Carrie L. Lucas, Ph.D. 

Dr. Lucas received her PhD from Harvard Medical School and her postdoctoral training from the National Institutes of Health, NIAID. The Lucas laboratory is devoted to discovering new and translationally relevant principles of immunology by defining and studying severe pediatric immune disorders. Combining human genomics, in vitro studies using primary patient cells, and in vivo mouse modeling approaches, her team seeks to gain incisive basic and translational insights starting with patients.

Debra Gilhuly

Ms. Gilhuly is a Research and Administrative Assistant. She provides the lab with behind the science support including scheduling meetings, assisting with grant submissions, helping to onboard the fantastic researchers to the lab safely and swiftly, in addition to countless other tasks that help us all keep our sanity!

Peiying Shan, MD

Dr. Shan is a Research Associate and Lab Manager. With over 25 years of experience in lab work, she efficiently and expertly manages resources of the lab, performs experiments, and trains and guides lab members!

Nina N. Brodsky, MD

Dr. Brodsky is an Instructor of Pediatrics at Yale University. Her research interests include developmental, genetic, and environmental etiologies of immunodeficiency and pathologic inflammation, as well as the signaling and mechanisms of disease in patients with these conditions. A specific focus of her work is on CD8 T cell development and function in health and disease.

Nina speaks 4 languages and loves to travel.

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Zhihong Qi, Ph.D.

Dr. Qi earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at, the College of Biological Sciences, in China. In the Lucas lab, he explores the intersections between the DNA damage response and T-cell responses and their implications for anti-tumor immunotherapy. In addition, he is dissecting a novel gene mutation in pediatric patients with defective lymphocyte responses resulting in primary immunodeficiencies.

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Dinesh Babu Uthaya Kumar, MS, Ph.D.

Dr. Uthaya Kumar completed his graduate school research at The Keck School of Medicine-University of Southern California (Masters) and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine-Uconn Health (pre-doctoral). As a lucasite, he investigates the inflammatory role of innate immune cells in monogenic disorders (DEX).

Outside of the lab, he enjoys lifting things that are heavy (which keeps him sane) and doing activities with his wife such as painting, traveling, and hiking.

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Marat Kribis, MD

Dr. Kribis received his MD from Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk, Russia, and completed the Internal Medicine residency at Bridgeport Hospital/Yale University program. He is currently a Rheumatology fellow at Yale University. In the Lucas Lab, he investigates ELF4’s role in autoinflammation and aims to extend his skills to identify and probe similar monogenic disorders that cause autoinflammatory/autoimmune diseases.

Outside of the lab, he enjoys reading and playing guitar.

Aanchal (Annie) Wats, MD, MPH

Clinical Research Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Wats received her MD from Government Medical College Patiala in Punjab, India. She did her Master’s in Public Health with concentration in epidemiology from Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey, USA. She is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University. In the lab, she is involved in clinical patient coordination, sample collection and processing.

Outside of lab, she enjoys dancing, cooking, baking, playing badminton, and enjoying family time.

Sam Olyha, MS

Ms. Olyha is an MD/Ph.D. student. She studied in the UK for 2 years on a Marshall Scholarship completing a Master of Science by Research in Oncology. At the Lucas lab, she studies the role of ELF4 (transcription factor) in regulating the poising of CD4+ T cells towards an inflammatory state more broadly, as well as how ELF4 mutations lead to T cell-mediated pathology in patients with Deficiency in ELF4, X-linked (DEX).

Besides science, she likes to fill her time with hiking, running, cooking/baking, podcasts, board games, knitting/crocheting, and anything involving turtles and tortoises.

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Mackenzie Bender, BS

Ms. Bender is a Ph.D. Candidate. She is interested in fundamental T-cell biology, focusing on the role of ELF4 in T cells.

Outside of the lab, she spends her time dancing tango, volunteering on Yale Immunobiology’s outreach committee, and going to orange theory!

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Lucas Yang, BS

Mr. Yang received his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry in 2022 from Yale University. He is a current post-bacc in the lab having joined in May 2019 as an undergrad. Since then, he has been working with Stephen Lanahan in looking at PIK3CG’s role in B cell maturation.

Outside of lab, he enjoys cooking, fishing, and playing soccer!

Monisha Chakder, BS

Ms. Chakder's research involves studying the role of neonatal cytotoxic CD8 T cells for anti-viral immune response and immunopathology.

In my free time, I love to draw portraits, knit, work on writing a novel, and watch black-and-white movies.

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Julia Wang

Ms. Wang is working to discover the pathway of differentiation and proliferation of naive CD8 T-cells in neonatal immune systems compared to adult immune systems.

She loves to chat! Ask her about education pedagogy, Taylor Swift, friendship bracelet making, and why blueberries are the worst fruit.

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Sindhura Siddapureddy

Ms. Siddapureddy is working with mentor, Sam Olyha, to understand the role of ELF4 in CD4+ T cell differentiation in the context of DEX and inflammatory disorders.

Outside the lab, she loves mountaineering!

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Angela Morka
Ms. Morka is working with her mentor Dinesh to decipher the roles of ELF4 in inflammation using LysM-Cre mice to study innate immune cell-specific effects.

In her free time, she loves to cook, make music, and play volleyball!