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.
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 is a research technician in the lab. Her current project focuses on assisting Julia with her viral autoimmunity work. Outside of lab, she enjoys reading, spending time with her dog, and going to concerts!
Linlin Yang
CAMB MVP Graduate Student
Linlin is a CAMB MVP PhD candidate. She grew up in China and did her undergrad at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is interested in leveraging novel tools, TCR-like antibodies, to study MHCII processing and presentation. Outside of lab, she’s actively working on improving her tennis skills. She also enjoys staying with her cats or simply embracing nature.
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!
Heejoon Shin
Chemistry Undergraduate Student
Heejoon is an undergraduate majoring in chemistry. He is currently in Team Pox and studying A35R of vaccinia and ectromelia. Outside of the lab, Heejoon attempts to go to the gym, bake, and sing.
Charles Zheng
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student
Charles is an undergrad majoring in Bioengineering and Computer Science at Penn. Currently, he is researching the role of antigen presentation in cancer immunotherapy, and does all the hard work for Dominic so that Dominic can go play soccer (it’s actually the other way around). Outside of the lab he enjoys playing baseball, tennis and biking.
Manuel Iglesias
Biology Undergraduate Student
Manny is a pre-med undergraduate majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry at Penn. He is currently working with Stephen and Team Pox to investigate the C15 protein of ectromelia virus. Outside of the lab, he enjoys playing soccer, going to the gym, guitar, and playing FIFA.
