Lab Members
Laurence "Ike" Eisenlohr
Principal Investigator
Ike is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine and CHOP Research Institute. He has dedicated his life to uncovering the fundamental aspects of MHC Class I- and Class II-restricted antigen processing and presentation. His lab regularly interrogates antigen presentation in the context of various viral infections and has found great success *knock on wood* in uncovering novel aspects of the cell biological pathways that mediate these processes.
Julia Rood
Pediatric Rheumatology Fellow
Julia is a Pediatric Rheumatology fellow. She grew up in Maryland and completed her MD/PhD at Penn before coming to CHOP to pursue clinical and postdoctoral research training. Outside of work, she enjoys swimming, road and gravel biking, running, and playing board games.
Dominic Lapadula
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dominic is a postdoctoral fellow. He grew up in The Poconos and received his PhD from Thomas Jefferson University. He is investigating the role of antigen-specific B cells and their antigen processing components in secondary responses to flu. Outside of lab, he enjoys hiking the Appalachian Trail, playing soccer, watching soccer, and playing video games, which may include FIFA (soccer).
Stephen Carro
CAMB MVP Graduate Student
Stephen is a CAMB MVP PhD candidate working to uncover the mechanisms behind the B22 family of poxvirus virulence factors. He very much enjoys coffee and is a strong proponent of the decaf-only lifestyle. He also runs this very well put-together lab website.
Kate Krauss
IGG MD/PhD Student
Kate is an MD/PhD student. She grew up in Manhattan and did her undergrad at UChicago in Biological Sciences. Outside of work, she enjoys riding her bike and playing video games.
Eric Rodriguez-Lopez
IGG Graduate Student
Eric is an IGG PhD candidate from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He is interested in how antigen presentation can modulate immune responses in an allergic disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). Eric is the current reigning Eisenlohr Lab champion of Spongebob Trivia. When not in lab, Eric enjoys singing classical music and finding good burgers in Philadelphia.
Emma Hedgepeth
Research Technician
Emma is a research technician in the lab. She is from Kennett Square, PA which is the mushroom capital of the world! Her current project focuses on distinguishing endogenous and exogenous presentation of flu epitopes in a mouse model. Outside of lab, she enjoys reading and walking around Philly to find the best parks.
Mary Kate Heard
Research Technician
Mary Kate is a research technician in the lab who is also in a masters program for histopathology at Rowan GSBS. She eventually wants to flip over to clinical histology and go to med school for pathology/forensic pathology. She's from South Jersey and likes to travel when she has the time, but she likes to spend most of her time with her dog. She trained her dog Charlie to be a therapy dog for children's hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc (she's an AKC Canine Good Citizen). In lab, Mary Kate is helping Dominic generate mRNA and working with Julia on her immunopeptidome project.
Stephanie Yoon
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student
Stephanie is an undergraduate researcher studying Bioengineering while on the Premed track at UPenn. She joined the lab in the summer of 2021 and is working with Julia on various projects. She is an international student from Hong Kong, and enjoys working out and taking walks in her free time!
