Current members
Our members are at the core of what makes the Palm Lab such a unique and dynamic place. Together, we tackle some of the most challenging problems at the intersection of immunology, microbiology and data science. Our innovative experimental approaches exploit millions of years of host-microbiota co-evolution to uncover fundamental biological processes that impact nearly all aspects of human health and disease. Find out more about our team members below.

Shana
SHANA LEOPOLD, PHD
Associate Research Scientist, Manager
Jason
JASON CATANZARO, MD
Attending Physician, Medical Scientist
Haiwei
HAIWEI CHEN, PHD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Shana is a microbiologist with a background in application of sequencing technology for infectious disease diagnostics, microbial evolution, and the gut microbiome.
Deguang
DEGUANG SONG, PHD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Deguang has been working on gut microbiota structure and metabolite changes in response to environment and diet as well as their effects on the host. Lab members agree he's an all around fun-guy!

Anjelica
ANJELICA MARTIN, BS, RLAT
Research Associate I
Anjelica earned her B.S from UConn. In 2018 she started working in the Palm lab to manage the gnotobiotic colony. She has two chunky pet rats at home, likes to paint, and plays a lot of Animal Crossing.
Tyler
TYLER RICE
PhD Candidate
Tyler is a Southern transplant to New England studying the relationship between vertebrate hosts and their microbial pathobionts & symbionts. In his spare time he enjoys a long hike with his fluffer pupper, followed by craft beer and all the snacks.
Connor
CONNOR ROSEN
PhD Candidate

Yiyun
YIYUN CAO
PhD Candidate
Yiyun earned B.S. in Life Sciences from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. She is interested in how microbiota-derived small molecules affect human diseases, esp. chronic pain diseases & cancer. She is a fan of Chinese traditional culture and Japanese animations.

Nicole
PhD Candidate
Nicole is originally from Cambridge, MA. She has earned an A.B. in Biomathematics from Mount Holyoke College
and a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Dartmouth College.
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