Kwon Lab Alumni

Allison Yan

Allison Yan

Undergraduate Student

Allison is a junior at Harvard College studying Molecular and Cellular Biology. She joined the Kwon lab in August 2017 and is interested in the effects of smoking on the immune response of monocyte-derived macrophages against tuberculosis. When not asking the lung group questions, Allison can usually be found going to spin classes or hunting for the best brunch restaurant in Boston.
Nomfuneko Mafunda

Nomfuneko Mafunda

Research Technician - nmafunda@mgh.harvard.edu

Nomfuneko is a research technician in the Kwon Lab. She graduated from Smith College in 2017 with an A.B. in Chemistry. She is from Botswana. On her free time you can catch her cooking, at the gym or watching her favorite show, Grey’s Anatomy. She joined the Kwon Lab in October 2017.
Candace Gregg

Candace Gregg

Staff Assistant - cgregg@mgh.harvard.edu

Candace joined the Kwon Lab as Staff Assistant in July 2017. Prior to working with the lab, she studied cultural anthropology at UCLA and worked with the 5 Gyres Institute, an environmental non-profit focused on the crisis of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. Originally from the Rocky Mountains, Candace loves to explore New England by car, bike and foot, and can often be found reading a good book or baking the world’s most delicious chocolate chip cookies.
Juliet Bramante

Juliet Bramante

Research Technician - jbramante@mgh.harvard.edu

Juliet is a research technician in the Kwon Lab. She graduated from Harvard University in May 2018 with an A.B. in Integrative Biology and joined the lab the following September. She is from Kasilof, Alaska and enjoys fun animal facts and doodling.
Alice Linder

Alice Linder

Research Technician - ahlinder@mgh.harvard.edu

Alice joined the Kwon Lab as a Research Technician in June 2017 after graduating from Harvard College with an A.B. in Integrative Biology. She is originally from Corrales, NM and likes to spend her spare time listening to podcasts, wandering the Emerald Necklace, or heading north to hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She hopes ultimately to pursue an MD, focusing on Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease. Within the lab, she works with the lab’s lung group.
Muntsa Rocafort

Muntsa Rocafort

Postdoctoral Fellow - mrocafortjunca@mgh.harvard.edu

Muntsa joined the Kwon Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in February 2019. She finished her Ph.D. in Microbiology at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in 2018 working on the gut microbiome and HIV-1 infection at the AIDS Research Institute IrsiCaixa in Barcelona (Catalonia). Before that, she did an MsC in AIDS Treatment and Pathogenesis and an MsC in Bioinformatics. After spending almost all of her Ph.D. sitting in front of the computer, Muntsa joined the Kwon Lab ready to focus on wet lab work. Her aim is to decipher the role of phages on the changes occurring in the gut microbiome during HIV-1 infection. In her free time, she loves drawing, reading thrillers and cuddling around with her 2 cats.

Abby Schiff

Abby Schiff

Graduate Student - aschiff@mgh.harvard.edu

Abby is an MD-PhD student at Harvard Medical School. She received her A.B. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College, and then worked at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York for a year before starting back up again at Harvard. She is from Brookline, MA and is a true local. She loves singing, activism, and traveling, and you can ask her about her year studying art history in Paris. She started in the lab in June 2013, and is working on a project to characterize the immune response in the lung in the setting of HIV-TB coinfection.
David Gootenberg

David Gootenberg

Graduate Student - dgootenberg@mgh.harvard.edu

David is an MD-PhD student at Harvard Medical School in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program. He received his A.B. in Chemical and Physical Biology from Harvard College. As an undergraduate, David worked in Peter Turnbaugh’s lab at the FAS Center for Systems Biology studying the interactions between diet, xenobiotics, and the gut microbiota. After graduating, he continued working in the Turnbaugh lab for a year and is proud to note that he is a “published poop researcher.” If you ask him, he will assure you that it is just as glamorous as it sounds. David joined the Kwon Lab in January 2014 and is interested in the interaction between the immune system, gut epithelium, and gut microbial community, and how this relationship changes during HIV infection and across different geographic locations.
Crystal Rawlings

