BS, PhD, Stony Brook University. Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH/Rocky Mountain Laboratories (NIAID). Research Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Immunology and microbiology researcher with special interests in vaccine development against emergent viral pathogens and designing immunotherapy against cancer. Focusing on inducing antibody responses to mediate effector functions to enhance immune responses. Author of papers on improving immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Ebola virus infections and on NKT cell-based immunotherapies against tumors. Recipient of numerous travel grants from the Keystone Symposia and the American Association of Immunologists. Guest editor for the journal Vaccines and part of the Early Career Reviewers (ECRs) for the new investigators in NIH review system. SLC, 2025–
Undergraduate Courses 2025-2026
Biology
Immunology
Intermediate, Seminar—Fall
BIOL 3765
Prerequisite: General Biology: Genes, Cells, and Evolution (BIOL 2014)
The immune system is comprised of several components that together protect us from non-self, foreign pathogens, as well as from self-dangers like cancer. We are surrounded by billions of microbial pathogens that live inside and on our bodies, and the immune system is continuously at war with these tiny invaders. The first line of defense is the innate immune system, which gets activated at the first exposure to foreign substances and sounds an alert for the adaptive immune system to respond. Together, the innate and adaptive immune systems form a complex biological system that has evolved throughout evolution to protect us from infections and diseases. In this course, we will focus on the understanding of the fundamental concepts of immunology, which will also include how these concepts apply to diseases. Immunology is a complex subject with numerous concepts and terminology; therefore, to be successful in this course, the lectures will be complemented with quizzes/assignments, group discussions, and an oral presentation in order to enhance the learning process.