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Principal Investigator
jkimmey <at> ucsc.edu
Twitter: @jkimmey
Instagram: @KimmeyLab
Jacqueline Kimmey, PhD
Assistant Professor, METX (2019 - present)
Fun fact: if all the cars break down, you'll find her commuting on horseback.
Area of focus: all the areas!
Jacqueline began her research career as an undergraduate at UCLA where she studied heme acquisition in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the lab of Marcus Horwitz, MD. She completed her graduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis with Christina Stallings, PhD studying autophagy-independent functions of ATG5 in controlling neutrophil mediated susceptibility to M. tuberculosis. As a postdoc she worked with Victor Nizet, MD to explore how host responses dictate outcome of acute bacterial infections such as those caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group A Streptococcus (GAS), Group B Streptococcus (GBS), and Staphylococcus aureus. Jacqueline's training has been generously supported by various training and mentorship programs including UC LEADS, MARC, NSF GFRP, and UC PPFP. In 2019, Jacqueline was honored on the Forbes' 30 under 30 list (Science) and is a 2022 Pew Biomedical Scholar.
Postdoctoral Fellows
cmoral44 <at> ucsc.edu
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Camila Morales Fénero, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, METX (02/2023 - present)
Fun fact: she's a choir singer and loves cats!
Area of focus: zebrafish infection models and circadian rhythms
Ask me to help with: anything zebrafish, histology, microscopy, molecular biology
Camila graduated as a Medical Technologist at the University of Chile (UChile). She completed her undergraduate thesis in Colombo Lab where she studied the effects of the loss of function of the gene daam1 in the expression of asymmetries on the zebrafish habenula. She then moved to Brazil and pursued a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Saraiva Camara Lab where she studied the role of microbiota in the intestinal inflammation induced by TNBS and then by obesity with zebrafish as a model organism. After finishing her Ph.D. she did a one-year postdoc at Pacheco Lab in the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), working on microbiota-metabolites that affect the progression of acute kidney injury in an obese model in zebrafish. She joined the Kimmey Lab at UCSC in 2023, her research focuses on the interaction of infectious diseases with the immune system and their effect on circadian rhythms.
Graduate Students
caspalme <at> ucsc.edu
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Catherine Palmer
PhD Candidate, METX
Joined the lab 03/2021
Fun fact: probably has sand in her shoes!
Area of focus: time of day susceptibility to pneumonia, pulmonary immunity
Ask me to help with: murine models, pathogenesis, flow cytometry, S. pneumoniae
Catherine graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi in 2020 with a B. S. in Biology. She completed her undergraduate thesis in the Sadler Edepli Lab, where she studied fatty liver disease in zebrafish. Her research focused on how similar environmental conditions (both toxicological and microbiologic) can lead to differential disease outcomes. Her interests led her to pursue a PhD in the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology program at University of California Santa Cruz where she joined the Kimmey Lab in 2021. Her research focuses on the regulation of innate effectors and pathogenesis.
dmo24 <at> ucsc.edu
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Devons Mo
PhD Student, METX
Joined the lab 05/2023
Fun Fact:
Area of focus: circadian control of innate sensing and cellular response
Ask me to help with: cell culture, coding, S. pnuemoniae
Coming soon
jwknight <at> ucsc.edu
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Jaden Knight
Undergraduate Student, BMB (class of 2023), 4+1 Master Student (METX)
Joined the lab 06/2022
Fun Fact: I worked on the UCSC Farm and know quantum chemistry!
Area of focus: chemical identification of clock modulating ligands
Ask me to help with: bacterial fractionation, MS, HPLC
Jaden joined the lab in summer 2022 as an undergraduate researcher. He's been a Jack of All Trades - rapidly immersing himself in all areas of our lab's research ranging across our animal models to cell culture to full our chemistry! Jaden was admitted to the 4+1 Masters program in Fall 2022 followed by formal admission to the graduate program. Jaden formally started as a full time graduate student upon conferral of his B.S. in June 2023.
Undergraduate Students
ecpasion <at> ucsc.edu
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Emily Noelle Pasion
Undergraduate Student, MCD (class of 2024)
Joined the lab 04/2023
Fun Fact: She plays for the UCSC Women's Volleyball team!
Area of focus: zebrafish models of bacterial pathogenesis
Emily Pasion is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is majoring in Molecular Cell Developmental Biology with hopes to work in R&D for a biotech company and attend grad school. Her interests include playing beach volleyball, listening to music, yoga, spending time with pets, going to the gym, and making matcha lattes.
Jared Kolahi
Undergraduate Student, MCD (class of 2023)
Joined the lab 06/2022
Fun Fact: He has a pet lizard and a pet turtle!
Area of focus: Zebrafish circadian rhythms following bacterial exposure
I'm currently a mystery... you'll have to ask!
jkolahi <at> ucsc.edu
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Kevin Halim
Undergraduate Student, Human Bio (class of 2024)
Joined the lab 01/2023
Fun Fact: He travelled to Bali, Jakarta, and Thailand - all in one summer! (over 10 flights)
Area of focus: Circadian effects on inflammation during S. pneumoniae infection
Kevin Halim comes from Dublin, California and is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is majoring in Human Biology and minoring in Chemistry. After graduation, he plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in Dermatology. Outside of school, he can be found volunteering at a physical therapy clinic, playing video games, or playing the guitar.
khalim <at> ucsc.edu
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Lab Alumni
Alumni - Graduate Students (Thesis Lab)
Tiffany Thisner - PhD Student (Mar 2020 - Mar 2021). Withdrew from program to pursue career change.
Ti Lam - MS student (Mar 2020 - Dec 2021). Defended thesis Dec 2021! Current position: Research Associate at Exai Bio
Raina Sacksteder - MS student (Mar 2021 - Mar 2023). Defended thesis Mar 2023!
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Alumni - Graduate Students (Rotations)
Joshua Shaffer (2020). Thesis lab: Upasna Sharma
Stephanie Aguiar (2020). Thesis lab: Raquel Chamorro-Garcia
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Alumni - Undergraduates, Postbac, and other pre-graduate trainees
Manasa Handady - Undergrad (Oct 2019 - March 2021). Graduated Spring 2021!Current: Med School, St. Louis University (entry 2021)
Brittany Gomez - PREP Scholar (July 2020 - March 2021).
Hadassah Legaspi - ACCESS Scholar (June - Aug 2022). Current: Undergrad at UCLA, class of 2024
Nathan Boucher - Undergraduate (Jan 2022 - Dec 2022). Graduated Winter 2023!
Ziad Kedkad - Undergraduate (Aug 2021 - Mar 2023). Graduated Winter 2023! Current: Technician at UCSF
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Alumni - Staff
Meredith Klashman - Jr. Specialist (Sept 2019 - July 2019). Current position: MD /MS program at UCSF and Berkeley
Lisa Sudek - Technician (Sept 2020 - May 2021). Current position: Specialist in Carpenter Lab, UCSC
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