Hourigan Research Group

Dr. Suchitra (Suchi) Hourigan was born in the UK and received her medical degree from the University of Oxford.  She is a board-certified physician in pediatrics and pediatric gastroenterology, having completed her pediatric residency and pediatric gastroenterology fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Prior to coming to NIH, Dr. Hourigan held faculty positions at the...

Dr. Nathalia Albarracin is a board-certified pediatrician and clinical fellow in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She received her medical degree from the Pennsylvania State University and completed her pediatric residency at Madigan Army Medical Center. Her clinical focus centers on pediatric gastrointestinal health, with...

Victor received his B.S. from Tufts University and his Ph.D. from Emory University, where he studied antibiotic resistance within bacterial subpopulations to last-line drugs. His current research interests include the metabolic responses of bacteria to antibiotics and the downstream immune response.

Qing received her B.S. in biology from Shandong University and her Ph.D. in cell biology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where she studied the interaction between mesenchymal stem cells and the immune system. She then completed postdoc training at NIEHS, investigating the role of poly(A)-tail length regulation in gene expression and cell fate in ESCs and germline stem cells. Her current...

Tingting double majored in neuroscience and the history and sociology of science, with a minor in chemistry, at the University of Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate, she conducted structural virology research in an infectious disease laboratory using cryo-electron microscopy techniques. She is passionate about improving access to education and public health, especially in childhood development...

Sara received her B.S. in Public health from American University followed by an M.S.P.H. in Global Communicable Disease from the University of South Florida, where she also completed coursework on Health Promotion and Behavior Change, and earned a graduate certificate in infection control. Sara’s research interests include the long-term impacts of vaginal seeding on children born via cesarian...

Samira received her B.S. in Biochemistry with an emphasis in Molecular Biology where her research focused on competing bacterial against each other. As part of the Hourigan Lab, she has had the opportunity to investigate the immune responses to microbiome interventions in pregnancy. Samira hopes to attend graduate school and investigate host-gut microbe interactions at the intersection of...

Dr. Hammon is a board-certified pediatrician, pediatric gastroenterology fellow at WRNMMC and a clinical research fellow in the NIH Clinical Microbiome Unit. She is fascinated by the interplay of environmental exposures, microbiome, and inflammatory gut conditions. She is currently studying associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances “forever chemicals”, the microbiome, and...

Yessenia is a medical student at PSCOM, currently participating in the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program for her dedicated research year. As an aspiring obstetrician-gynecologist, she is excited to expand her research knowledge of the vaginal microbiome and its applications to maternal and child health. She has a diverse research background in maternal fetal medicine at UCSF, precision...

Shira Levy holds a master's degree in neuroimaging from George Mason University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Research at the University of Jamestown. With over fifteen years of experience in clinical research, she currently manages clinical trials within the Clinical Microbiome Unit, where her work focuses on microbiome-based interventions to improve health outcomes in children.

Ranjani received her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, where she studied the evolution of apicomplexan parasites using next-generation sequencing and molecular biology techniques. She then did her postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at NIAID, investigating the role of the microbiota in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Her work at the Clinical...

At Bard College, Sasha developed an interest in using interdisciplinary methods to understand reproductive health issues. For her senior thesis, she designed and conducted a study to investigate the effects of birth control on the vaginal microbiome and reproductive outcomes. She plans to continue following this question, including more patient-focused research methods as she works toward her Ph.D...

At California Polytechnic State University, Katherine studied human anatomy/physiology, as well as medical microbiology. She aims to research the intersection of the two fields, with an emphasis on women’s health and the vaginal microbiome. In the future, she will pursue an M.D./Ph.D.

Dr. Strength is a board-certified internal medicine physician, board-eligible pediatrician, and clinical fellow in adult and pediatric infectious diseases at NIH and Children’s National Hospital. Her research interests include the long-term effects of infections in pregnant women and their children. She is studying how the microbiome changes through different stages of pregnancy and how infections...

Sophia earned her B.S. in Microbiology from Clemson University, where she studied host-microbe interactions and microbial ecology. Her research interests include investigating how the human microbiome influences health and disease, particularly through early-life microbiome interventions. In the future, she plans to pursue a Ph.D.

Garmani earned his B.S. in biology at the University of Maryland where he worked on developing single-cell FRET-based ribosensors. He is interested in the developing gut microbiome and its connection to childhood health and inflammatory diseases. After his training at the NIH, he hopes to pursue a career in academic medicine.