Postdoctoral Fellows

Marisa Egan

Postdoctoral Fellow

Marisa graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in 2018 with a B.S. in Biology. As an undergraduate student, she worked in Dr. Shantanu Bhatt’s lab studying how pathogenic E. coli use small RNAs (sRNAs) to regulate their virulence. Then, she joined the Microbiology, Virology, and Parasitology graduate group at Penn, studying host-pathogen interactions in Dr. Sunny Shin’s lab. Specifically, Marisa investigated how human macrophages leverage inflammasomes to sense and respond to Salmonella infection. As a PennPORT postdoctoral fellow in the Zackular lab, she has been exploring polymicrobial interactions in the gut, focusing on how C. diff interacts with pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli strains. Marisa is also passionate about teaching and mentoring students both in the lab and the classroom settings. So, she is very excited to start her faculty position in the Biology Department at Swarthmore College in the Fall of 2024!

 

Graduate Students

 Alexander B. Smith

Graduate Student (CAMB-MVP)

Alex is a graduate student in the Microbiology, Virology, and Parasitology program. He comes from a small town in central PA and graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Penn State University. During his undergrad, he studied the genetic basis for modifications made to E. coli lipopolysaccharide in the lab of Dr. Timothy Meredith. He’s excited to get his hands in the anaerobic chamber and start deciphering the interspecies interactions between C. difficile and Enterococcus. When he’s not in lab, Alex enjoys cooking, working out, and exploring Philly.

Alex is currently a Senior Scientist in Bacterial Vaccines and Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca.

 

Alexa Semon

Graduate Student (IGG)

Before joining the Immunology Graduate Group, Alexa received her BS in Biology from Saint Joseph’s University and worked as a technician in the lab of Dr. Iliyan Iliev at Weill Cornell Medicine, where she became fascinated by the immune system and the delicate balance it strikes with the intestinal microbiota. In her graduate studies, Alexa is interested in interrogating interkingdom molecular crosstalk and the ways in which the intestinal microbiota and its metabolic products shape the development and function of the immune system.

Alexa is currently a Senior Scientist at Regeneron.

 

Research Staff

Nile Bayard

Research Technician

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Nile Bayard majored in biology at Haverford College and wants to pursue a PhD. While he isn’t sure exactly what he wants to study for his PhD, Nile is certain that he wants to conduct biological research now and in the future!

Nile is currently a Ph.D. student in the Immunology Graduate Group at the University of Pennsylvania.