Students – MIT Microbiology Program

Caroline Anderson

(she/her/hers) Entry Year: 2022 SB: Duke University, 2022

Larson Lab

	Lamason Lab
Short Bio My name is Caroline Anderson, I am a first year Microbiology PhD student. My research interests center around host-pathogen interaction and leveraging the immune system to better understand different infection outcomes. In my free time, I like to cook, go to the gym, read, and go on walks around Boston.

Jacob Baker

Entry Year: 2017 BS: University of California, Berkeley

Bioinformatics and Computational Microbiology Ecology and Environmental/Geo Microbiology Evolution Genetics and Physiology Genomics and Systems Microbiology Immunology and Host-Microbe Interactions Virology and Phage Biology	Lieberman Lab

Jade Bath

Entry Year: 2018 BA: Bryn Mawr College

	Ribbeck Lab
Short Bio I am interested in developing methods to identify surface interactions between microbes and mucin glycans that mediate observed changes in virulence.

Joshua Bromley

Entry Year: 2019 BS: University of Utah

Shalek Lab

Short Bio

Josh is a first-year Microbiology graduate student at MIT. He is interested in applying single-cell genomics to study infectious disease microenvironments.

Josh grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he graduated with a B.S. in Physics from the University of Utah in 2019. During his time as an undergraduate, he worked with Professor Saveez Saffarian to elucidate the mechanisms by which host factors facilitate HIV virion assembly and egress.

Outside the lab, Josh enjoys cycling, running, and exploring the Boston area.

Julie Chen

Entry Year: 2019 BS: University of Toronto

Blainey Lab

Short Bio

Julie is a Microbiology PhD student in the Blainey lab where she performs high throughput combinatorial assays to discover novel antibiotic combination therapies. With this same technology, she aims to also learn more about microbial ecology – namely, of bacteria and phages. While completing her B.Sc. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from the University of Toronto, she discovered her passion for accessible communication. Julie strives for a minimalistic style which is also revealed in her artwork. In addition to science, communication, and art, she enjoys cooking and dreaming about trying food from all around the world.

Will Crockett

Entry Year: 2023 SBH: University of New Mexico, 2022

Short Bio

In my undergraduate I studied physics and biology. I worked in a terrestrial ecology lab where I did field work and developed mathematical models to understand the impact of climate change on the ecosystem. I am interested in applying mechanistic models to understand the roles microbes play in their environment, how they interact with one another, and how these roles and interactions respond to environmental change.

Christopher Doering

Entry Year: 2019 BS: Harvey Mudd College

Laub Lab

Short Bio

Chris is a microbiology PhD student in Michael Laub’s lab where he studies bacterial defense mechanisms against phage and phage countermeasures to overcome these defenses. He grew up and went to college in sunny Southern California where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Harvey Mudd College before coming out to MIT to experience seasons for the first time. As an undergrad, Chris worked at his college’s writing center where he came to appreciate a good background and motivation section. In his free time Chris loves to bake, hike, rock climb and ski.

Caleb Eickmann

(he/him/his) Entry Year: 2021 SB: Brown University, 2021

Laub Lab

	Laub Lab

Clara Fikry

Entry Year: 2022 SBH: University of Waterloo, 2020

Lew Lab

	Lew Lab

Alexa Gomberg

(she/her) Entry Year: 2021 SBH, UC Berkeley, 2020

	Grossman Lab

Annika Gomez

Entry Year: 2018 BA: Cornell University

	Polz Lab

Alyssa Haynes

(she/her) Entry Year: 2022 BA: Boston University 2022

	Lieberman Lab

Jordan Hoff

Entry Year: 2023 SB: UC Berkeley, 2020


Short Bio – Metagenomics and Bioinformatics – Machine Learning – Evolution – Virology and Phage Biology – Genetics and Molecular Biology – Banjo

