Monica Mugnier, Principal Investigator

Monica joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2016 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. She completed her PhD at Rockefeller University in Nina Papavasiliou's lab, where she developed VSG-seq, an approach for measuring VSG expression in T. brucei populations in vivo. When she's not in the lab, she likes to hang out with her animals, Bailey and Odie. 

Alex Beaver, PhD Student

Alex is a Pathobiology PhD student. He received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Clemson University in 2016. Alex was a lab technician working on glycosomes in Trypanosomes before becoming a graduate student at Johns Hopkins. When not in lab or studying, he enjoys playing soccer and volleyball, backpacking, and trying out Baltimore’s local food and beer.

Jaclyn Smith, PhD Student

Jaclyn is a PhD candidate in the Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology program. Jaclyn received B.S. degrees in Biochemistry, Human Biology, and Polymer & Color Chemistry from North Carolina State University in 2015. When Jaclyn isn’t in lab, she can be found at the BARCS, the Baltimore City animal shelter, walking dogs, or watching/reliving NC State basketball or Carolina Panthers football games.

Jaime So, PhD Student

Jaime received her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and completed her Master’s at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Monica Mugnier’s lab, where she worked on optimizing methods for sequencing trypanosomes in host tissues. She is now a PhD student in the Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology program and has returned to the lab to study antibody responses to VSG. Outside of the lab, Jaime enjoys exploring the outdoors and browsing farmers’ markets.

Nathan Crilly, PhD Student

Nathan is a veterinary pathology resident and a Ph.D student in the Pathobiology program. Nathan received his Bachelor’s in Food Microbiology and DVM at the University of Tennessee, where he first became interested in working with neglected and parasitic diseases. Outside of lab, he enjoys baking, visiting Civil War battlefields, backpacking, and spoiling his greyhound, Cavall.

LuLu Singer, ScM Student

Lulu is a master’s student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. She received her BS in Biology from George Mason University, where she became interested in neglected tropical diseases and host-pathogen interactions. Outside of lab, she enjoys crocheting, ice cream, and walks around Patterson Park.

Kevin Wang, Masters Student

Kevin joined the lab as an undergraduate student at JHU studying Molecular and Cellular Biology and Economics and is now continuing in the lab for his Master’s degree. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, collecting stationery, and practicing piano. He hopes to go to medical school in the near future somewhere on the east coast (which happens to be the best coast).

Erin Kennedy, ScM Student

Erin received her B.S. in Microbiology from Clemson University in 2023, where she became interested in tropical diseases. She is currently a master’s student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. Outside of school and lab, she enjoys reading, watching football, hiking, and hanging out with cute animals.

Xiyuan Zhang, ScM Student

Xiyuan is a master's student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. She received her Bachelor's degree in Biology from Virginia Tech where she became interested in immunology and genetics. Outside the lab, she likes to play guitar and listen to rock music, also likes to visit museums, swim, and paint.

Jess Zheng, Undergrad

Jess is an undergraduate student at JHU studying Public Health and minoring in Economics. Outside of lab and schoolwork, she enjoys watching figure skating and volleyball, baking, reading, and exploring Baltimore with friends. She hopes to go to medical school after college and adopt a small fluffy puppy one day.

Dharani Moorthy, Undergrad

Dharani is an undergraduate student at JHU studying Molecular and Cellular Biology. Outside of the lab, he likes playing soccer, biking with friends, exploring museums (especially science museums!), and trying different restaurants and cuisines. He hopes to go to medical school after college and eventually live in New York City.

Bob Gilman

Bob is a professor in the Department of International Health and our collaborator for all of our T. cruzi projects. In his free time, he enjoys trying to convince the entire Mugnier lab to study Chagas disease.

Sneider Gutierrez, Postdoc

Sneider obtained his Ph.D. in Biology in Colombia at the Universidad de Antioquia. He is interested in integrating wet lab techniques with bioinformatic analysis to explore gene expression mechanisms in trypanosomatids. Outside of the lab, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, whether it's sharing beers, snacks, or engaging in fun conversations.

Caroline Duque, MD/PhD Student

Carolina is a MD/PhD student in the Pathobiology program. She received a B.S in Biological Science from Cornell University s in 2018. Carolina is interested in studying the host-pathogen interplay of parasitic infections. In her free time she likes hiking, spending time with friends/family and travelling.

Jill Hakim, PhD Student

Jill is a PhD student in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology program. She received a BA from Johns Hopkins in public health, and an MPH in molecular epidemiology from the University of Michigan. Jill is interested in studying pathogen biology and neglected tropical diseases and in her free time likes reading and playing video games with friends.