Yewdell Research Group

The mission of the Yewdell lab is to extend a basic understanding of the interaction between the host and viruses and to use viruses as tools to better understand cell biology.

Jonathan Wilson Yewdell, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief, Cellular Biology Section

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Education:

M.D., Ph.D., 1981, University of Pennsylvania

A.B., 1975, Princeton University

Dr. Yewdell received an A.B. in biochemistry magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1975, working with Dr. Arnold Levine for his undergraduate thesis on immune recognition of virus-transformed cells. He received an M.D. and a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, working with Dr. Walter Gerhard on using monoclonal antibodies to understand influenza A virus hemagglutinin antigenicity and function. In 1987, Dr. Yewdell joined the Laboratory of Viral Diseases and in 1993 was appointed to lead its Cellular Biology Section.

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Jonathan Wilson Yewdell, M.D., Ph.D.

James S. Gibbs, B.S., R.Ph., Ph.D.

Biologist

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Education:

Ph.D., 1990, Harvard GSAS, Division of Medical Sciences, Boston, MA

B.S., 1982, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Boston, MA

James attended the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston, receiving a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and becoming a registered pharmacist in Massachusetts, a credential maintained to this date. After graduation, James attended the Harvard GSAS at Harvard Medical School to study herpes simplex virus DNA replication with Dr. Donald M. Coen. James did a postdoc with Dr. Ronald Desrosiers...

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Ivan Kosik, Ph.D.

Staff Scientist

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Education:

Ph.D., 2011, Virology, Institute of Virology,Slovak Academy of Science, Bratislava, Slovakia

M.S., 2007, Molecular Biology, Comenius University Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia

Languages Spoken: Slovak

I am a viral immunologist aspiring to understand antigenicity, neutralization, and viral evolution. Using the influenza virus, I study relationships between viral architecture, antigenic sites, and antibody properties such as valency, flexibility, and avidity. I am exploring viral populations shaped by antibodies to reveal viral evasion strategies and identify weak spots and vaccine targets.

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Jaroslav Hollý, Ph.D.

Research Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., 2017, Virology, Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

M.S., 2013, Virology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

B.S., 2011, Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

Languages Spoken: Slovak

Jaro’s doctoral dissertation focused on an immune response to vaccination against influenza A virus conserved epitopes (M2e). From there, he joined Jon Yewdell's lab as a postdoctoral fellow, where he employed ribosomal profiling techniques in the immunopeptidomics study of cancer cells, which was published in Cell Reports. Jaro is focusing his research on MHC-I antigen processing and presentation...

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Amir Ghorbani, D.V.M, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow IRTA

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Education:

Ph.D., 2022, Comparative and Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Residency/Ph.D., 2020, Avian Diseases, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

D.V.M, 2012, Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

Languages Spoken: Persian/Farsi

Amir Ghorbani is a viral immunologist studying influenza virus-host interactions. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan Yewdell at the Laboratory of Viral Diseases. His research delves into an unconventional realm of influenza virus genome translation, extending viral protein translation and T-cell immunosurveillance to formerly “non-coding” viral sequences...

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Alberto D López-Muñoz, Ph.D., M.S.

Visiting Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., 2019, Virology, Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Centre, Madrid, Spain

M.S., 2014, Molecular Biomedicine, Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Centre, Madrid, Spain

Languages Spoken: Spanish

Dr. López-Muñoz is a virologist passionate about understanding how viruses evade and modulate the human immune system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he discovered and explored the role of surface nucleocapsid protein of human coronaviruses in immunomodulation. He is currently expanding his findings on coronaviruses to other viral nucleocapsid proteins as modulators of the immune response...

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Aizan Embong, Ph.D.

Visiting Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., 2022, Virology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY

B.S., 2017, Biotechnology, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

Languages Spoken: Malay

Aizan joined the Cellular Biology Section within the Laboratory of Viral Diseases in November 2022 after successfully defending his doctoral dissertation at the University of Rochester Medical Center. His doctoral work was on characterizing the role of broadly cross-reactive antigen-specific memory B cells against divergent human pathogens. Aizan’s current main interest is understanding the role...

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Zhe Hu, Ph.D.

Visiting Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., 2020, Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

M.S., 2017, Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

B.S., 2014, Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Shandong, China

Languages Spoken: Mandarin

Zhe Hu is a visiting fellow in the Laboratory of Viral Diseases, Cellular Biology Section, under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Yewdell, where she is working on coronavirus rescue. Zhe Hu graduated in 2020 with a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine from the China Agricultural University School of Veterinary Medicine, where she worked with the animal influenza research team in the Key Laboratory of Animal...

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Tiansheng Li

Postdoctoral Fellow

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Education:

Ph.D., 2018, Fudan University

B.S., 2013, NanChang University

Languages Spoken: Chinese

Dr. Li obtained his B.S. in biotechnology from NanChang University in 2013 and completed his Ph.D. program in microbiology at Fudan University in 2018. He currently serves as a postdoctoral fellow collaborating with Dr. Jonathan Yewdell in the Cellular Biology Section, where his research focuses on studying human coronaviruses and their evolution to evade host immunity. Prior to joining Dr...

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Former Research Group Members

  • Neetij Krishnan, B.A., Postbac IRTA
  • Nicholas Usher, B.S., Postbac IRTA
  • Alec Zhan, B.S., Postbac IRTA
  • Nathan Fridlyand, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow
  • Jefferson Santos, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow
  • Devin Dersh, Ph.D., Research Fellow
  • Samantha Muccilli, Ph.D., Rocky-Beth Postdoctoral Fellow
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