Current Lab Members
Ray Nietupski
Cummings Scientist I
I am a research scientist working on infectious disease, more specifically, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. I have 19 years of experience as a researcher in infectious disease. Initially my research focused on food borne pathogens, but the last 12 years has focused primarily on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (formally, Hung Laboratory, MIT/Broad Institute; current Martinot Laboratory, Tufts). My earlier work involved the development of nucleic acid probes for the detection of infectious disease. I have conducted experiments utilizing chemical biology and genomics to discover antitubercular small molecules and have recently been looking at approaches to vaccine development for Mtb. I am currently scientific lead for our Gates funded grant to generate a panel of additional Mtb knock-outs on the dLprG-Rv1410 backbone. Using a combination of recombineering and phage transduction, I successfully generated the panel of LAV we are proposing to further investigate in this proposal. In addition to performing experiments involving Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a biosafety level 3 containment lab, I have had the responsibility of managing the day-to-day activities of a BSL3 lab which includes the training of personnel and I am core personnel in the TB research unit of our NIH UC7 funded workforce development grant awarded to the Tufts Regional Biosafety Laboratory.
Victoria Primavera
Ph.D. Student
Advisors: Amanda Martinot and Saul Tzipori
Much of my work has been on establishing various mouse models of COVID-19- looking at the clinical symptoms, virology, pathology and cellular immune response during infection and recovery. We predominantly, have been working with a mouse-adapted viral strain that allows us to investigate mice of different backgrounds to determine the best model for various lines of inquiry- such as PASC aka long-COVID. As part of this I have developed and optimized two multiparameter flow cytometry panels to pinpoint antigen specific cellular immunity. My thesis project is focused on understanding site-specific T-cell immune response to SARS CoV2 infection by applying the flow panels to various respiratory and systemic tissues. This has allowed us to look at tissue specific memory and how it changes under different conditions such as repeat infections, vaccination and hybrid immunity. This research will hopefully help inform future preventative measures such as vaccine design and delivery strategy not only for COVID, which continues to persist as a public health threat, but for other respiratory viruses as well.
Fernando Javier Vilchez-Delgado, DVM
Ph.D. Student
Advisors: Amanda Martinot and Marieke Rosenbaum
My research focuses on viral diseases affecting Neotropical primates, with an emphasis on herpesviruses and their host-specific interactions in primates rescued from illegal wildlife trafficking in Peru. Our work integrates extensive field screenings conducted in collaboration with local partners in Peru, as well as molecular and virological assays performed primarily at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. I am interested in understanding the co-evolutionary dynamics between viruses and primate hosts across the Americas and assessing the potential implications of these pathogens for both animal and human health.
