Amy received her BA in Chemistry from Amherst College and her MD from Harvard Medical School. She spent two years during medical school as an HHMI Research Scholar in the Barry lab at the NIH studying mycobacterial genetics. She completed residency in Internal Medicine at MGH and Infectious Disease Fellowship in the MGH/BWH program. In her post-doctoral training, she studied TB pathogenesis in the Hung lab at the Broad Institute and the Rubin lab at HSPH. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and attends on the inpatient ID consult service at MGH. In her free time she enjoys reading and traveling with her family.

Julie received her chemical engineering MS from Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille (France) before receiving her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Toledo. She completed post-doctoral training in HIV immunology with a focus on antigen processing and presentation before taking on the formidable task of establishing SARS-CoV-2 work as a BSL3 staff scientist. In her free time, she used to enjoy cycling on a stationary bike in a dark room while getting yelled at by an instructor and going to the movie theater, and now tries to spend more time outside taking pictures.

Eliane received her B.S. in geology from the American University of Beirut (Lebanon) in 2017. Afterwards, she worked as a geology research assistant and later in a hospital pharmacy. In 2020, because of the ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon, she moved to Massachusetts where she has been working as a Research Animal Technician since. Although she initially studied geosciences, working with animals in a research laboratory, along with other factors, made her realize that she wants to continue working in the field, so she is glad to be working in the BSL3 lab at the Ragon Institute. In her spare time, she likes to run outdoors, exercise in the gym, go for long walks, listen to music, sing, do fine arts, occasionally read, and solve puzzles like sudoku.

Pooja received her MS in Immunology from the Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen (Germany) before joining the lab as a graduate student. She completed her master's thesis in the field of basic immunological research. In joining the Barczak lab, she is hoping to expand her knowledge of immunological pathways and the field of infectious disease. When not in the lab, Pooja can be found reading, hiking or exploring new places.

Triet is an undergraduate researcher studying Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in Microbial Sciences Initiative at Harvard University. He first discovered his passion in infectious diseases through a microbiology class offered during his high school experience, and has been chasing this passion through various immunology and microbiology classes and experiences throughout his college career. Now, he is focusing on studying the host-pathogen associations of tuberculosis and how it affects macrophages in the lab. In his free time, Triet loves sing and play the guitar, watch movies, and play video games.

Neha received her Master’s in Bioinformatics (India) where she first came across the microbial world during her projects on microbial genomics. Since then, microbial pathogenesis, host-pathogen interaction, and developing therapeutic strategies has always excited her. She followed her passion in microbial therapeutics and pursued a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indore, India) under the supervision of Prof. Amit Kumar. During this, she worked on developing novel therapeutic approaches against human pathogenic bacteria. In the Barczak Lab, she wishes to further polish up her knowledge in microbial pathogenesis and explore how pathogens survive in and benefit from host cells. When not in the lab, you can find her in the kitchen or playing/storytelling to her daughter at home.

Owen graduated from Bates College with a BA in biology and minors in chemistry and German. In his senior year he was introduced to the field of viral replication and studied the Rotavirus infection and replication pathway which encouraged him to pursue microbiology research. Owen is excited to work on projects relating to SARS-CoV-2 in an effort to understand more about the pathogenesis of the virus while also learning fundamental microbiological techniques. A former track and field athlete, Owen now spends his free time hiking, rock climbing, surfing, and biking across New England.

Jennie received her B.S. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. She then received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine under the supervision of Dr. Petros C. Karakousis. In her dissertation, she investigated pharmacological inhibitors to target host macrophage heme-oxygenase 1 and triglyceride synthesis pathways as host-directed therapies (HDTs) against M tuberculosis. In the Barczak lab she will help establish a mouse model of TB-associated fibrosis and investigate HDTs that help address post-TB lung disease to help improve lung health for TB patients. When not in the lab, she enjoys napping, cooking, hiking and hanging out with friends.

Mri is a lab tech in the Barczak Lab, working closely with Julie and Owen on virology/BL3 projects. She graduated from MIT in 2024 with double majors in nuclear science and biology and a concentration in writing. Mri is interested in immunology’s applications to medicine, such as understanding the immune response to radiosensitizing nanoparticles to develop more targeted cancer radiotherapies—her senior thesis project at DFCI—or through a virological/infectious disease lens, characterizing the infectiousness of circulating respiratory virus strains in Massachusetts. Mri hopes to become a physician-scientist in the future. Outside of lab, you might find them switching between hobbies such as collecting musical instruments, doodling, and birdwatching.

Wagma received her B.S. in Chemistry from Adelphi University and her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis. During her Ph.D., she transitioned into oncology genomics, where she studied aggressive and treatment-resistant populations in kidney cancer. In the Barczak Lab, she is applying her genomics experience to investigate immune-stromal interactions and identify cellular populations and mechanisms that contribute to TB-associated lung fibrosis, with the goal of better understanding persistent lung damage after TB treatment and ultimately improving outcomes for patients living with post-TB lung fibrosis. Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, music, and Pilates.

Sofia received her B.S. in Biology from MIT and is now a graduate student in Harvard's Chemical Biology program. She is studying the interface between the phagosome and the mycomembrane. Outside of lab, Sofia enjoys solving crossword puzzles, reading Wikipedia articles and telling dad jokes.

Staff Assistant

Karen is enthusiastic and professional, experienced staff assistant with training in wide range of office administration tasks. Dedicated and focused Administrator with 5+ years of experience. On her off time she enjoys traveling, spending time with family, friends and her dog Max.

Sophia is an undergraduate student at Northeastern University studying Bioengineering with a concentration in Cell and Tissue Engineering. She joined the Barczak Lab to further explore her interests in infectious diseases, immunology, and host-pathogen interactions. In the lab, she assists with tissue processing, immunofluorescence staining, and imaging to support research investigating tuberculosis and post-TB lung disease. Through her work, she hopes to deepen her understanding of disease mechanisms while developing her skills in biomedical research. Outside of the lab, Sophia enjoys playing video games, singing and playing guitar, ice skating, and spending time with friends.