Margaret Kielian, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Samuel H. Golding Chair in Microbiology
Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Chanin Building, Room 515
Phone: 718-430-3638
Email: margaret.kielian@einsteinmed.edu
Atef Fayed
Research Technician, 2022
M.S., Tufts University, 2022
atef.fayed@einsteinmed.edu
Atef:
In 2020, I received my bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Biochemistry from Tufts University. A year later, also at Tufts, I pursued a M.S. in Biology. My research during undergrad focused on investigating CAR T-cells in renal cell carcinoma and looking at the role of the extracellular matrix in triple negative breast cancer. As I join the Kielian lab, I’m excited to contribute and to learn about the mechanisms of virus replication in efforts to develop antiviral therapies. In my free time, I enjoy playing sports, watching cooking videos, and coaching youth soccer.
Pratyush Kumar Das, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2019
Ph.D., University of Tartu, Estonia, 2015
pratyushkumar.das@einsteinmed.edu
Pratyush:
I did my bachelors and masters in India. Afterward, in 2010, I moved to the laboratory of Dr. Andres Merits at the University of Tartu, Estonia. In Merits Lab I studied the RNA-protein interactions and enzymatic activities of alphavirus nonstructural proteins. After graduating in 2015, I moved to Dr. Jussi Taipale´s laboratory at the University of Helsinki, Finland as a postdoctoral researcher. In the Taipale lab using biochemistry, genomics, and bioinformatics, I studied the binding specificity of human transcription factors. In the Kielian laboratory, I am using the positive-strand RNA virus as a model to look at the viral and host factors involved in the exit pathway of pathogenic viruses. I use bioinformatics, molecular biology, classical virology, and imaging techniques to investigate this final but important step in the virus life cycle. In my free time, I like bicycling, going to the gym, or cook.
Peiqi Yin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2019
Ph.D., Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China, 2018
peiqi.yin@einsteinmed.edu
Peiqi:
I received Ph.D. in Microbiology from Peking Union Medical College in July 2018. During my Ph.D., My research focused on the interplay between cellular membrane trafficking proteins and hepatitis C virus. Then I worked there as a research associate to identify cellular interactome of Chikungunya virus. In 2019, I joined in Kielian lab as a postdoc. Now, my projects focus on testing the role of intercellular extension in cell-cell transmission of alphaviruses, and molecular mechanism of intercellular extension formation from the perspective of cell biology. In my spare time, I like playing basketball and bicycling.
Caroline Martin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020
Ph.D., University College London, UK, 2019
caroline.martin@einsteinmed.edu
Caroline:
I focus on how viruses highjack the cellular machinery for productive infection and viral transmission. Building on my Ph.D. background in poxvirus biology (University College London, UK), I aim to further our molecular understanding of ILE (Intercellular Long Extensions) formation, and alphaviral replication. And when not chasing virus particles in cells, I follow winding trails through forests to scenic views of the Hudson Valley.
Paulina Alatriste Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021
Ph.D., University of Kentucky, 2021
paulina.alatristegonzalez@einsteinmed.edu
Paulina:
Originally from Mexico, I got my bachelor's degree in Genomica Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Later, I pursued a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Kentucky and graduated in May 2021. The focus of my Ph.D. research was plant-virus interactions using the positive-strand RNA tombusviruses and yeast as a model host. I joined the Kielian lab in June 2021, where I use my Virology background to study the current members of the Rubivirus genus. When I'm not in the lab, you can find me cooking, crocheting/knitting, or volunteering at community service projects around the city.
Alumni
Former Postdoctoral Fellows
Eileen Geoghegan, Ph.D.
Loïc Etienne, Ph.D.
Maria Guadalupe Martinez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Centre de Recherche en Cancerologie de Lyon (CRCL), Lyon, France
Katie Stiles, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Research
Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University
Aihua Zheng, Ph.D.
Professor
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Mathieu Dubé, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Centre INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Laval (Québec), Canada
Claudia Sánchez San Martín, Ph.D.
Gleyder Roman-Sosa, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Germany
Gwen Taylor, Ph.D.
Research V Lab Coordinator
Department of Pathology, Dr. Adam Rosendorff Lab, UPMC
M. Umashankar, Ph.D.
Research Associate
University of Arizona
Prodyot Chatterjee, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Malini Vashishtha, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
Nova Therapeutics, Irvine, CA
Former Ph.D. Students
Yaw Shin Ooi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Whitney Fields, Ph.D.
Patent Agent
Whitham, Curtis, Christofferson & Cook, Reston, VA
Yan Zheng, Ph.D.
Intern
Regeneron and Keck Graduate Institute Corporate Postdoctoral Residency Program
Maofu Liao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School
Chantal Chanel-Vos, Ph.D.
Free-lance Scientific Writer
Xiaodi Yao, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Duke Center for Human Genome Variation
Xinyong Zhang, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons
Yanping E. Lu, Ph.D.
Swati Ghosh Shome, Ph.D.
Content Developer
National Council of Education Research and Training, Pune, India
Sallie Glomb-Reinmund, Ph.D.
Scientific Content Director
Projects In Knowledge, Inc.
Marianne Marquardt Veniero, Ph.D.
Thomas E. Phalen, Ph.D.
Senior Technical Advisor
Paul Hastings, LLP
Pnina Levy-Mintz, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President
CNNH, Research Director, Clinical Research Center of New Jersey (CRCNJ)
Former M.D./Ph.D. Students
Emily Byrd, M.D., Ph.D.
Resident in General Surgery
Oregan Health & Science University
Catherine Liu, M.D., Ph.D.
Resident in Ophthalmology
University of California, Irvine Medical Center
Don L. Gibbons, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Wayne Andrew Duffus, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Director of Health Equity
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Former ID Fellows
Steve Jungerwirth, M.D.
Project Director
Immunology Development, AbbVie Pharmaceuticals
Jessica Justman, M.D.
Associate Professor
Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons
Senior Technical Director
Center for Infectious Disease Epidemiologic Research
Former Research Technicians
Benjamin F. Hochfelder
Lakshmi Bhaskaruny, M.S.
Youqing Xiang, M.A.
Soumya Nanda
Graduate Student
School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Anuja Ogirala
Research Technician
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Alice Guo
Student
School of Medicine, SUNY-Stony Brook
Former Visiting Scientists
Mariano Prada Acosta, Ph.D.
Fulbright Fellow
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Zhaoling Qin, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
2nd Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
12/07/2014: Dr. Vincent Racaniello from This Week in Virology (TWiV) visits Einstein. Watch it below!