Our People

B.A., University of Chicago

Naa is an assistant specialist, PROPEL Post-Bacc Scholar, and aspiring physician-scientist. Naa received her B.A. degree from the University of Chicago in Creative Writing with honors, specializing in fiction and a minor in biology. Her projects in the lab center around studying the mechanisms T cell and dendritic cell dysfunction in breast cancer and the role of B cells in head and neck cancer. She is also passionate about increasing the intersection between the humanities and STEM and has been involved/led organizations aimed at making academia more accessible and equitable for underrepresented minority students. She currently serves as a member of UCSF’s ImmunoDiverse organization and the UCSF-Gladstone Genomic Immunology Training Committee.

Brittany is a research technician with the D2B CoLab who received her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research is focused on exploring immune profiles and transcriptional landscapes of various health and disease states. In the Spitzer lab, Brittany is investigating the relationship between the microbiome and immune system to study the variability of these two systems across a healthy cohort and how this variability may play a role in disease development, severity and treatment. Brittany is supported by our ImmunoX Bakar CoProject.

Dodge recently completed his undergraduate degree at University of San Francisco in December of 2022. He then joined UCSF’s BCC Internship program during the summer of 2023, where he plans on staying for two years. He is currently analyzing banked blood samples from clinical trials.

Xingjia graduated from UC Berkeley in 2023, studying nutritional science and data science. She is working with Maya to study early activated T cell biology. Outside of lab, she likes drawing and photography and enjoys hiking and bouldering. Exploring different perspectives of lives is always an important part of her!

Minna received her B.A. in Biochemistry and Chemical Biology from Vanderbilt University in 2022. There, she worked with Dr. Mary Philip on developing models for studying the molecular mechanisms of T cell dysfunction in cancer. She is currently a BMS graduate student in the Spitzer lab interested in understanding peripheral immune responses to cancer. Outside of the lab, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, skiing, and making music with friends. Minna is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Casey received her B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University where she studies purified hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Department. Additionally, she collaborated with laboratories in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department and the Stem Cell Institute. Casey joined the Biomedical Science Graduate program in 2017 and is co-mentored by Dr. Spitzer and Dr. Kole Roybal. Her graduate work combines synthetic approaches to cancer immunotherapy with the systems immunology perspective pioneered in the Spitzer lab. ​​​​Casey has been supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Jing-Yi received her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology and a minor in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley where she studied anti-viral immunity in Dr. Russell Vance’s Lab and developed CRISPR-based technology in Dr. Niren Murthy’s Lab. After graduating, she worked as a research associate at UCSF in Dr. Justin Eyquem’s lab engineering novel T-cell therapies. Currently, she is a UCSF BMS graduate student in the Spitzer lab, and she wants to utilize systems immunology tools to understand the roles of myeloid cells in anti-tumor immunity. She is supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

McKenzie received her B.S. in Genetics and Genomics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied Listeria monocytogenes cell wall maintenance in the lab of Dr. John-Demian Sauer. After graduating, she worked as an Associate Scientist at Abbvie doing early research and discovery work in the Immune-Oncology department. Currently, she is a BMS graduate student interested in how lymph node metastasis plays a role in response to cancer immunotherapy. She enjoys reading, skiing, and going for strolls by the water in her free time.

Rachel (they/them) received their B.S. in Biochemistry from Northeastern University, and had the opportunity to work in several research settings during her time in Boston. Much of their research experience stems from working at a couple of small biotechnology companies in Cambridge, MA developing cellular immunotherapies for cancer. In the Spitzer lab, Rachel is using systems approaches to study how tumors affect dendritic cell functionality and T cell dynamics in response to cancer and infection.

Sophia received her B.S. in Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology where she studied glycoconjuate vaccine development and targeted therapeutics via virus-like particles in the lab of Dr. M.G. Finn. In undergrad, she also conducted research on topics ranging from wound healing, freshwater algal toxicity, and cancer therapeutics in a combination of government and industry labs. Currently, she is a UCSF BMS graduate student in the Spitzer lab using mass cytometry to investigate how the immune system is altered with tumor burden and during immunotherapy.

Maya received her B.A. in Biology from Wesleyan University, where she studied transgenerational epigenetic plasticity in Dr. Sonia Sultan's lab. After graduating, she worked for two years as a Staff Research Associate at UCSF in Dr. Tammy Chang's lab investigating how a tissue ablation technique called non-thermal irreversible electroporation (IRE) modulates the immune environment and promotes matrix remodeling. Currently, she is a UCSF BMS graduate student in the Spitzer lab studying systemic immune cell interactions in the context of cancer and infection. Maya is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Demi received her B.S. in Biology from Louisiana Tech University, where she worked in Dr. Jamie Newman’s lab studying cell signaling pathways in human stem cells. She then worked for three years as a research technician in Dr. Tyler Jacks’ lab studying tumor immunology in genetically engineered mouse models of cancer. In the Spitzer and Rutishauser labs, Demi is using mouse models and human T cells to study the transcriptional and regulatory programs involved in CD8 T cell development and differentiation. Demi is supported as an NIH Fellow by the UCSF Biomedical Sciences NIH Training Grant.

