Team Members

Jacqueline Kimmey, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

METX (06/2019 - present)

Fun fact: if all the cars break down, you'll find her commuting on horseback.

Area of focus: all the areas!

Ask me for help with: immunology, circadian biology, infectious disease, clincal questions, mentoring, career advice

Devons Mo

Ph.D. Candidate (Qualified!)

METX (05/2023 - present)

Fun Fact: My favorite animal is a tree frog

Area of focus: how microbes affect the mammalian circadian clock

Ask me to help with: cell culture, circadian handling and data analysis, coding

Santiago Ruiz Solis

Junior Specialist

(07/2025 - present)

Fun fact: I always have a song playing in my head!

Area of focus: zebrafish clocks and immunity, generation of novel transgenics

Ask me to help with: zebrafish maintance, genetics, and infection models

Camila Morales Fénero, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

METX (02/2023 - present)

Fun fact: I am a choir singer and love cats!

Area of focus: zebrafish infection models and circadian rhythms

Ask me to help with: anything zebrafish, histology, microscopy, molecular biology

Pratheeka Budamagunta

Undergraduate (Micro, Biotech)

(10/2024 - present)

Fun Fact: I am part of a South Asian acapella team on campus!

Area of focus: Microbial impact on circadian clock

Ask me for help with: BMDM, cell culture, circadian assays

Catherine Palmer

Ph.D. Candidate (Qualified!)

METX (03/2021 - present)

Fun fact: I probably have sand in my shoes!

Area of focus: time of day susceptibility to pneumonia, pulmonary immunity

Ask me to help with: murine models, pathogenesis, flow cytometry, S. pneumoniae

Eric Delgado

Undergraduate (MCD)

(01/2025 - present)

Fun Fact: I am secretly two people stacked on top of each other wearing a comically large trench coat.

Area of focus: Zebrafish infection models

Ask me for help with: Zebrafish crosses, husbandry

Alumni - Graduate Students (Thesis Lab)

Colin McEachen - MS Student (Sept 2023 - Jun 2025). Defended thesis Jun 2025! Next: exploring next steps

Jaden Knight - MS student - 4+1 track (Sep 2022 - Mar 2025). Defended thesis Mar 2023! Next: exploring PhD programs

Raina Sacksteder - MS student (Mar 2021 - Mar 2023). Defended thesis Mar 2023! Next: Dancer / Choreographer / Ballet Instructor

Ti Lam - MS student (Mar 2020 - Dec 2021). Defended thesis Dec 2021! Next: Research Associate at Exai Bio

Tiffany Thisner - PhD Student (Mar 2020 - Mar 2021). Withdrew from program to pursue non-academic paths

Alumni - Graduate Students (Rotation students; joined other lab for thesis work)

Katie Miller (METX; 2024). Thesis lab: Fitnat Yildiz

Ana Ponce (METX; 2024). Thesis lab: Karen Ottemann

Cristina Vargas (METX; 2024). Thesis lab: Vicki Auerbuch Stone

Joshua Shaffer (MCD; 2019). Thesis lab: Upasna Sharma

Stephanie Aguiar (MCD; 2019). Thesis lab: Raquel Chamorro-Garcia

Alumni - Undergraduates, Postbac, and other pre-graduate trainees

Philip Kovelman-Ottilie (Oct 2023 - Jun 2025). Next: MS program in Germany

Corey Witt - Undergraduate Scholar (Jun 2024 - Jun 2025). Next: studying H. pylori in the Ottemann Lab

Kate Wolsfeld - ACCESS Scholar (Jun - Aug 2024). Next: finishing undergrad at Cabrillo College

Kevin Halim - Undergraduate (Jan 2023 - Jun 2024). Graduated June 2024! Next: applying to med school

Mariana Tominaga Pereira - Undergraduate Visiting Scholar (Jan - May 2024). Next: back at U. São Paolo finishing her B.S.

Emily Pasion - Undergraduate (Apr - Dec 2023). Graduated Dec 2023! Next: Stayed in the lab as a Jr. Specialist!

Griffin Bohman - GAIN Scholar (Jun - Aug 2023). Next: Undergrad at CSUMB, class of 2024

Hailey Christian - GAIN Scholar (Jun - Aug 2023). Next: Undergrad at CSUMB, class of 2025

Jared Kolahi - Undergraduate (Sep 2022 - Sep 2023). Graduated Summer 2023!

Jaden W. Knight - Undergraduate (Jun 2022 - Jun 2023). Graduated Spring 2023! Next: Continued as an MS student in the lab!

Ziad Kedkad - Undergraduate (Aug 2021 - Mar 2023). Graduated Winter 2023! Next: Technician at UCSF

Nathan Boucher - Undergraduate (Jan 2022 - Dec 2022). Graduated Winter 2023! Next: PA school, entry 2025

Hadassah Legaspi - ACCESS Scholar (Jun - Aug 2022). Next: Graduated UCLA, class of 2024

Brittany Gomez - PREP Scholar (July 2020 - Mar 2021). Next: PhD program, U Colorado

Manasa Handady - Undergrad (Oct 2019 - Mar 2021). Graduated Spring 2021!Next: Med School, St. Louis University (entry 2021)

Alumni - Staff

Meredith Klashman - Jr. Specialist (Sep 2019 - Jul 2019). Next: MD /MS program at UCSF and Berkeley (entry 2019)

Lisa Sudek - Technician (Sep 2020 - May 2021). Next: Specialist in Carpenter Lab, UCSC

Emily Pasion - Technician (Apr 2023 - Jan 2025). Next: MS student: Genomic Data Analysis @ Keck Graduate Institute (entry 2025)

Andy (Andrew) Diamos - Project Scientist (Aug 2024 - Mar 2025). Next: Video Game Streamer (Youtube and Twitch)