Dr. Sara Sawyer

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

HOMETOWN:  Olathe, Kansas
PhD:  Cornell University
INTERESTING FACT: My first career was working on offshore oil drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Vanessa Bauer

LEAD SCIENTIST, HIV PROJECTS

HOMETOWN:  Des Moines, Iowa
B.S. Degree:  University of Iowa
M.S. Degree:  Cornell University
INTERESTING FACT: I received a gold medal in snowshoe racing at the Empire State Games (NY).

Ava Fainberg

LAB MANAGER

HOMETOWN: Chevy Chase, Maryland
B.S. DEGREE:  University of Colorado Boulder
INTERESTING FACT:  love to do extreme sports including dirt biking, skydiving, and skiing.

Dr. Arturo Barbachano-Guerrero

HOMETOWN: Torreón, México
DEGREES: PhD @ SUNY Upstate; MSc @ National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico
INTERESTING FACT: I used to capture wild sea lions and howler monkeys for research on microbiology.

Dr. Adetunji (Teejay) Adesina

HOMETOWN: Ibadan, Nigeria
DEGREES: PhD, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
INTERESTING FACT: I am fascinated by the human mind; if I wasn’t a virologist, I would be a psychologist.

Obaiah Dirasantha

MCDB PhD program

HOMETOWN:  Somasila village, India
B.S. DEGREE:  Indian Institute of Technology
INTERESTING FACT:  I like to sketch human faces.

Sharon Wu

IQBio PhD program

HOMETOWN:  Foster City, California
B.S. DEGREE:  MIT
INTERESTING FACT: I just took first place in my division in the Head of the Charles!

Emma Worden-Sapper

MCDB PhD program

HOMETOWN:  Boulder, CO
B.S. DEGREE:  University of Colorado Boulder
INTERESTING FACT:  I once crocheted a model bacteriophage.

Paul Gendler

MCDB PhD program

Hometown: Foster City, California
B.S. Degree: University of California, Santa Barbara
Interesting Fact: I once grew an 8 foot tree from an avocado pit.

Mauricio Alvarez

MD/PhD program

Hometown:  Medellin, Colombia
B.S. Degree:  University of Pennsylvania
Interesting Fact: I enjoy painting miniature figures and this is one of the reasons I enjoy surgery!

Gabi Gionet

IQBio PhD program

Hometown: Evergreen, CO
B.S. Degree: Molecular Biology at McGill University
M.P.H. Degree: Epidemiology/Biostatistics at Boston University
Interesting Fact: I was a competitive figure skater for 8 years.

Dr. Greg Wilkerson, DVM, PhD, DACVP

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Hometown: Guthrie, Oklahoma
Ph.D. Institution: Colorado State University
D.V.M. Institution: Oklahoma State University
Interesting fact: I enjoy exploring the outdoors and participating in triathlons and ultramarathon events.

Melisa Weiss

Research Lab Coordinator
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Hometown: Bedford, Texas
B.S. Degree: Texas State University (Wildlife Biology)
M.S. Degree: Tarleton State University (MBA)
Interesting Fact: I love to raise giant silk moths (Saturniidae). These native moths are ubiquitous throughout North America, but their populations are dwindling due to habitat loss. I raise colonies of different species (Cecropia, Polyphemus and Luna) and release them to help local wild populations thrive.

Analy Galvan

Research Assistant II
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Hometown: Houston, TX
B.S. Degree: : Texas A&M University- Kingsville
Interesting Fact: I love painting, photography, and going to zoos.

Omar Davila

Research Assistant I
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Hometown: Austin, TX
B.S. Degree:  University of Texas at Austin
Interesting Fact: I played the violin for seven years in various orchestras.

Sam Chappell

Hometown: Denver, Colorado
B.S. Degree: University of Colorado, Boulder
Interesting Fact: I have a second degree black belt in taekwondo.

Misha Lewis

Hometown: Lakewood, Colorado
B.S. Degree: University of Colorado, Boulder
Interesting Fact: I did competitive archery in middle and high school.

Zoe Espey

Hometown: Lakewood, Colorado
B.S. Degree: University of Colorado, Boulder
Interesting Fact: I’ve been playing piano since I was 9.

Cody Warren, MPH, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Ohio State University

Qing Yang, Ph.D.
Postdoc, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA

Nick Meyerson, Ph.D.
CEO, Darwin BioSciences, Boulder, CO

Makky Mousa-Makky
PhD Student, Ohio State University

Kyle Clark
Scientist, Darwin BioSciences, Boulder, CO

Alex Stabell, M.D. Ph.D.
Medical resident (Infectious Disease), Cornell Weill Medical School, New York, NY

Emily Feldman, Ph.D.
Scientist, Inscripta, Boulder, CO

Jeff Hussmann, Ph.D.
Scientist, Prime Medicine, Boston, MA

Kyudong Han, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Dankook University, South Korea

Alysia East, D.V.M.
Veterinarian, Austin, TX

Paul Rowley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID

Will Fattor
Scientist, Darwin Biosciences, Boulder, CO

Dianne Lou, M.D. Ph.D.
Physician, San Antonio, TX

Ann Demogines, Ph.D.
Senior Director, BioFire Diagnostics, Salt Lake City, UT

Joe Timpona, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, Orbital Therapeutics, Boston, MA

Alison Gilchrist, Ph.D.
Research scientist, NYU Langone School of Medicine, New York, NY

Maryska Kaczmarek, Ph.D.
Scientist, EcoHealth Alliance, New York, NY

Scott Kerr, Ph.D.
Global Product Manager, BioFire Diagnostics, Salt Lake City, UT

Elena Judd
PhD Student, U. Washington Seattle

Ross McBee, Ph.D.
CSO, TOMTEX, Brooklyn, NY