2024-25 Autoimmunity and Autoinflammation Training Grant Trainees

Laurel Stine (Medicine)
Laurel is a PhD candidate in Dr. Fiachra Humphries’s lab. Her research focuses on cell death and subsequent plasma membrane rupture in the context of autoimmune disease. Laurel received her BA in Biology from Colgate University.

Leo DeOrsey (Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology)
Leo is a PhD candidate in Dr. Paul Thompson’s lab. His thesis work is focused on investigating SARM1, an NAD⁺ hydrolase that promotes axon degeneration and neuroinflammation in a range of disorders including traumatic brain injuries, peripheral and optic neuropathies, multiple sclerosis, and ALS. Leo attended Rhode Island College where he received a BS in Biology, a BM in clarinet performance, and a minor in chemistry. 

Nick Hayden (Pathology)
Nick is a PhD student in Dr. Lawrence Stern’s lab. His research focuses on improving methods of predicting T cell epitopes and using these methods to discover new autoimmune epitopes. Nick received his BS in Mathematics and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Marta Pérez-Vázquez (Medicine)
Marta is a PhD candidate in Dr. Lee Quinton’s lab. Her research aims to understand innate immunity responses and tissue resilience upon bacterial pulmonary infections by studying mouse lung endothelial cells and LIF, a cytokine known to drive lung tissue protection and resilience during and after pneumonia. Marta received her BS in Biotechnology from the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce and a MS in Biology from Towson University.

Noah Sciambra (Medicine)
Noah is an MD/PhD candidate in Dr. Read Pukkila-Worley’s lab. His research is focused on genetic factors affecting C. elegans susceptibility to pathogen infection. He attended the University of Alabama where he obtained a BS and MS in Biological Sciences via an Accelerated Master’s Program.