Immunologic studies of human B cells in HIV and other infectious and non-infectious diseases
Members of the B-Cell Immunology Section Research Group
Front Row: Wei Wang, Susan Moir, Christine Youn, Xiaozhen Zhang, Clarisa Buckner
Back Row: Marissa Hand, Lala Kardava, Valerie Melson, Wes Austin
Members of the B-Cell Immunology Section Research Group
Front Row: Wei Wang, Susan Moir, Christine Youn, Xiaozhen Zhang, Clarisa Buckner
Back Row: Marissa Hand, Lala Kardava, Valerie Melson, Wes Austin
Susan Moir, Ph.D.
Chief, B-Cell Immunology Section
Education: Ph.D., 1996, University Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Felipe Lopes de Assis, Ph.D. (He/Him/His)
Post-doctoral Fellow
Education:
Ph.D., M.S., Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
B.S., University of Itauna, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Languages Spoken: Portuguese
Clarisa M. Buckner, Ph.D.
Biologist
Education:
Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY
Lela Kardava, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, B-Cell Immunology Section
Education:
Ph.D., 2002, Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Dr. Kardava received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the Tbilisi State University, Georgia in 2002. She conducted her postdoctoral research at the Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh. In 2008, Dr. Kardava joined the Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR) at NIAID as a postdoctoral visiting fellow and in 2011, she became a research fellow. In 2016, she was appointed as a staff scientist in the B-Cell Immunology Section, LIR.
Connor Smith (He/Him/His)
Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow
Education:
B.S., University of Virginia, VA
Connor Smith’s research is focused on using single-cell multiomic technology to investigate the transcriptional and phenotypic properties of B cells that underlie their response to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 as well as during HIV infection.
Wei Wang, M.S.
Biologist
Education:
M.S., Fisk University, Nashville, TN
M.S., Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, China
Languages Spoken: Chinese
Wei utilizes her background in molecular biology and microbiology to actively support research projects involved studying the role of B cells in the pathogenesis of HIV disease. She is currently working on B-cell responses to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Xiaozhen Zhang, M.S.
Biologist
Education:
M.S., University of California – Irvine at Irvine, CA
Languages Spoken: Mandarin
Xiaozhen Zhang is currently focused on investigating the molecular aspects of B cell receptor repertoires during HIV and SARS-Cov-2 infection using single B cell cloning technology, BCR bulk sequencing and 10x genomics technology. She also performs neutralization, binding, and competition assays to assess neutralization and binding activities of anti-HIV and anti-SARS-Cov-2 antibodies.
