VARUN BHADKAMKAR
Tetrad PhD student (2017-2023)
Graduated 2023
Current Status: Scientist (Pragma Bio)
I grew up in Palo Alto, CA, a weird little town in the San Francisco Bay Area. In search of change, I spent four years studying at Williams College in the mountains of Massachusetts, graduating with a B.A. in Chemistry in June 2017. My love for microbial pathogenesis began with a microbiology course I took during the Fall semester of my Junior year. I completed an honors thesis in the lab of Professor Amy Gehring studying antibiotic synthesis in the soil-dwelling bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor, and have now moved on to the Tetrad Program at UCSF. In the Mukherjee Lab, I will be studying ER recruitment by Legionella during infection of human cells. When I’m not in lab, you can find me biking around the city (with stops to pet various dogs), tanning in Dolores Park, hiking with friends, or being a lazy blob at home.”
JULIA NOACK
Post-Doctoral Fellow (2017-2020)
Current Status: Scientist, Vir Biotechnology
Joint with Peter Walter
I attained my Diploma in Biochemistry from Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany, and received my PhD in Cell Biology from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. During my PhD, I studied how selective autophagy re-establishes endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis after transient induction of the unfolded protein response. It has always captured my interest how intracellular pathogens subvert the host cell’s machineries to their advantage. As a joint Postdoc in the Mukherjee and Walter labs, I will now be studying how Legionella pneumophila modulates ER quality control and UPR signaling pathways. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, discovering the wonderful nature around and cooking with friends.
STEVEN MOSS
CCB PhD student - joint with Kevan Shokat (2014-2019)
Graduated 2019
Current Status: Associate Program Officer at The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
I received a B.S. in Biochemistry from American University. While at American, I spent some time synthesizing and testing small molecule antibiotics. I then worked at the NIH for two years in the lab of Dr. Kenneth Jacobson. There, I had the opportunity to learn a variety of biochemical assays, as I worked with GPCRs and small molecule inhibitors. Upon arriving at UCSF I joined the Shokat lab, and quickly formed a close collaboration with the Mukherjee lab, where I now spend about half of my time. In my free time, I enjoy reading and walking around the city.
ADVAIT SUBRAMANIAN
Post-Doctoral Fellow (2018-2023)
Current Status: Scientist, ALTOS LABS
I grew up in Chennai, a coastal city in the Southeastern part of India. I then moved to the West coast to complete my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Manipal University. In keeping with my migratory route further west, I completed my Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Alberto Luini at the Italian National Research Council, Italy. During my Ph.D., we figured out that the ER exit sites are endowed with a homeostatic auto-regulatory signaling complex that senses and responds to acute fluctuations of folded cargo in the ER by activating cargo export or inhibiting protein synthesis. My fascination for homeostatic systems led me on a serendipitous journey to San Francisco where currently, as a joint post-doc in the Mukherjee and Walter labs, I aim to understand the molecular underpinnings of an intimate association between a bacterium and its host in the hope that it will provide valuable insights into basic cellular mechanisms. In times when I need a healthy distraction, I usually watch football, a movie, or a TV show, read a book, listen to music or cook. P.S. I make a mean home-cooked tandoori chicken :)
NNEJIUWA IBE
Tetrad PhD student (2014-2020)
Graduated 2020
Current Status: Post-Doctoral Fellow (UC, Berkeley)
During infection several of Legionella’s translocated effectors target proteins associated with the ER compartment. This targeting permits the recruitment of ER-derived vesicles and proteins to the Legionella containing vacuole (LCV) allowing Legionella to mature its own phagosomal compartment into a replicative niche. The intimate association between the ER and the LCV represents a fascinating example of inter-oganelle communication that is vastly unexplored. As a site for many homeostatic functions within the cell, our lab has become curious as to whether & how the cell senses perturbations in ER function during infection. My work investigating the interactions between Legionella and the unfolded protein response, a major homeostatic regulator of the ER, is focused on the mechanisms of action in the branch specific targeting of ATF6. Outside of the lab, I enjoy exploring nature, the city, and coastline drives. I live an active life and love all types of team sports. I love everything that California has to offer, including great weather, good food, and craft beers.
Rebecca Levin (aka Becca)
CCB PhD student - joint with Kevan Shokat (2014-2016)
Graduated 2016
Current Status: Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, EIKON Therapeutics
I am interested in closing the gap between kinases and known sites of phosphorylation by utilizing chemical biology techniques and mass spectrometry to directly identify substrates of specific kinases. I am also interested in studying the global reprogramming of the kinases in cancer to identify new drug targets.
Elias Taylor-Cornejo
Post-Doctoral Fellow (2016-2020)
Current Status: Assistant Professor, Randolph-Macon College
I am interested in how Legionella effectors modulate the IRE1 branch of the host’s unfolded protein response during infection. I received my B.A. in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and I earned my Ph.D. in Microbiology from UC Berkeley. As a graduate student, I studied a bacterium that makes magnetic crystals inside of intracellular membrane compartments called magnetosomes. My interest in microbiology and compartmentalization fuels my curiosity as to how pathogens modulate host pathways to create compartmentalized intracellular environments that are suitable for their growth and survival. Outside of the lab, I am a self-proclaimed chef, urban gardener, musician, friend and family man. I like camping, snow boarding, soccer and exploring the bay area’s wonders.
Haley Gause
SRTP student (Summer 2016)
Junior Lab Specialist (August 2017 - July 2018)
Current Status: Tetrad graduate student in Sandy Johnson’s lab
I am a recent graduate of CSULB with a degree in microbiology. After having a great time in the Mukherjee Lab during the summer of 2016 as an SRTP student, I am looking forward to being back in the lab developing my research skill set before starting a Ph.D. program in cell biology. My interest in human pathogens began while studying Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite known for manipulating the behavior of its hosts. This year I will be learning more about host-pathogen interactions in the lab by studying how Legionella manipulates host-cell vesicle trafficking upon infection. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, biking, and exploring this wonderful city I now call home.
Philipp Schlaermann
Post-Doctoral Fellow (2016-2017)
Current Status: Product Manager Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, Germany
I am a freshly assigned native German Postdoctoral Scholar who can’t wait to investigate Legionella’s impact on the unfolded protein response pathway. Back in Germany, I received my B.S. in Biology from the University of Muenster and my M.S. in Molecular Medicine from the Charité University Medicine, Berlin. I performed my PhD research in the lab of Prof. Thomas F. Meyer at the Max-Planck-Institute of Infection Biology, Berlin and graduated with a Dr. rer. nat. in Molecular Biology at the Humboldt University, Berlin. I have a strong background in infection biology having worked with different kinds of viruses and extracellular bacteria and seeking now to add intracellular bacs like Legionella to that list. Outside of the lab, I enjoy exploring the vibrant Bay Area and attend all kinds of sporting events from the A’s to the Dubs. After work, I relax by having some cold California brewed craft beers.