Aarshi Jain

(she/they) Entry Year: 2023 SB: UCLA, 2023


Short Bio I am an aspiring marine conservationist who models changes in marine systems using mathematical approaches. I am particularly passionate about utilizing theoretical ecology in conjunction with empirical experiments and fieldwork to gain a comprehensive understanding of marine ecosystems.2023

Veda Khadka

Entry Year: 2018 BA: Swarthmore College

Bioinformatics and Computational Microbiology Ecology and Environmental/Geo Microbiology Evolution Genetics and Physiology Genomics and Systems Microbiology Immunology and Host-Microbe Interactions Virology and Phage Biology	Lieberman Lab

Mandy Levine

Entry Year: 2018 BA: Haverford College

Biochemical, Chemical, and Structural Microbiology Bioinformatics and Computational Microbiology Evolution Genetics and Physiology Genomics and Systems Microbiology Metabolic Engineering and Biotechnology Molecular and Cellular Microbiology	Laub Lab Li Lab

Jett Liu

Entry Year: 2023 SB: UC Berkeley, 2021

Madeline Moore

Entry Year: 2021 SBH: UC Berkeley, 2020

Esvelt Lab

	Esvelt Lab

Jai Padmakumar

Entry Year: 2016 BS: University of Washington

	Voigt Lab

Ceili Peng

(she/her) Entry Year: 2020 SB: Cornell University, 2018

Esvelt Lab

Short Bio

I got my start researching the evolution and development of butterfly wing pigmentation at Cornell University. After graduation, I worked with different research groups studying bat migratory patterns, bird parental provisioning behavior, and tick disease ecology. I now reside in the Esvelt lab, where I’m researching new synthetic biology circuits, using phage-and-robotics-assisted directed evolution to tackle evolutionary questions, and working on making mice immune to common diseases. Outside of the lab I enjoy birdwatching, weight-lifting, salsa dancing, and rock climbing.

Evan Qu

Entry Year: 2020 SBH: Johns Hopkins University, 2020

Lieberman Lab

	Lieberman Lab

Jack Rudrum

Entry Year: 2022 SB: The Univ. of Western Australia, 2019; SM: The Univ. of Western Australia, 2021.

	Belcher Lab

Marielle Russo

(she/her) Entry Year: 2022 SB: Texas A&M University, 2019

Esvelt Lab

	Esvelt Lab

Rachel Szabo

Entry Year: 2016 BS: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Bioinformatics and Computational Microbiology Ecology and Environmental/Geo Microbiology Evolution Genomics and Systems Microbiology Microbial Oceanography	Cordero Lab

Gabriel Toneatti Vercelli

(he/him) Entry Year: 2020 BA: Princeton University, 2020

Cordero Lab

	Cordero Lab

Shay Toner

Entry Year: 2022 SB: Penn State University, 2022

Esvelt Lab

	Esvelt Lab

Shreyansh Umale

Entry Year: 2021 BTEC: Indian Institute of Technology, 2020

	Gore Lab

Cassandra Vondrak

Entry Year: 2017 BA: Swarthmore College

Biochemical, Chemical, and Structural Microbiology	Lamason Lab

Avril Wang

(she/her) Entry Year: 2023 SBH: University of Toronto, 2023

Ecology and Environmental/Geo Microbiology Evolution

Philip Wasson

Entry Year: 2022 SB: Northeastern University, 2021

McRose Lab

Ecology and Environmental/Geo Microbiology Evolution Genomics and Systems Microbiology Metabolic Engineering and Biotechnology Molecular and Cellular Microbiology	McRose Lab

Erika Wirachman

(she/her) Entry Year: 2020 BA: UC Berkeley, 2020

Grossman Lab

	Grossman Lab

En Ze Linda Zhong-Johnson

Entry Year: 2017 BS: University Of Toronto

Bioenergy and Metabolic Diversity Bioinformatics and Computational Microbiology Ecology and Environmental/Geo Microbiology Virology and Phage Biology	Sinskey Lab Voigt Lab
Short Bio Rational design of PET-degrading enzymes for industrial processes Directed in vitro and in silico evolution of enzymes Engineering protein production in cyanobacteria