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. He definitely doesn't have more grey hair now than he did when this photo was taken.
Joshua M. Ames, PhD
Senior Fellow
Josh earned his PhD from the Graduate Education in Medical Sciences program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he studied the immune response provoked by herpesvirus infection of the eyes and nervous system. He joined the Oberst Lab in 2021. Josh makes amazing home-made hot sauce, which he shares with the lab.
Suny Chavarria
Graduate Student
Suny earned her undergraduate degree from the City College of New York, and gained research experience at Mt. Sinai in New York before joining the Oberst Lab in 2021.
Lan H. Chu, PhD
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. Observations indicate that Lan is largely nocturnal, typically working from mid-afternoon 'till the wee hours of the morning.
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. Cassidy once biked from Seattle to the Cascades towing a trailer full of skis, skied all day, then biked home, all for "fun."
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.
Aletta Li
Undergraduate Student
Aletta is a fourth-year student at UW majoring in biochemistry, and she joined the Oberst lab in March of 2020. Aletta used to love chocolate, but has eaten so much of it over the years that she's now sick of it - she now snacks on (and sometimes shares!) a variety of other treats, including matcha-flavored KitKats!
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.
Megan S. Molina, PhD
Senior Fellow
Megan earned a Ph.D from the University of Arizona, where she studied the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on native and transplanted immune cells. Megan joined the Oberst lab in 2021. Megan's commitment to research is so strong that she literally has a piece of data tattooed on her arm.
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. Geoff is a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, but is otherwise not prone to self-harm. (EDIT: this was written in 2020; the Eagles are good this year!)
Valerie Sheehan
Lab Manager
Valerie graduated from UW with a degree in Biology in 2022, and joined the Oberst Lab the same year. To our surprise, and only after hiring her, we learned that Valerie was once deported from Ireland!
Alumni
Michelle Messmer, PhD (Senior Fellow)
Current: Undergraduate Instructor, Edmonds College
Nick Hubbard, PhD (Graduate Student, Immunology Program)
Current: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Utah
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, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Margo Werner (Research Scientist)
Current: Scientist II, AbbVie