Current Trainees

Maddison Allegretti

mmalleg@emory.edu

Program: Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
Faculty Advisor: Sohail Khoshnevis, PhD

Madison's work aims to investigate the role of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) in translational control of C. albicans pathogenicity using biochemistry, microbiology and structural biology techniques.

Jayden Harris

jayden.harris@emory.edu

Program: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Faculty Advisor: Christopher Neufeldt, PhD

Jayden’s work focuses on characterizing virus-host interactions to further understand how viruses are replicating and to potentially identify targets for antivirals.

Mary-Kate Key

mkkey@emory.edu

Program: Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis
Faculty Advisor: David Weiss, PhD

Mary-Kate’s research investigates the relationship between host physiology and antibiotic resistance phenotypes with the overall goal of optimizing therapeutic approaches and improving treatment outcomes.

Meredith Shepherd

meredith.shephard@emory.edu

Program: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Faculty Advisor: Seema Lakdawala, PhD

Meredith’s work focuses on the dynamics of antibody responses following influenza A virus infections with the goal of determining how pre-existing influenza immunity shapes both the systemic and mucosal antibody response.

Tiara Tillis

tiara.tillis@emory.edu

Program: Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
Faculty Advisor: Christine M. Dunham, PhD

Tiara’s research aims to understand the relationship between molecular regulation/ mechanisms and antibiotic resistance in clinically relevant bacteria.

Taryn Trigler

taryn.trigler@emory.edu

Program: Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
Faculty Advisor: Marcin Grabowicz, PhD

Taryn’s work aims to characterize an essential system for construction of the bacterial outer membrane as an antibiotic target and enable development of novel therapeutics that directly target outer membrane biogenesis.

Samuel Gallant

sgalla9@emory.edu

Program: Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
Faculty Advisor: Lefteris Michailidis, PhD

Samuel’s research characterizes pro-inflammatory signaling during HIV/hepatitis B coinfection using arrayed knockout screening and mouse-passaged primary human hepatocytes to study IL-1β-driven infection dynamics.

Madaline Schmidt

madaline.schmidt@emory.edu

Program: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Faculty Advisor:Anice C. Lowen, PhD

Madaline’s work focuses on the dynamics of influenza A virus infection in different host species with the goal of understanding influenza A virus host range determinants and evolutionary potential, thus yielding critical insight into the biology that underlies pandemics.

Jacob Sherman

jdsher2@emory.edu

Program: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
Faculty Advisor: Christopher LaRock, PhD

Jacob’s project focuses on the host and microbial determinants of Streptococcus pyogenes adhesion to keratinocytes as they trigger cell death (pyroptosis) in response to infection. Jacob moved to Affiliate status upon award of his independent NIH NRSA F31 fellowship in Fall 2025.