Current Members

Andrew Oberst, PhD
Associate Professor of Immunology
Andrew graduated from Amherst College and pursued his graduate studies in Europe, in a collaborative program between the Universities of Rome and Paris. He completed postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. He joined the Department of Immunology as an Assistant Professor in 2012, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018.

Lan H. Chu
Senior Fellow
Lan earned a Ph.D. from the Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences at Northwestern University, where she discovered a role for oxidized phospholipids in controlling inflammasome activation. Lan started her postdoctoral training in the Oberst Lab in 2019.
Cassidy Hagan
Graduate Student
Cassidy completed her undergraduate studies at Colorado State University, and joined the Oberst lab in 2019. She is working towards a PhD in immunology.

Nick Hubbard
Graduate Student
Nick completed an undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Washington. He joined the Oberst lab in 2017 and is working towards a PhD in immunology.
Sigal Kofman
Graduate Student
Sigal graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a BS in biology. She is currently pursuing a PhD in immunology. Sigal joined the Oberst lab in 2018.

Sigal Kofman
Graduate Student
Sigal graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a BS in biology. She is currently pursuing a PhD in immunology. Sigal joined the Oberst lab in 2018.

Katrina Lichauco
Graduate Student
Katrina graduated from the University of Arizona with dual degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology. Katrina joined the Oberst Lab in the summer of 2020.

Michelle Messmer, PhD
Senior Fellow
Michelle earned a BS in biotechnology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. After completing a PhD in immunology from the University of Pittsburgh, she worked as a research fellow at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Michelle joined the Oberst lab in 2016.

Geoff Norris, PhD
Senior Fellow
Geoff graduated from Gettysburg College with a BS in biology. He went on to complete a PhD in neuroscience at the University of Virginia. Geoff started his postdoctoral studies in the Oberst Lab in 2018.

Pooja Ralli-Jain, PhD
Laboratory Manager
Pooja received a BS from St. Ann's College and an MS from the University of Mumbai. She completed a PhD at the University of North Texas, followed by postdoctoral work at the University of California, Irvine. Pooja joined the Oberst Lab in 2015.
Isabel Silva
Research Scientist
Isabel (Izzy) earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from UW, and plans to attend medical school in 2021. We are fortunate to have her until then!
Alumni
Michelle Brault, PhD (Graduate Student, MCB Program)
Current: Research Scientist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Brian Daniels, PhD (Senior Fellow)
Current: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers University
Kimberley Gutierrez, PhD (Senior Fellow)
Current: Field Applications Scientist, Qiagen
Tayla Olsen (Research Scientist)
Current: Graduate Student, UW MCB Program
Susana Orozco, PhD (Graduate Student, MCB Program)
Current: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Benaroya Research Institute
Annelise Snyder, PhD (Graduate Student, Immunology Program)
Current: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Salk Institute
Margo Werner (Research Scientist)
Current: Scientist II, AbbVie