Graduate Students

I am a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in Microbiology. I research the function and potential uses of short cell-penetrating peptides in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel DiMaio. My interests include virology, science communication, science policy, and photography.

Allie joined the Ho lab as a MPH student in January of 2021 to work on HIV persistence using clinical samples. She is pursuing an MPH in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health. She is originally from New Jersey and received a bachelor of science in Nursing from Georgetown University in 2017. After graduation she worked as a clinical research nurse at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD and currently works as an Infection Control Practitioner near Newark, NJ. She developed an interest in HIV while working as nurse in Swaziland, which has the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. She is interested in basic science and translational research. Outside of the lab, Allie enjoys surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, distance running, rock climbing, and music.

Rebecca (she/her) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, where she majored in Industrial Microbiology. In her home institution, she worked on screening for pathogenic aerosols in the biology department and identifying environmental fungal interactions with bromeliads. Now, Rebecca is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in the Microbiology Track of the BBS program. In Dr. Barbara Kazmierczak’s lab, she’s studying Acanthamoeba castellanii - Pseudomonas aeruginosa interactions. In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys pottery and baking.

Mac is interested in studying various aspects of viral entry and cellular trafficking. They are currently focusing on the role that cellular and viral manipulations play in the normal trafficking of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). When normal trafficking is disrupted and HPV is unable to reach the nucleus and replicate, the virus is sent to other cellular compartments or degraded. Mac is interested in where the virus accumulates during these various conditions and the underlying mechanisms behind that accumulation. Outside of their interests in science, Mac enjoys attending concerts.

Ife received her B.S. in Microbial Biology from the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. During her undergraduate degree, she studied antibody-dependent enhancement of severe dengue in the laboratory of Professor Eva Harris. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Microbial Pathogenesis department, where she is mentored by Professor Amy Bei. Her research focuses on developing novel malaria transmission-blocking interventions. She investigates the interactions between Plasmodium parasites, Anopheles mosquitoes, and their microbiota.

Jeff is an MD/PhD student in the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis at Yale University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Craig Roy where he is studying the mechanisms of secreted bacterial proteins that manipulate eukaryotic cell signaling processes.  Jeff attended Haverford College where he earned his Bachelors of Science in Biology. After completing his undergraduate degree, Jeff investigated the molecular mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis  at Uniformed Services University in the lab of Alison O'Brien, and then Harvard Medical School in the lab of Marcia Goldberg. He has continued his studies of host-pathogen interactions focused on the organism Coxiella burnetii and understanding the molecular and biochemical activities of bacterial secretion system client proteins. He volunteers as a co-director of the Longitudinal Care Coordination program at the HAVEN student-run free clinic where he oversees a team of patient navigators and senior clinical team members to coordinate the efficient delivery of care to HAVEN's most vunerable patients.

Carrie is an MD/PhD student at Yale School of Medicine. Her graduate work in Microbiology is in the Kazmierczak lab, where she studies the interactions between the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the pathogenic free-living amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii. She received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 2010 and a M.S. degree from Rutgers University in 2015. Her master's thesis research involved host-pathogen interactions between innate immune cells and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She is interested in infectious diseases, especially chronic infections, mycobacterial diseases, opportunistic infections, and diseases caused by free-living amoebae.