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.
Connor
CONNOR ROSEN
PhD Candidate
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.
Yiyun
YIYUN CAO
PhD Candidate
Yiyun is interested in how microbiota-derived small molecules affect diseases, esp. chronic pain diseases & cancer. She's also interested in microbial antigen mimicry and cancer-inducing genotoxins. Currently, she's investigating the mechanisms by which gut microbes induce nociceptor neurons through a high-throughput screening system.
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.
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.
Yi
YI YANG
PhD Candidate
Mytien
MYTIEN NYGUEN
MD-PhD Candidate
Jason B.
Jason Bishai
PhD Candidate