immunology/nephrology. Pediatrics is any field of research including cell signaling in infection with pathogens, molecular immunology can be applicable to research in pediatrics. Now, my postdoctoral research focuses on the role of Interferon-inducible Protein (IFI) 207 as an innate immune sensor. The wonderful research life with the Ross’s lab members fascinates me. 

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KRUTHIKA IYER

Post Doctoral Research Associate

I obtained my PhD at the National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India. The study was centred on host virus interactions and my aim was to understand the role of cellular heat shock protein, 70kDa family isoforms in HIV-1 infection. In the Ross lab, as a postdoctoral researcher, I will be looking at how the host proteins, TRIM2 and SIRPA, restrict New World Arenaviruses. 

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JING MA

Post Doctoral Research Associate 

I obtained my PhD from Nankai University. For my graduate work, I did structural and functional study on HIV-1 gp41, and worked on antiviral function of PDCD6 during HIV-1 production. Currently, my postdoc research focuses on function of DDX41 in myeloid cancer.

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DAVID RYAN

Research Associate

I received my B.Sc. in Microbiology from University College Dublin, Ireland and my Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. My postdoctoral years included experiences in The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. During my tenure at Northwestern University Medical School, I studied epithelial stem cells of the eye and skin, I am interested in developing tools for in-vivo 3D stem cell printing of human cornea and skin. I carry a long standing interest in embryonic neurobiology and epithelial mesenchymal transitional processes

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KAREN SALAS BRICENO

Visiting Research Scientist

I graduated as PhD in the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC) in Venezuela. During my doctorate, I worked with a rabbit model and a retrovirus named BIV, studying retroviral immunology, persistence and evolution. Now, in the Ross lab I want to determine how A3 proteins contribute to MLV evolution and resistance and also if cytidine deamination by A3 proteins contributes to the development of anti-retroviral drug resistance.

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ZHONGHAO (MAX) YAN

PhD Student

I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry. Currently, I'm working on a Ph.D. in the Ross lab. My project is to study the anti-viral mechanism of signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPA), a host anti-viral entry factor targeting many RNA viruses, including Influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2.

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WENMING ZHAO

Post Doctoral Research Associate

I received my Ph.D. in Genetics from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Then I worked as a postdoc in Institute of Microbiology, CAS, studying the influenza virus-host interaction. Currently, I am studying the CDA-independent mechanisms of Apobec3, one of the most powerful retroviral restriction factors. I also want to know how the murine leukemia virus (MLV) resist apobec3.

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