Crystal Rawlings

Postdoctoral Fellow - crawlings@mgh.harvard.edu

Crystal is a postdoctoral fellow who joined the Kwon Lab in 2012 and received her Ph.D. in 2018 from the Harvard Biological & Biomedical Sciences program. Her thesis encompassed the investigation of HIV-1-associated alterations in the metabolism of vitamin A by human intestinal dendritic cells, as well as the effect of therapeutic retinoic acid supplementation on disease progression in HIV-1-infected individuals. She continues in the lab as a Research Fellow, moving her work toward publication and while maintaining her role as lab birthday celebration coordinator. Prior to moving to Boston, she worked as a technician and lab manager at the Benaroya Research Institute in her hometown of Seattle, WA. Crystal earned her BS in Biology and minor in Chemistry from the University of Washington while competing in Division I swimming. Outside of the lab, she now expends excess energy on her road bike with the Harvard University Cycling Association and maintains an open-access repository of gastronomic recommendations.
Melis Anahtar

Melis Anahtar

Graduate Student

Melis is in her final year of the MD-PhD program at Harvard Medical School. She received her S.B. in mechanical engineering from MIT, then hopped across the pond to get some thymic education and an MSc in immunology from Oxford University. She completed her PhD in Immunology in the Kwon Lab in May 2015, focused on understanding the role of the cervicovaginal microbiome and hormonal contraceptives on HIV acquisition risk in women. She is now developing a sequencing-based clinical diagnostic for bacterial infections. In her free time, Melis enjoys café hopping in Cambridge, preferably with a MinION in her backpack (just in case!)
Björn Corleis

Björn Corleis

Senior Research Scientist

Björn is a Research Fellow at the Ragon Institute with an interest in mucosal immunology and HIV/TB co-infection. He received his Master in Immunology from the University of Freiburg (Germany) and finished his master studies at the University of Cambridge (UK) with a project on B cell development and British pubs. He obtained a PhD in Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine working on the Interaction of human neutrophils and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (quote: “Neutrophils are super cool!”). Bjorn grew up in Northern Germany and has educated the Kwon Lab in soccer and the famous German pirate Stortebecker since January 2012.
Maud Deruaz

Maud Deruaz

Instructor in Immunology - mderuaz@mgh.harvard.edu

Maud is an Instructor in Immunology who joined the Kwon lab in October 2018. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, during which she identified and characterized chemokine binding proteins from tick saliva. She then moved to Boston to pursue her interest in learning immunology from the perspective of pathogens. During her postdoc in the laboratory of Prof. Luster at MGH, she focused on the role of lymphocytes trafficking in HIV dissemination following intravaginal exposure in humanized mice. She is now poised to utilize this model to look at the role of microbiota in HIV intravaginal acquisition. Outside the lab, Maud enjoys spending time with her family, baking and embracing Boston’s cult of running.
Christina Gosmann

Christina Gosmann

Postdoctoral Fellow

Antonella Lisanti

Antonella Lisanti

Research Technician

Antonella joined the Kwon Lab as a research technician in 2013, where she worked on projects with the lab’s lung group for three years. She received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Yale University where she worked on induced pluripotent stem cell research as well as public health projects in Uganda, Cameroon, and Ecuador. Antonella took a brief hiatus from science to teach high school with Teach for America before coming to the Kwon Lab. She is now an MPH student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is working on a master’s thesis in the lab to quantify rates of intimate partner violence and intravaginal cleansing practices in the FRESH cohort. In her spare time, Antonella enjoys volunteering, baking, arts and crafts, and playing with her 600 cats.
Brittany Bowman

Brittany Bowman

Research Technician

Brittany is a research technician in the Kwon Lab. She graduated from Yale University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is from West Grove, PA and rowed with an Olympic gold medalist while she was a member of the Yale Women’s Crew team. She joined the Kwon Lab in September 2012.
Jeff Paer

