Jessie Anh Luu
Jessie joined the CMB program in 2021 after graduating from UCLA and working as a researcher with Dr. Melody Li. She is studying the phenomenon of why animals including mice are resistant to Rickettsia infection, whereas humans are susceptible.
Outside of lab, Jessie is a secret foodie and knows all the best spots to eat at in the OC!
Meggie Danielson
Meggie joined the CMB program in 2023 after graduating from Skidmore College (BA) and obtaining a Masters of Science in Immunology & Microbiology from Thomas Jefferson University. She is investigating a novel class of innate immune agonists cancer therapies, and studying mechanisms by which bacteria colonize tumors.
Outside of lab, Meggie is our lab expert on everything outdoors and so strong that she may accidentally rip doors off of lab freezers.
Michelle Sun
Michelle graduated from UC San Diego in 2022 and has been working in our lab as a talented researcher ever since. She is studying the mechanisms used by Rickettsia to evade innate immunity and survive in host cells.
Alejandro Guzman
Alejandro is a talented undergraduate researcher who joined the lab in 2023. He is already the lab pro with mouse Rickettsia infections and is contributing to studying mechanisms of rickettsial disease in vivo. Ale was awarded the prestigious MARC fellowship in 2024 as he pursues a future career in microbiology research.
Outside of lab, Alejandro is an avid rock climber and dabbler of Photoshop.
Aashi Patel
Aashi is a talented undergraduate researcher who joined the lab in 2023. She is working with Meggie to investigate mechanisms by which bacteria colonize tumors. Aashi is learning a suite of cool techniques including immunofluorescence microscopy of tumors colonized by bacteria.
Jayden Lee
Jayden graduated from UC Berkeley in 2024 and is working in the lab with Jessie to understand the molecular mechanisms by which Rickettsia are killed by interferons in mouse cells.