Sarah C. Bloch
Maggie McBride
Maggie McBride is proud to be from Chardon, Ohio. She majored in Biomedical Science at The Ohio State University, where she studied streptococcal adherence in the lab of Dr. Sam King. She joined the Vanderbilt MSTP in 2017, and plans to become a pediatric physician-scientist.
Maggie studies the role of the dicarboxylic acid itaconate in regulating macrophage metabolism and controlling bacterial burden in sepsis.
Publications on 
Catherine Shelton
I graduated from Western Washington University in 2016 with a B.S. in Biochemistry. After graduation, I worked as a research assistant in the Tuberculosis Discovery Research Group at the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle, WA. I joined the IGP in 2018 and began working in the lab of Dr. Mariana Byndloss in 2019.
Interaction between the gut microbiota and host during disease.
Kaitlyn Schaaf
Kaitlyn graduated with a B.Sc. in Biology from Samford University in 2014 where her research focused on restoration ecology of tropical rain forests. Upon graduation, she began working as a research assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Olaf Kutsch at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she studied the host cellular changes involved in the long term persistence of HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. Kaitlyn began graduate school at Vanderbilt University in the fall of 2017 and joined the Microbe Host Interactions program.
Awards and Honors:
President, American Society of Microbiology Student Chapter of Vanderbilt University
Kaitlyn's thesis research focuses on the pathogenesis of influenza virus associated acute respiratory distress syndrome. In particular, she studies the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of alveolar epithelial glycocalyx shedding in the lung epithelium during infection, and how that propagates lung injury.
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Jing Li
I graduated from University of California, San Diego with a degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology in 2018. As an undergraduate researcher I worked in Dr. Jeffrey Esko's lab on a CRISPR screen aiming to uncover novel regulatory factors involved in heparan sulfate biosynthesis. After that I joined IGP, pursuing my growing interest in immunology.
Goettel's Lab studies the role of IL-23 in mucosal immune regulation. My project focuses on the function of IL-23 in ILC3s.
Publications on 
Grace Morales
I am originally from Northern Virginia, but earned by BS in Biotechnology and Molecular Bioscience from Rochester Institute of Technology in NY in 2018. I worked under Dr. Andre Hudson while in school. I immediately joined Vanderbilt University in 2018 through the IGP, and joined MHI.
In the Schmitz and Hadjifrangiskou labs, I work on defining a molecular signature for uropathogenic E. coli. I utilize bioinformatics and bacterial genetics techniques.
Publications on 
Sirena C. Tran
Before coming to Vanderbilt, I got my B.A. in Biochemistry at the University of San Diego. I worked in Dr. Ellis Bell's lab for 3 years during undergrad focusing on the effects of nucleotides on the conformational flexibility and stability of glutamate dehydrogenase. I joined the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program right after undergrad in 2018. Outside of lab, I like to go hiking and to explore Nashville.
Our lab focus is on Helicobacter pylori. The two questions that I'm currently trying to ask are: (1) Does H. pylori obtain nutrients from the host cell? If so, how and what types of nutrients? (2) Does H. pylori directly interact with the host cell using the Cag Type IV secretion system? If so, how and which components of the system?
Sydni Caet Smith
Jennifer Shuman, B.S.
I received my B.S. in Genetics and in Microbiology from Clemson University in May 2018, where I worked with Dr. Ingram-Smith on Entamoeba histolytica metabolism. I entered the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt in the fall of 2018. I am now in Dr. Cover's lab, in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology. Outside of the lab, I enjoy hiking, baking, and reading for fun.
The Cover lab studies Helicobacter pylori, which infects about half of humans worldwide and is a Class I Carcinogen according to the World Health Organization. My project focuses on a bacterial virulence factor, the Cag Type IV Secretion System, that is associated with more severe disease outcomes. I hope to better characterize the host response to the Cag Type IV secretion system, and the contribution of this system to carcinogenesis.