Zach (they/them) is a Biomedical Sciences graduate student in Dr. Fragiadakis and Dr. Matt Spitzer's labs. In their undergrad Zach double majored in molecular biology and ecology. Between undergrad and grad school they additionally worked as a research technician at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes under the direction of Mia Smith studying how loss of B-cell anergy leads to autoimmunity. They are focusing on the analysis of high-dimensional imaging data in primary cancer samples. Zach is particularly interested in the spatial relationships and organization of cell and tissue types and how changes in these result in disease progression.

Jackie received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from UC Davis where she studied molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction in epithelial cells in the lab of Dr. Soichiro Yamada. She also studied proteasome regulation and cardiac tissue engineering in various labs over the summer before becoming interested in cancer immunology. After graduating, Jackie worked at Genentech designing human immunology assays for drug development. Currently, she is a UCSF BMS graduate student in the Spitzer Lab where she studies the signals that regulate tumor-specific CD8 T cell differentiation across immune compartments. Jackie is supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Connie received her B.S. in Biology from Duke University, where she studied protein geranylgeranylation in antiviral innate immune response in Dr. Donghai Wang’s lab during the school year. During the summers, she studied IL-31 and itch-response in Dr. Mark Ansel’s lab during the summers mentored by Dr. Marlys Fassett. Currently, she is a UCSF School of Medicine student taking a dedicated research year in the Spitzer Lab through the UCSF Head and Neck Oncology Clinical Research Fellowship studying the tumor microenvironment on the spectrum of pre-malignant oral dysplasia to oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.

Nam Woo received his B.A. in Biology at Harvard College, then completed his M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied mechanisms of DNA repair at telomeres under his graduate thesis adviser, Dr. Roger Greenberg. As a postdoctoral researcher in the Spitzer lab, he is investigating how deficiencies of DNA repair in cancer affect antitumor immunity.

Rhodes received her undergraduate education at McGill University, graduating with an Honours Microbiology and Immunology degree. There, she studied single nucleotide polymorphisms of T cell signaling proteins identified in primary immunodeficiency patients. She then received her PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, working with Amanda Poholek to describe unique chromatin features of terminally exhausted tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Rhodes is now working on understanding the spatial and systems-level regulation of the response to immune checkpoint blockade in breast cancer patients.

Jane completed her undergraduate studies in Australia and spent her honors year in Dr. Campbell Witt's lab at Royal Perth Hospital Department of Clinical Science studying killer-immunoglobulin-like receptors. She then spent two years as a research assistant in Dr. Bing Lim's lab studying lung cancer metabolism. Afterwards, she finished her graduate studies at ASTAR Genome Institute of Singapore with Nanyang Technological University in Dr. Wai Leon Tam's lab studying breast cancer cell state transitions. Jane is currently funded by the highly prestigious ATAR's International Fellowship to study systems immunology in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Camilla is a postdoctoral scholar in the Spitzer lab since September 2023. During her M.S. in Molecular Biology at University of Padua, Italy, she enrolled in the ERASMUS+ program and spent one year at Imperial College London, UK where she studied epigenetic regulation in Friedrich’s ataxia. She then obtained her PhD in Molecular Medicine at University of Padua, where she investigated therapeutic implications of a novel immunogenic gene-expression program in breast cancer. As a postdoctoral scholar in the Spitzer lab, she is interested in studying dendritic cell impairment during tumorigenesis.

Bree received her B.S. in Neurobiology at Stanford University, where she studied the cellular composition of cerebral arteriovenous malformations in the labs of Dr. Steven Chang and Dr. Gary Steinberg. After graduating in 2014, she worked for 2 years as a Jr. specialist at UCSF in Dr. Donald McDonald's lab investigating Angiopoietin-2 function in inflammation-mediated vascular remodeling. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences in the Spitzer Lab, where she used mass cytometry and data computation to investigate how tumor development impacts systemic immune function & organization. She also determined how the systemic immune macroenvironment dictates the mechanisms and the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. Bree is currently the Founding Medical Strategy Officer at Teiko.bio.

