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Principal Investigator

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 career at UCLA where she studied heme acquisition in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the lab of Marcus Horwitz, MD. She did 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 at UCSD exploring 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, she was honored on the Forbes' 30 under 30 list (Science).
jkimmey <at> ucsc.edu
Twitter: @jkimmey
Instagram: @KimmeyLab
Graduate Students

rsackste <at> ucsc.edu
Raina graduated from Reed College in 2020 with a B.A. in Biology. She completed her undergraduate thesis in the Cerveny Lab, where she studied the gene targets of retinoic acid during retinal neurogenesis in the developing zebrafish eye. A summer position in the Ott Lab at UCSF sparked her passion for host-microbe interactions, which lead her to pursue a PhD in Microbial Biology and Pathogenesis at UCSC and join the Kimmey Lab in 2021. Her research uses zebrafish to understand how infection alters the circadian clock.
Raina Sacksteder
PhD Student, METX (Joined lab 03/2021)
Fun Fact: She runs the Etsy shop FrogsOnSwings!
Area of focus: mechanism of circadian clocks in zebrafish, impact of Spn exposure
Ask me to help with: zebrafish, Tol2 transgenesis, circadian clock

caspalme <at> ucsc.edu
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.
Catherine Palmer
PhD Student, METX (Joined lab 03/2021)
Fun Fact: probably has sand in her shoes
Area of focus: time of day differences in innate immunity and pneumonia
Ask me to help with: Spn animal infection models, microscopy, flow cytometry

tthisner <at> ucsc.edu
Tiffany started her career at CSU Monterey Bay where she earned her B.S. in Biology in 2017. Her research in biology spanned marine to molecular, from studying marine ecology of Haliotis rufescens in the Barry Lab to molecular evolution of KRAB Zinc Finger Proteins in the Haussler Lab. After graduating, she worked as a Research Associate in a microbiology lab where her love for all things tiny grew. She then went on to pursue her PhD in the Molecular Cellular Developmental program at UC Santa Cruz and in 2020 joined the Kimmey Lab! Her research focuses on host-pathogen interactions and their role in infection variability.
Tiffany Thisner
M.S. Student, METX expected graduation June 2022
Research in Kimmey lab 03/2020 - 03/2021
Fun Fact: Clean in lab, but will likely find acrylic paint stains on her clothes
Area of focus: drivers of differential progression of invasive infection (sepsis)
Undergraduate Students

zkedkad <at> ucsc.edu
Ziad Kedkad is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is majoring in Molecular Cell Development Biology and is an aspiring research surgeon with strong desires of innovating medicine of tomorrow. He is a jack of all trades with diverse passions - he owns a clothing company called Naeem Clothing and makes music under the alias CXC Mel!
Ziad Kedkad
Undergraduate Student, MCD (class of 2023)
Joined the lab 08/2021
Fun Fact: Continuously trying to find the shortest path to my classes
Area of focus: circadian rhythms in zebrafish

nboucher <at> ucsc.edu
coming soon