Jillian Richmond, PhD
Dr. Richmond earned her undergraduate degree in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the Johns Hopkins University, and her doctoral degree in Pathology & Immunology from Boston University School of Medicine. She performed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemokine biology at Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to UMass to study chemokines in vitiligo, an autoimmune disease. Her independent laboratory focuses on T cell migration and memory in autoimmune diseases and cancers including lupus, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis and lymphoma. She uses comparative immunology approaches to study spontaneous diseases in companion animals.
Macie Muhr
Undergraduate Researcher
Macie is a rising sophomore at the University of Rhode Island, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science. She is originally from North Grafton, Massachusetts, where she lives with her family and rescue dog, Mollie. Outside of academics, Macie has a strong interest in health and wellness, and enjoys staying active through fitness and spending time outdoors.
Anika Gurijala
High School Research Intern
Anika is a high school student with a strong interest in biotechnology and immunology—specifically, how new technologies can enhance human health and advance innovation in medicine. Her research and academic experiences have enabled her to pursue these interests in both scientific and service-based applications. Anika has explored numerous signaling and gene-editing processes through learning with various institutions and team collaborations. Beyond the laboratory, she brings her passion to the real world through science team or health clubs at her school as well as gaining clinical experience as a Pharmacy Technician Trainee. Anika is especially motivated by the intersection of science and meaning: turning results into medical futures that count.
Isabella Nguyen
High School Research Intern
Isabella Nguyen is a rising junior at Shrewsbury High School. She has done research on chlorophyll content in plants during her freshman year and is looking forward to learning more about biology and anatomy. Besides biology, she also enjoys scrapbooking, graphic design, journaling, and reading thriller and romance books. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in dermatology.
Ishika Gupta
Medical Student Researcher
Ishika Gupta is a first-year medical student at UMass Chan Medical School with a strong interest in dermatology and research. She graduated from Duke University in 2023 and earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. During her gap year, she conducted research on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. During her time at Duke, she pursued various research opportunities across different fields, solidifying her love for the intersection of medicine and scientific discovery. Now, through personal experience, she is excited to dive into dermatology research, eager to explore the fields unique challenges while contributing meaningfully to advancements in patient care.
Lab Alumni
Saeed Shakiba, MD, MPH – postdoctoral research fellow; performing second postdoctoral fellowship with clinical research emphasis at Howard
Mridushi Daga, MS – former UMass Chan PhD student co-mentored by Dr. Ann Marshak-Rothstein (now fully transitioned to Dr. Rothstein’s laboratory)
Abigail McElroy, DVM, MS – former UMass Chan Millenium PhD student co-mentored by the Gene Therapy Center (now fully transitioned to Gene Therapy Center)
Ümmügülsüm Yıldız-Altay – postdoctoral research fellow; performing second postdoctoral fellowship with clinical research emphasis at Yale
Dany Alkurdi – postbaccalaureate researcher; currently a medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Warda Abdi – medical student researcher; currently an internal medicine resident in upstate NY
Rutha Adhanom – medical student researcher
Elisa Bello – medical student researcher; currently an internal medicine resident at BIDMC
Gary Chi – medical student researcher
Hanna Englander – medical student researcher
Faradia Kernizan – medical student researcher
Haley Neff – medical student researcher
Isabel Okinedo – medical student researcher
(Alexandra) Kate Rookey – medical student researcher
Nuha Salam – high school research intern
Himanee Dave – high school research intern; currently an undergraduate at UMass Amherst
Shakeria Stewart, MS – medical student researcher; currently a pediatrics resident at Morehouse
Yu Wang, PhD – medical student researcher; currently a pathology resident at Johns Hopkins
Lauren You – high school research intern
Yuying Zhang – medical student researcher
Shriya Kannan – high school research intern; currently an undergraduate at Dartmouth
Kirthi Rao – medical student researcher
Matthew Olivera – undergraduate researcher
Christopher Liu – undergraduate researcher
Robert Dinglun Luo – undergraduate researcher; currently a medical student at University of Oklahoma
Akanksha Nagarkar – medical student researcher
Andrew Romasco – medical student researcher
Sean Tao – high school research intern; currently an undergraduate at Cornell
Robert Li – medical student researcher
Saurabh Kumar – medical student researcher; currently a neurology resident at Northwell Northshore/Long Island Jewish Medical Center/Hofstra Medical School
Andy Huang – high school research intern; currently an undergraduate at Washington University St. Louis
Zechuan Rao – undergraduate researcher
Ezdean Alkurdi – medical student researcher
Jenny Wang – high school research intern
Nia James – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at Howard University
Nina C. Nwade – medical student researcher
Michelle Wu – medical student researcher
Marisa Walsh – medical student researcher; currently a psychology resident at BMC
David Pilson – undergraduate researcher
Renee Joyce – medical student researcher
Christine Li – medical student researcher
Nicole Loranger – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident
Aisha Jamison – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at University of Washington
Sachi Desse – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at Yale
Junyue Ma – high school research intern; currently an undergraduate at Brown
Janet Lubov, BSN, RN, PCCN – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at University of Iowa
Neil Wong – high school research intern; currently an undergraduate at UConn (full scholarship)
Fatima Qutab – undergraduate researcher; currently a postbaccalaureate researcher at the NIH
Danny Kwong – undergraduate researcher; currently a PA student at Stanford
Nazgol-Sadat Haddadi, MD, MPH – postdoctoral fellow; performing a second postdoctoral fellowship at UMass Chan
Khashayar Afshari, MD, MPH – postdoctoral fellow; currently an internal medicine resident at Bridgeport, CT
Sebastian Nieves-Lozano – undergraduate researcher; currently a medical student at the University of Guadalajara
Alice Amudzi, MD – postdoctoral research intern; completed internal medicine residency at the Berkshires; currently an attending physician in North Carolina
Ayodeji Ajayi, MPH – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville
Meigan Bryant – medical student researcher; currently a family medicine resident in Tennessee
Haya Raef, MS – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at Emory
Jadesole Temitope Olayinka – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at SUNY Downstate
Jenna (Cornwall) Mulhearn, RN – medical student researcher; currently a family medicine resident at UMass Memorial
Mark Tawadrous – medical student researcher; currently an emergency medicine resident
Colton Garelli, BS – postbaccalaureate researcher; currently a sanitarian for the Holyoke Board of Health
Ista Egbeto, BS – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at Johns Hopkins
Morgan Groover – medical student researcher; currently a dermatology resident at Hackensack Meridian Health
Grace Ryan – medical student researcher; currently an internal medicine resident at Boston Medical Center
Lance Wong – high school research intern; completed undergrad at Columbia; currently at Abbvie
Dhrumil Patel – medical student researcher; completed dermatology residency at Dartmouth; currently an attending dermatologist in Brockton, MA
Senegal Carty – master’s student researcher; completed PhD at Boston University School of Medicine; currently a scientific editor