Joel received his M.S. at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris and his Ph.D. in immunology at Paris Descartes University. There, he trained under the direction of Loredana Saveanu in the basic biology of Dendritic cells and Toll like receptors, using mouse models and confocal microscopy to identify how endosomal compartmentalization of TLR9 is responsible for the regulation of the immune response. After completing his Ph.D., he moved his interest toward cancer research in Olivier Hermine lab at IMAGINE institute where he worked as a postdoc on the effects of an experimental cancer immunotherapy strategy that reprogram tumor infiltrating mononuclear phagocytes. As a postdoctoral scholar in the Spitzer lab, he is focusing on cancer immunity and immunotherapy responsiveness in cancer patients and the interplay between the immune system and the commensal microbiota. Joël is supported as part of his UCSF Bakar ImmunoX CoProject.

Kamir began his scientific training bouncing around labs at NASA, Kennesaw State University, Fred Hutch, and Georgia Institute of Technology. He studied a wide range of topics including transcriptional regulation in extremophiles, epidermal tumorigenesis, and proteolytic network dysfunction before settling at UCSF for graduate training and becoming interested in tumor immunology. In the lab, Kamir utilized high dimensional single-cell methods and mouse models of breast cancer to understand how immune responses differ when the are initiated in the context of a pre-existing cancer. He also collaborated with Lauren to discover a new transitional state of CD8 T cell activation characterized by peak use of both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation simultaneously. Moreover, he made an important discovery that the timing of priming interactions between dendritic cells and naive T cells dictates the ultimate fate of T cell differentiation in acute infection. Kamir is now a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Ansu Satpathy at Stanford.

Rita received her B.S. in Engineering Physics at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. Then, she completed her M.S. in Bioengineering with a specialization in Bioinformatics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied how environmental factors and geographic locations affect the breast cancer rates in Illinois with machine learning methods under the supervision of Dr. Roy Campbell and Dr. Saurabh Sinha. From 2020-2022, Rita jointly worked in the Spitzer Lab and the Roose Lab to study the signaling pathway of T-cell leukemia using high dimensional single cell data analyses approaches.

Lauren received her A.B. in the Biological Sciences with a Specialization in Immunology at the University of Chicago, where she studied mechanisms of linear differentiation of CD8 memory T cells during LCMV infection in the laboratory of Dr. Philip Ashton-Rickardt. Over the course of her medical training at New York Medical College and Washington University in St. Louis in the laboratories and clinics of Drs. Jedd Wolchok and Gerald Linette, she studied innate and adaptive immune responses to diverse therapeutic strategies for melanoma including TLR9 and OX40 agonists and dendritic cell vaccination. As a fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Spitzer, she currently researches the contribution of systemic immune homeostasis in the successful rejection of solid tumors. Lauren has been supported by an ASCO Women Who Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Fellowship

Diana received her B.S. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from U.C. Santa Cruz. She worked at Stanford University with Dr. Mike Angelo on the development of multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI), a new technique for measuring dozens of proteins simultaneously from intact tissue sections. In 2018, she moved to UCSF to join the Spitzer Lab, where she continued to work on MIBI as well as CyTOF-based studies of immune cell interactions with cancers. Diana is now pursuing post-baccalaureate studies in preparation for medical school.

Elizabeth McCarthy is a graduate student in the Bioinformatics program. She is co-mentored with the Jimmie Ye and is also a student in the UCSF MSTP program. Her research focuses on longitudinal studies of immune responses in humans to a disease or treatment. Her main questions focus on gaining biological insight through following trajectories overtime and on building predictive models to better understand drivers of particular outcomes. Elizabeth is supported by an NIH F30 Fellowship.

Maha received her B.S in Chemical Engineering from UCLA, and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from UCI. There, she developed a platform to extend the multiplexing capabilities of traditional fluorescence imaging by leveraging the fluorescence lifetime of molecular probes. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Spitzer lab, Maha applies multiplexed imaging to study the immune response in breast cancer, before treatment and in response to immunotherapy.

Sid received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Physics at Emory University, where he studied desmosome structure and order in the lab of Dr. Alexa Mattheyses. After graduating in 2016, he joined the electronic medical record company Epic, where he worked as a technical project manager for software implementations at Shannon Health in San Angelo, TX and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta, GA. At UCSF, he was a computational research technician at UCSF, working jointly in the labs of Drs. Matt Spitzer, Alex Marson, and Jimmie Ye. He worked on ways to apply machine learning algorithms to large datasets in order to develop intuitions about immune system dynamics. Sid is now a graduate student in the Systems Biology graduate program at Harvard.

Avneet received her B.S. from U.C. Davis. As a Junior Specialist in the Spitzer lab, Avneet contributed to mass cytometry studies of immune responses to cancer and infection.

Iliana grew up in France where she did a Master’s degree in Genetics at UCBL Lyon and Purdue University. Before UCSF she worked as an associate researcher at Wake Forest University where she studied the correlation between obesity and the initiation of breast cancer. From 2016-2022, Iliana was the Lab Manager of the Spitzer lab, where she used mass cytometry and data computation to investigate how the immune system is organized to create a line of defense against cancer development.