Who We Are
Dr. Mark Siracusa, PhD
Principle Investigator
Dr. Siracusa began his training when he joining the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology graduate program at Johns Hopkins University. During his time at Johns Hopkins Dr. Siracusa's work focused on understanding how acute pulmonary inflammation in response to hookworm infection is initiated and ultimately resolved. Following his doctoral work, Dr. Siracusa continued his training at the University of Pennsylvania where he examined the initiation and regulation of innate immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract following Trichinella or Trichuris infection. Dr. Siracusa developed new in vitro and in vivo systems that allowed him to interrogate how epithelial cell-derived cytokines regulate innate immune cells and mediate protective immunity to helminth parasites by promoting alterations in hematopoiesis. Dr. Siracusa's long-term research interests are to better understand how progenitor cell development can be therapeutically manipulated to properly regulate inflammation.
Dr. Siracusa is also the founder and president of NemaGen Discoveries. NemaGen is biotech startup company that has exclusively licensed Dr. Siracusa’s innovations. NemaGen’s goal is to advance much needed therapeutic strategies to treat allergic inflammation and other forms of mast cell-mediated disease. You can learn more about NemaGen by visiting NemaGen Discoveries.
Current Trainees
Jianya Peng, PhD
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Jianya received her Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology at China Pharmaceutical University (CPU) in Nanjing, China. She was selected for the China National Innovation R&D Training Program and trained under Dr. Yunman Li to investigate the role of P-glycoprotein in the blood-brain barrier. She was the class representative of the Class of 2012, a student athlete, and a grantee of multiple fellowships. She worked with Dr. Qinglin Li for her undergraduate thesis research, focusing on the mechanism of the anti-tumor effect of Gambogenic acid. After a summer of working in the US as a lifeguard and touring local universities, she fell in love with the academic atmosphere here and decided to continue her graduate training in the US. Jianya joined Dr. Carlos Feleder’s team at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for her master’s thesis research, examining the therapeutic potential of central innervation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway for treating septic shock. She was awarded the Richard Learned Graduate Research Scholarship for her master’s thesis research. Her interest for neuroinflammation and immunology brought her to the Center for Immunity and Inflammation at Rutgers. She completed her PhD training under Dr. Sergei Kotenko studying the roles of type I and III interferons in mucosal immunity. To broaden her experience in exploring mucosal immunity and neuroinflammation, she joined Dr. Mark Siracusa’s laboratory to decipher the mysterious interplay between the nervous and immune system following infection by Trichinella spiralis.
Christina Hernandez
PhD Candidate
Christina received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Montclair State University, where she participated in multiple field research projects. These projects included working with Dr. Dolcemascolo, who was conducting surveys and assessing biodiversity indices of reptiles and amphibians at the New Jersey School of Conservation. Furthermore, she has traveled along the entirety of New Jersey in order to capture and band local American kestrels for a comprehensive study on their migration patterns and birthrates, collected samples of Atlantic sea nettle polyps from man-made structures, and assessed disease status of wood frog tadpoles, under the supervision of Dr. John Smallwood, Dr. Paul Bologna, and Dr. Lisa Hazard, respectively. Finally, she conducted a small study on the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, under the supervision of Dr. Paul Bologna. This study was part of a longer project tracking population biology of the black sea urchin. This required surveying reef flats using transects and measuring test diameter of over 600 urchins; as well as statistical analysis, including density, distribution, and biomass. During her 4 years of field research, she worked with multiple sick populations, all of which increased her desire to pursue a Ph.D. degree focusing on immunology and infectious diseases at Rutgers School of Graduate Studies- Health Science Campus. Specifically, her interest in parasitic infection lead to her decision to join Dr. Siracusa’s lab, where she is currently studying the type 2 immune response in the context of parasitic infection and allergic disorder. After completing her training, she looks forward to returning to the field and applying these new learned techniques.
John Ponessa
PhD Candidate
John’s interests involve an increased understanding of neglected diseases and elucidating crucial pathways in development of infection and response to the insult by the host. As an undergraduate he worked as a student researcher under Nigel Yarlett at Haskins Laboratories whom primarily study neglected parasites including Trypanosoma brucei brucei, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Trichinella spiralis. During that time, he was awarded an Undergraduate Student-Faculty Research Initiative Grant to study the antiparasitic effects of modified quaternary ammonium salts. These compounds were tested for their effects on Cryptosporidium parvum and some of the mechanisms behind their function were elucidated. After graduation he worked under Daniel B. Rifken at NYU School of Medicine studying TGF-β and it’s role in extracellular signaling in cancer. Afterward, he returned to Haskins Laboratories as a research technician working on the pathway of protein methylation in Cryptosporidium parvum and its role in cell cycle control. From this he developed more of an interest in the host response to insult and wanted to focus on immunology. At Immucor, he was involved in manufacturing FDA approved medical devices, modifying and creating procedures in the development and manufacturing of microarrays involved in detecting polymorphisms on erythrocytes for transplant patients. This experience was invaluable as it required interdisciplinary cooperation and coordination in various fields of engineering and immunology. This pushed him to pursue his PHD in infection and immunology where he is currently studying type 2 immune responses in the lung, focusing on macrophage development and function under Mark Siracusa.