Jeff Paer

Research Technician

Jeff joined the Kwon Lab as a technician in 2015 soon after receiving a B.A. in biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. He witnessed firsthand the crippling effects of HIV and other infectious diseases while volunteering in a Tanzanian hospital in 2014, and was inspired to study the topic of antibiotic resistance for his Honors Thesis research upon his return stateside. At this point in his early academic career, he dreams of earning an MD-PhD with the ultimate goal of becoming an infectious disease physician and researcher. He is also an avid guitarist and composer and is especially interested in jazz and improvisation. In addition to biology and music, he enjoys playing soccer, hiking, and traveling.
Amy Dickey

Amy Dickey

Postdoctoral Fellow

Amy is a pulmonary and critical care fellow in the MGH/BIDMC combined program who started as a research fellow in the Kwon lab April 2016. She received a BSc in biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma and an MSc in cell biology and MD from Vanderbilt University. After medical school, she moved to Seattle to train in internal medicine at the University of Washington, before coming to Boston for her fellowship. In the Kwon lab, she is studying the airway-specific immune interaction between HIV and TB. Her interest in TB stems from her experiences growing up in China and Taiwan, before moving to the US for college. She enjoys travelling, reading, playing the piano, and warm weather.
Justin Rice

Justin Rice

Graduate Student

Justin is a second-year student at Harvard Medical School. Before arriving in Cambridge, he completed a BSc in engineering at Cornell University, a Ph.D. in linear algebra at TU Delft in the Netherlands, and a post-doc in neuroscience at CUNY in NYC, followed by stints weighing babies in Honduras, building prosthetic legs in Bolivia, and managing a non-profit in Laos. In the Kwon lab, he is studying the effects of bacteria on genital tract inflammation and HIV susceptibility. In his spare time, Justin enjoys running, dancing, vacuuming, and making flash-cards that he never uses.
Alex Munoz

Alex Munoz

Undergraduate Student

Alex joined the Kwon Laboratory as an undergraduate in the summer of 2017. He will graduate from Harvard College this May with an A.B. in Applied Mathematics and a secondary in Computer Science. Next year, Alex will be matriculating to medical school to pursue an M.D. Alex is interested in the longitudinal dynamics of female genital tract bacteria, and the computational modeling of these dynamics. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys running, spinning, and complaining about Boston weather.
Kendall Jackson

Kendall Jackson

Postbac Research Fellow

Kendall joined the Kwon Laboratory in the summer of 2015 as an undergraduate student. She graduated from Harvard College in May 2017 with an A.B. in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and minor in Global Health and Health Policy, and hopes to ultimately pursue an MD. She is currently pursuing a post-graduate research fellowship in Durban, South Africa and is working with the FRESH cohort to develop and implement new sub-studies. In her spare time, Kendall can be found reading, cooking, exploring South Africa, and hopefully in 2018, learning to surf.
Zoe Rogers

Zoe Rogers

Clinical Research Coordinator

Zoe joined the Kwon Lab as a Clinical Research Coordinator in May 2016.  With a BSc in International Health from the University of New Hampshire, she worked in various research and clinical settings in Boston and Durban, South Africa where she helped set up an acute HIV cohort and characterize the pharmacokinetics of TB treatment in children to optimize dosing. She most recently worked as a patient advocate in a surgical oncology practice at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In the Kwon lab, she will introduce patients to the mucosal research platform and help launch a new fecal transplant study. Outside the lab, Zoe enjoys woodworking, baking, soccer, bocce, and biking.
Mara Farcasanu

Mara Farcasanu

Research Technician - mfarcasanu@mgh.harvard.edu

Mara joined the Kwon lab as a research technician in July 2015. She received a B.S. in the Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago where she applied synthetic antibody engineering technology to design pathogen-specific therapeutic agents, focusing on anthrax toxins. Mara spends much of her spare time outdoors on walks, hikes, and other mini adventures but also loves a good zumba class and is an ardent follower of the Daily Show.
Shillah Luhembo

Shillah Luhembo

Undergraduate Student

Shillah is an undergraduate student at Boston University who joined the Kwon Lab in March 2018. She is currently studying HIV infection in macrophages where she is interested in evidence of post-entry restriction in cell-free and T cell-dependent macrophage infection. Originally from Kampala, Uganda, she enjoys cooking new recipes and traveling to new places.
Timothy Musoke

