Chandra Mani Panthi

MLT, Bachelor's equivalent

Chandra is an absolute workhorse — the kind who makes 5 p.m. deadlines look lazy. He picked up mouse handling and research techniques faster than most people figure out how to set up their email. Since then, he’s led more M. avium and M. abscessus mouse studies than anyone else in the group, and he runs the entire animal research operation like a well-oiled machine. He’s organized, efficient, and always ahead of schedule — basically the kind of person who finishes tomorrow’s tasks yesterday. And despite all that, he’s incredibly down-to-earth, with a calm, can-do attitude that makes him a joy to work with. Bottom line: when it comes to the technical side of lab work, Chandra is the Chuck Norris — if Chuck Norris wore a lab coat and had impeccable Excel sheets. 

Binayak Rimal

PhD, Baylor University

Binayak has a superpower: laser-sharp focus and an unshakable commitment to getting things done — on time and done right. He treats every project like it’s a mission from NASA, and it shows. In just 3.5 years in the lab, he's racked up 7 first-author papers and 4 middle-author ones — basically, his CV is getting its own zip code. He’s a go-to expert on non-tuberculous mycobacteria, especially in mouse models, and knows his way around evaluating experimental drugs for M. avium and M. abscessus like a pro. And when it comes to dual β-lactams, he’s not just in the conversation — he wrote the paper with the largest numbers of combinations ever studied. If you need someone who brings precision, professionalism, and the publishing equivalent of a mic drop, Binayak’s your guy. 

Audrey Ulrich

BSc BA, California Baptist University

Audrey made the cross-country leap from sunny California to Baltimore about a year ago — and she's adjusted better than most folks who expect a five-hour flight to land them somewhere in Europe. She’s got that rare combo of creativity, focus, and a strong sense of purpose, all rolled into one. An early riser and a stickler for schedules, Audrey brings serious work ethic along with a genuine curiosity for uncovering the hidden secrets of biology. She literally just joined our lab yesterday, but she’s already buzzing with energy and ideas. Safe to say, we’ve got a powerhouse in the making. 

Guoqing Cheng

MSc, Johns Hopkins University

Guoqing is our resident bioinformatics wizard — the kind who writes code faster than most of us can type our own names. He regularly wrestles with genome datasets larger than a billionaire’s tax returns and somehow emerges with beautiful, phenotype-rich results that actually make sense. Lately, he’s been stepping into the wet lab too, juggling everything from pipettes to live animal studies like he’s playing all four bases in a baseball game at once. Whether it’s behind a screen or under the hood of a biosafety cabinet, Guoqing gets the job done with calm precision and quiet brilliance. Bottom line: he’s got brains, range, and grit — the perfect recipe for an outstanding PhD student. 

Jay Khandelwal

BSc, Drew University

Jay majored in biology and minored in business — which pretty much sums up his mission: use cutting-edge science to create real-world products that actually help people. And he’s not just saying it — he means it. Every time he tackles a research question, he's already thinking five steps ahead to how it might land on Main Street and make someone’s life better. He works hard, dives into new ideas without blinking, and genuinely wants to turn discovery into impact. Basically, Jay is where science meets startup vibes — with a pipette in one hand and a business plan in the other.