Hannah Federman
PhD Candidate
Hannah Federman's scientific interest lies at the intersection between innate immunity and women's health. While pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Human Biology from University of California, San Diego, Hannah performed as a member the California Ballet Company. After graduation, Hannah worked as a research assistant in Eyal Raz's lab on dendritic cells in allergic asthma. She then entered Rutgers School of Graduate Studies as a Masters student, earning her MS after completing thesis work on "The Adjuvant Effect of Interferons" under the mentorship of Joan Durbin. As Dr. Siracusa's newest PhD candidate, she has begun studying the role of Car1+ progenitor cells in recovery from anemia of several etiologies, including helminth infections. Hannah hopes to eventually transition into a career in pharmacological research upon completion of her PhD training.
Krupa Chavan
PhD Student
Krupa received her Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree at Sinhgad Dental College and Hospital in Pune, India. During her internship, in addition to her clinical duties, she became interested in doing clinical research involving prevalence of total dental caries (untreated and treated) in middle school children. During graduation she won the first prize for her library dissertation on 'Management of Temporomandibular Joint Ankylosis’ within the subject of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery under the supervision of Dr. Pushkar Patil. She then came to US. to be reunited with her immigrant family and entered Rutgers School of Dental Medicine as a master’s student, earning her Master of Science in Dentistry (MSD) in Oral Biology after completing her thesis focused on “The Effect of Iron Deficiency Anemia on the Gut Microbiota in Mice” under the mentorship of Dr. Kabilan Velliyagounder. During her time here she expanded her research work and knowledge by working on other clinical research projects involving “The effect of different sterilization techniques on the bacterial colonization of orthodontic appliances”. She was awarded 2nd place for her poster on the effect of iron deficiency anemia on dental caries in mice on Balbo Day at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. After graduating she then decided to broaden her field of research and joined Rutgers School of Graduate Studies to pursue a PhD degree focused in the Infection, Immunity and Inflammation track. She joined Dr. Mark Siracusa’s laboratory to advance her growing interest in neuro-immunology.
Former Trainees
Juan Manuel Inclan Rico, PhD
Juan was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) on Chemistry, Pharmacology and Biology. He became interested in biomedical research by working on two summer research programs during his third year of college at UNAM. His first research projects were focused on analyzing the molecular mechanisms that mediate antibiotic resistance on bacterial pathogens. On his last year of college, Juan met the director of the Medical Research Unit on Immunochemistry, Dr. Armando Isibasi at the Mexican Institute for Social Security. While working with Dr. Isibasi, he studied the role of invariant Natural Killer T cells against the intestinal parasite Entamoeba histolytica. After graduating from college, Juan worked as a visiting researcher at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School with Dr. Luis Ulloa studying the dopaminergic regulation of the immune system in the context of sepsis. Juan later applied and got accepted in the Multidisciplinary PhD program at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and joined the laboratory of Dr. Mark Siracusa. Currently, he is deeply interested on the interactions of innate immune cells to initiate protective immunity to helminths. After completing his PhD training, Juan plans to do a postdoc and continue doing research on anti-helminthic immunity. In addition, Juan loves running, listening to music, reading comic books as well as watching horror movies and TV shows. After completing his PhD, Juan is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania in the Herbert Laboratory.
Chandler Sy, PhD
As an undergraduate student at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), Chandler had the privilege of working with Dr. Lizhao Wu at the Cancer Center of Rutgers NJMS and investigated the mechanisms underlying the interaction between E2f8 and retinoblastoma (Rb) in promoting normal erythropoiesis. These early experiences contributed to his interest in biomedical research and resulted in his acceptance to the MD/PhD dual degree program at Rutgers NJMS. Throughout his first two years of medical school, Chandler became very interested in the ability of the mammalian immune system to regulate inflammation at mucosal sites in the context of both health and disease. These interests played a role in his decision to join the lab of Dr. Siracusa whose research program studies the innate immune mechanisms that promote intestinal inflammation and protective immunity to helminth parasites. Chandler has completed his PhD and is currently finishing his MD, focusing on pathology, and plans to return to research afterwards.
Everett Henry, PhD
Everett received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology at Drew University where he was exposed to working in a medical as well as a research setting. Based on these experiences, he wanted to focus on developing the skills needed to become a scientist and decided to work in Dr. Katsunori Sugimoto’s laboratory at Rutgers University after graduating from Drew University. There he was involved in studying DNA damage response pathways using the model organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Everett later applied and got accepted into the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Rutgers University where he joined Dr. Mark Siracusa’s laboratory studying the innate immune mechanisms that promote the T Helper Type 2 response. He finds the ability of this response to be protective against helminths but also associated with allergies to be particularly intriguing. The dual nature of this response and the potential applications of the lab’s research influenced his decision to join the lab. Since completing the PhD program, Everett is looking to pursue opportunities in industry.