Leadership

Kristian Andersen

Kristian G. Andersen

Professor

Training

Postdoc
Harvard University
Broad Institute
Advisor: Pardis Sabeti

Graduate (MPhil & PhD)
University of Cambridge
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Advisor: Alex Betz

Undergraduate
Aarhus University
University of Kent
Major: Business & Molecular Biology

Super Powers

Experimental Biology

85%

Computational Biology

75%

Field Work

55%

Sarcasm

1%

Rock Climbing

73%

Ice Climbing

55%
Andrew Routh

Andrew Routh

Institute Investigator

Experience

Associate Professor, UTMB

Postdoc
Scripps Research Institute
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Advisors: John Johnson, Bruce Torbett; Daniela Rhodes, Jason Chin

Graduate (PhD)
University of Cambridge
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Advisor: Daniela Rhodes

Undergraduate
University of Oxford
Major: Cellular & Molecular Biochemistry

Super Powers

Molecular Biology

90%

Viral Genomics

90%

Long distance running

80%

Pianoforte

50%

Time management

20%

Optimism

100%
Karthik Gangavarapu

Karthik Gangavarapu

Institute Investigator

Training

Postdoc
UCLA
Advisor: Marc Suchard

Graduate (PhD)
Scripps Research
Advisors: Kristian Andersen & Andrew Su

Undergraduate
Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Major: Pharmacy

Super Powers

Software Engineering

80%

Computational Biology

90%

Startups

60%

Video Games

50%

Comic Book Nerd

90%

Prepper

100%

Cat Herders

Refugio Robles

Refugio Robles-Sikisaka

Senior Research Scientist / Lab Manager

Training

Postdoc
UC San Diego
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Advisors: David Pride; Hendrik Nollens

Graduate (PhD)
UC Davis and San Diego State University
California State University, San Marcos
Advisors: Andrew Bohonak; Arun Dhar

Undergraduate
Universidad Autonoma de Baja California
Advisors: Edward C. Metz; Meredith Gould

Super Powers

Lab Keeper

90%

Lab Work

70%

Administration

45%

Training/Teaching

55%

Outdoor Walking

60%

Amateur Photography

80%
Michelle McGraw

Michelle McGraw

Senior Center Manager

Experience

Scripps Research-Office of Sponsored Programs Research
San Diego State Research Foundation

Training

Undergraduate
UC Davis
Major: Environmental Biology & Management

Super Powers

Project Management

70%

Grants Administration

80%

Budgets

90%

Other Support Sudoku

75%

Polynesian Dance

50%
Emily Spencer

Emily Spencer

Guru

Experience

Scripps Health
HHMI

Training

Graduate (PhD)
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Medical Genomics Laboratory
Advisor: Ludwine Messiaen

Undergraduate
UC Davis
Major: Psychology (Bio emphasis) & Spanish

Super Powers

IRB

99%

Clinical Genomics

90%

Administration

90%

Foodie

100%

Hiding

95%

TV Bingeing

80%

Project Scientists

Josh Levy

Joshua Levy

Project Scientist

Training

Postdoc
Andersen Lab

Graduate (PhD)
Northwestern University
Advisors: William Kath and Marco Gallio

Graduate (MSc)
University of Oxford
Advisor: Jared Tanner

Undergraduate
Tufts University
Major: Applied Mathematics & Chemistry

Super Powers

Data-driven modeling

90%

Computational Biology

80%

Mathematical optimization

70%

Surfing

20%

Whistling

70%

Roller Disco

60%

Postdocs & Fellows

Jyothi Purushotham

Jyothi Purushotham

Postdoc

Training

Graduate (PhD)
University of Oxford, The Jenner Institute
National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Virology
Advisors: Sarah Gilbert, Teresa Lambe, Vincent Munster

Graduate (MSc)
University of Oxford
Advisor: Sarah Rowland-Jones

Undergraduate
University of Rochester
Major: Molecular Genetics

Super Powers

Vaccinology

80%

Translational Immunology

70%

Drinking Tea

100%

Cuddling Cats

80%

Writing

70%

Computational Biology

10%
Brady Page

Brady Page

Clinical Fellow

Training

Postgraduate
Critical Care fellowship: Stanford University
Infectious Diseases fellowship: University of California, San Diego
Internal Medicine residency: Massachusetts General Hospital

Graduate (MD, MPH)
Tulane University

Undergraduate
University of California, Berkeley
Major: Physiology & Metabolism

Super Powers

Strength

100%

Agility

100%

Intelligence

100%

Beauty

100%

Modesty

10%

Graduate Students

Chrissy Aceves

Chrissy Aceves

Graduate Student (Joint with Su Lab)

Training

Experience
Research Programmer, Andersen Lab

Undergraduate
UC San Diego
Major: Biochemistry & Chemistry

Super Powers

Machine Learning

60%

Making Cool Figures

80%

Documenting Code

30%

Eating Burritos

100%

Being Awake in the Morning

10%
Praneeth Gangavarapu

Praneeth Gangavarapu

Graduate Student (Joint with Briney Lab)

Training

Undergraduate
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore
Major: Computer Science

Super Powers

Programming

70%

Tech News

60%

Night Owl

80%

GitHub Actions

70%

Junk food

100%
Alana Weiss

Alana Weiss

Graduate Student (Joint with Mendoza Lab)

