Shruti received her B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park. After which she worked as a research assistant at the Naval Medical Research Center studying traumatic injury and autoimmune onset. Shruti then matriculated into the University of Pennsylvania-National Institutes of Health Graduate Partnership Program and obtained her Ph.D. in Immunology under the mentorship of Dr. Yasmine Belkaid. During her doctoral studies, she discovered that normal bacteria living on our skin, known as commensals, educate the immune system and help protect us from harmful pathogens. Her work unveiled how immune cells in our skin work with our microbial partners to prevent disease and has opened the door for microbiota-based therapies in the skin.
For her postdoctoral studies, Shruti joined the lab of Dr. Elaine Fuchs at the Rockefeller University as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellow. There she found that epithelial stem cells can harbor a memory of inflammation which boosts their regenerative abilities. This finding extended the definition of inflammatory memory beyond immune cells introducing a seachange in our current view of how tissues remember inflammatory encounters. Shruti is a strong advocate for increasing diversity in science and promoting the advancement of underrepresented and marginalized groups. For her research and advocacy Shruti has received numerous awards including the NIH Women’s Scholars Award, the Regeneron Award for Creative Innovation, the L’Oréal For Women in Science Award, the Damon Runyon Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientist, the Sartorius and Science Prize for Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy, the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists and the International Takeda Innovator in Science Award
Anastasia is an undergraduate student at Hunter College majoring in Biochemistry. Her work focuses on understanding how immune cells contribute to tissue regeneration. She is a native New Yorker and fluent in Russian and English. She plans on to pursue a career in biomedical research and hopes to hone her skills as an experimentalist in the Naik lab.
Brandon is an alumni of Hofstra University, receiving a B.S. in Biology. He oversees day to day lab operations and maintenance. He is dissecting the spatial organization of microbes in the skin and their interaction with host epithelia. A Long Island native, Brandon enjoys driving and eating. Brandon’s longterm goals are to pursue a doctoral degree in Cellular & Molecular Biology and educate future scientists
Shoiab has Masters in Applied Genetics from Bangalore University and went on to do his PhD from University of Kashmir. His doctoral studies focused on finding the serum based tumor associated antigens in colorectal cancer patients. With the integration of epidemiological, computational and affinity-MS-proteomics data, he found that “soluble” vimentin was specifically elevated in the sera of colon cancer patients and could be used as a prognostic biomarker for colon cancer. He then studied the reciprocal relationship between AMPK and AKT is partially maintained and regulated by PP2Ca, apart from PHLPP2 in breast cancer cells. He was also involved in making the novel peptide-based inhibitor for AMPK and screening of ScFv based binders for Notch1 receptor.
In the Naik Lab, his work focuses on the role of inflammation in regeneration and skin carcinogenesis. He plays cricket and enjoys exploring new places.
Yue is studying how environmental stimuli impact neonatal health and disease susceptibility.
Yue received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Nankai University. After which, she obtained Ph.D. from Institute Pasteur of Shanghai where she focused on exploring how NLRP3 inflammasome signaling dynamically regulates commensal bacteria to maintain mucosal immune homeostasis.
Born and raised in a north China plain city, mountains and forests have a unique attraction to Yue. In her spare time she likes to climb mountains and submerge herself in nature.
Kody is a graduate student in the Developmental Genetics training program at NYU School of Medicine’s Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences where he currently serves as president of the Sackler Student Council. He is an alumnus of the University of Southern Mississippi having earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Molecular Biology. In his undergrad, he worked in various arthropod species, studying aspects of RNA biology in development (dust mites), neurodegeneration (flies), and control of transposable elements (spider mites and mosquitos). Kody is broadly interested in embryonic development. In the lab, he focuses on how maternal atopies act on fetal development to further understand how embryonic events may confer atopy in newborns. He is also studying how colonization of commensal bacteria in newborn skin shape behavior of skin stem cells. In his spare time, he enjoys hanging out with his friends and keeping up with the Kardashians.
Piotr is a visiting graduate student supported by the Polish National Science Center’ Etiuda fellowship .Piotr obtained his BSc in Biology Sciences at the Jagiellonian University (Poland) in 2012. Afterwards, he also obtained an additional Master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology from the Jagiellonian University in 2014. During his PhD Piotr, has investigated the role of Regnesa-1 in skin homeostasis and inflammation. In 2018 he received a PhD fellowship to join Naik lab. In the Naik lab, Piotr is studying the crosstalk between immune and epithelial cells during regeneration and carcinogenesis.
During free time, he likes to travel, paint and explore new food from across the world.
Sherlock graduated top of this class from the Unleashed Puppy Training program. He supports the team with this uplifting tail wags and hugs. His hobbies include squirrel chasing, stealing treats, and power napping.