Timothy Musoke

Research Technician - tmusoke@mgh.harvard.edu

Timothy joined the Kwon lab as a technician in July 2017. He graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he completed his undergraduate thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Alexey Veraksa, studying the regulation of cell signaling pathways in fruit flies. He grew up in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to the US to pursue his undergraduate studies. He also spent time working in the laboratories of various hospitals while in Uganda. He enjoys soccer, reading novels, and learning new languages.
Blythe Gulley

Blythe Gulley

Project Manager - bbgulley@mgh.harvard.edu

Blythe Gulley joined the Kwon Lab as Staff Assistant in July 2020. She received her B.A. in English & Comparative Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was involved with The Carolina Quarterly and the UNC Institute of Politics. In 2018, she co-curated an exhibition for her research seminar: “Reconstructing Frankenstein’s Monster: Mary Shelley’s World in Print.” When she’s not at the lab, Blythe can be found wandering around museums, reading a good book, or cheering on UNC’s basketball team!

Tess Brunner

Tess Brunner

Research Technician - tbrunner@mgh.harvard.edu

Tess Brunner joined the Kwon Lab as a Research Technician in June 2021. She works with Postdoctoral Fellow Fatima Hussain on a number of projects, including studying phage evolution (Lactobacillus) in the vagina. Tess graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Biology prior to joining the lab!

Renee Schumm

Renee Schumm

Staff Assistant II - Rschumm@mgh.harvard.edu

Renee Schumm joined the Kwon Lab in January of 2023 as a Staff Assistant. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Florida Southern University and worked as an Administrator for the Stanford Psychology Department prior to moving to Massachusetts. She is looking forward to learning more about how the Kwon lab’s extensive research and clinical work applies to women on a global scale. Outside of work, she enjoys biking through the city, hiking with her German Shephard, and baking pastries.

Meilin Zhu

Meilin Zhu

Graduate Student - mzhu@broadinstitute.org

Meilin Zhu is a PhD candidate and NSF GRFP fellow at MIT in Biological Engineering, co-advised with Dr. Paul Blainey. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at Arizona State University, where she developed point-of-care diagnostic tools for HPV-associated cervical cancer screening in low resource settings. In graduate school, Meilin decided to explore the world of microbes, with projects including, 1) developing high throughput screening methods for discovering new antibiotic potentiators against gram negative ESKAPE pathogens, and 2) understanding how bacterial metabolism in the female genital tract can be leveraged to rationally design and shift microbiota compositions. In her free time, Meilin can be found at the park chasing after her crazy corgi or trying out new restaurants on Newbury St.

Aditi Kannan

Aditi Kannan

Research Technician - akannan5@mgh.harvard.edu

Aditi joined the Kwon Lab as a Research Technician in July 2022. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College where she majored in Biochemistry and minored in Music. While at Wellesley, her research focused mainly on microbial ecology and human gut microbiology. In the Kwon Lab, she aims to study the vaginal microbiome and microbe-host interactions within the vagina under the mentorship of Dr. Fatima Hussain and Dr. Upasana Das Adhikari. Outside of the lab, Aditi can be found playing the violin or listening to music, walking around the city, or reading a novel!

Aaron Abai

Aaron Abai

Research Technician - aabai@mgb.org

Aaron join the Kwon Lab as an undergraduate in September 2019 and again as a Research Technician in October 2023. He received his B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard College. After college, he headed to Cambridge University, where he earned an MPhil in the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine. Now back at the Lab, Aaron is continuing his studies on the female genital tract microbiome and metabolome. In his free time, he enjoyed traveling, hiking, and eating out with friends.

Suuba Demby

Suuba Demby

Research Technician -suubademby@college.harvard.edu

Suuba joined the Kwon Lab in October of 2020. She is currently studying Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College, with a minor in Energy and Environment. Prior to joining the lab, Suuba spent five years living overseas in Malawi and has worked on public health and policy-based projects in Sierra Leone for the past two years. In the Kwon Lab, Suuba is studying the female genital tract microbiome from an evolutionary ecology perspective under the mentorship of Dr. Fatima Hussain. Outside of the lab, Suuba enjoys photography, biking, and working as an EMT.