Training

Experience
Lab Assistant, Andersen Lab

Undergraduate
Pomona College
Major: Molecular Biology

Super Powers

Molecular Biology

75%

Interest in ID Research

95%

Dance moves

75%

Plant Mom

5%

Marvel Nerd

50%

Computational Staff

Dylan Pilz

Dylan Pilz

Research Programmer II

Training

Undergraduate
UC San Diego
Major: Biology w/Spec. Bioinformatics

Super Powers

Data Science

70%

Bioinformatics

80%

Jiu-jitsu

20%

Ctrl+C Ctrl+V

100%
Maryam Ahmadi

Maryam Ahmadi Jeshvaghane

Research Programmer II

Training

Graduate (MSc)
San Diego State University
Big Data Analytics w/Spec. Bioinformatics

Undergraduate
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Major: Industrial and Management Engineering, Statistic

Super Powers

Computational Biology

80%

Data Visualization

90%

Machine Learning

70%

Playing the Violin

60%

Yoga

60%
James McFeeters

James McFeeters

Research Programmer II

Training

Undergraduate
Beloit College
Major: Computer Science & Mathematics

Super Powers

Programming

90%

Biology

25%

Breaking things

90%

Fixing things

65%

Climbing

95%
Eleanor Chan

Eleanor Chan

Research Programmer II

Training

Graduate (MSc)
Duke University
Biostatistics w/Spec. Biomedical Data Science

Undergraduate
City University of Hong Kong
Major: Data Science

Super Powers

Data Science

80%

Bioinformatics

60%

Overcook

70%

Doing make-up

80%

Watching drama

90%
Leandro Collares

Leandro Collares

Software Engineer (Joint with Wu Lab)

Graduate (MSc)
University of Victoria
Computer Science

Undergraduate
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Major: Electrical Engineering

Super Powers

Data Visualization

75%

UX Research

75%

Reading

50%

Data Analysis

45%

Language Learning

45%

Baking

40%

Professional Collaborators

Edyth Parker

Edyth Parker

Professional Collaborator

Training

Postdoc
Andersen Lab (2021 – 2024)

Graduate (PhD & MPhil)
University of Cambridge
University of Amsterdam
Advisors: Colin Russell & Manjinder Sandhu

Undergraduate
University of Cape Town
University of the Western Cape
Major: Biotechnology, Infectious Disease & Molecular Medicine

Super Powers

Genomic Epidemiology

80%

Algorithm Development

60%

Flattening List of Lists

50%

Roundhouse Kick

85%

In-depth Jane Austen Trivia

90%

Love of BTS Coding Music

90%

Alumni

Nathan Grubaugh
2016-2018, Postdoc
† Assistant Professor, Yale University
Matthias Pauthner
2018-2020, Postdoc
† Co-founder, Weatherwax Biotechnologies
Glenn Oliveira
2016-2021, Graduate Student
† Senior Scientist, Bluestar Genomics
Sharada Saraf
2017-2020, Undergraduate Researcher
† NIH IRTA Research Fellow
Garyk Brixi
2018-2020, High School Researcher
† Undergraduate, Harvard University
Alaa Abdel Latif
2020-2021, Research Programmer
† Co-founder, syrup.tech
Emily Kang
2019-2021, High School Researcher
† Undergraduate, MIT
Ashley Zolfaghari
2019-2022, High School Researcher
† Undergraduate, Notre Dame
Sabrina Meng
2019-2021, Undergraduate Researcher
† Undergraduate, MIT
Justin Lee
2019-2021, Lab Assistant
† Undergraduate, UCSD
Manar Alkuzweny
2019-2021, Undergraduate Researcher
† PhD Student, Notre Dame
Kyra Benowitz
2021-2023, Communications Assistant
† Medical School, Touro University
Shirlee Wohl
2021-2023, Institute Investigator
† Lead Investigator, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Anna Fomsgaard
2021-2022, Visiting Student
† PhD Student, University of Copenhagen
Ezra Kurzban
2020-2022, Research Assistant I
† Scientist, Illumina
Sarah Perkins
2021-2022, Research Technician
† PhD Student, Harvard University
Madison Schwab
2021-2022, Research Technician
† PhD Student, Emory University
Karthik Ramesh
2021-2022, Research Programmer
† Medical School, UCSD
John Demby
2022, Visiting Student
† PhD Student, University of Ghana
Catie Anderson
2018-2023, Research Assistant
† MPH Student, Harvard University
Kieran Saucedo
2022-2023, Research Assistant
† Graduate Student, Harvey Mudd College
Diya Ramesh
2021-2023, Research Assistant
† Undergraduate, MIT
Nate Matteson
2017-2023, Graduate Student
† Postdoc, Harvard
Gytis Dudas
2016-2023, Consulting Collaborator
† Assistant Professor, Vilnius University
Raphaëlle Klitting
2018-2023, Postdoc / Professional Collaborator
† Division Lead, Emerging Viruses Unit
Michelle Platero
2015-2024, Senior Admin
† Grants Manager, UCSD
Alison King
2022-2024, Research Programmer
† MSc Student, UCLA
Kelly Nguyen
2022-2024, Lab Assistant I
† Medical Worker
Emory Hufbauer
2021-2024, Research Programmer
† Freelance
Holly Lutz
2022-2024, Postdoc
† Associate Curator, Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Camille Bell
2022-2025, Research Technician
† Scientist, UCSD
Allison Steedman
2023-2025, Research Technician
† PhD Student, Harvard
Yasmeen Shah
2024-2025, Research Intern
† Undergraduate, UCLA
Mark Zeller
2016-2025, Project Scientist
† Bike-touring the Americas!
Christina Mac
2023-2025, Research Technician
† Research Scientist

External Advisory Geniuses

noodle_cat

Noodle

Supreme Commander
Ruler of the Universe

Super Powers

Respect My Authoritah!

100%

Inflicting Pain

90%

Being Cute

10%

Sleeping in the Sun

100%

Super Powers

Annoying the Supreme Commander

90%

Too Much Darn Energy!

95%

Being Cute

80%

Being Spunky

60%