People
Roby Bhattacharyya, MD PhD
Principal Investigator (2019 - )
As the PI of the Bhattacharyya lab (since 2019), Roby finds himself amazed at how abruptly he went from mainly doing science to mainly thinking, reading, and writing about science while trying to set up his lab members to succeed in actually doing it, and while he still enjoys the chance to wield a pipet here and there, lab members are increasingly surprised to see him doing so. He also attends on the inpatient Infectious Diseases consult service at Massachusetts General Hospital. Broadly, his goal for the lab is to create a friendly, happy, collaborative, and intellectually rigorous environment in which to study the responses of pathogens to antimicrobials, and of humans to infection, with the ultimate aim of improving the care of infected patients.
You can read more about our lab’s philosophy here, and the details of our research projects here or in the descriptions of each lab member below.
Email: rbhatt {at} broadinstitute {dot} org
Twitter: @roby_bhatt
Pierre Ankomah, MD PhD
Postdoctoral fellow (2020 - )
Pierre was born in Ghana, West Africa, and moved to the Amish wonderland of Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a liberal arts education at Franklin & Marshall College. Afterwards, he sought warmer pastures at Emory University in Atlanta, where he completed a physician-scientist training program with a research focus on within-host microbial population and evolutionary dynamics. He moved to Boston to keep his warm-cold-warm-cold transitions consistent, completing residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and subsequently joining the Mass General Brigham Infectious Diseases (ID) fellowship program.
Currently, in addition to being a clinical ID attending and junior mentored faculty at MGH, Pierre is also a research fellow in the Bhattacharyya lab (jointly with Nir Hacohen’s lab), where he is exploring the effects of host immune responses on infectious syndromes. His current project involves refining our understanding of immune cell signatures that are present at sepsis diagnosis and during the clinical course of the syndrome. To facilitate this, he is using single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) to profile peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from a clinical cohort comprising patients with sepsis and others with sterile inflammation. By taking advantage of scRNA-seq’s ability to provide resolution that distinguishes between immune cell types and transcriptional subsets within a PBMC population, he is characterizing immune cell abundances and kinetics, including those of potential novel transcriptional states from these patient samples to gain a better understanding of sepsis immunopathogenesis.
Outside of the lab, Pierre lives and breathes soccer, and likes to say he is a professional soccer fan whose career has been blighted by occasional forays into science and medicine. You can reach him at pankomah {at} broadinstitute {dot} org if you have any questions, suggestions, etc.!
David Roach, MD
Postdoctoral fellow (2022 - )
David was born and raised in Washington State with some extensive time spent running feral in Montana when his parents needed a break. After going to college in Helena, MT, he went to medical school and did his residency at the University of Washington in Seattle. Afterwards, he spent two years working as an overnight intensive care physician during Covid and at this point in his life it's pretty tough to ruffle his feathers. He came to Boston to pursue his infectious disease fellowship and splits his time at MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital doing clinical care. Interestingly, he was in the hospital in Seattle when the first Covid patient was admitted and in the hospital at MGH when the first monkeypox patient was admitted... there seems to be a pattern.
When not being a harbinger of pandemics, he enjoys doing research on antibiotic resistance and is hoping to develop a cost-effective approach to diagnosing highly resistant bacterial infections in low-income areas around the globe, with a focus on Latin America. His research is on Klebsiella pneumoniae and the SHERLOCK system, so if you have any tips or tricks on either of those please let him know.
If he is not working you can find him listening to country music, pining for Seattle, and cooking dinner for friends, come join!
Liz Arsenault Yee, PhD
Postdoctoral researcher (2023 - )
Liz is a coffee loving born and raised native of Massachusetts. She ventured a little further down the New England coast for college at the University of Connecticut earning her B.S. in Marine Sciences. During her junior year, she joined the phytoplankton ecology lab of Dr. Senjie Lin where she worked with Alexandrium fundyense (cause of Red Tide) and the effect of climate change on its survival. She loved the lab so much and was not super excited about hanging out on boats in the frigid Connecticut spring, that she continued to pursue research opportunities in the Biotech industry.
After graduating in 2016, to the delight of her parents, she moved home to start her first job at Roche Diagnostics as a Lab Manager and Junior Scientist in Early Research and Development on the cobas Liat team. After a year at Roche, she said goodbye to the East Coast to pursue her PhD in Biology at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. She joined the lab of Dr. Felipe Santiago-Tirado where she learned about the wacky world of fungal pathogens through characterizing a gene of unknown function in Cryptococcus neoformans which turned out to be important for fungal mating.
While she loved cheese curds and many a pale ale from one of the 10+ microbreweries that South Bend had to offer, it was time to pack up and head back home to the East coast where she has found her new home in the Bhattacharyya lab as the resident “fun-gal”. Part of an ongoing fungal identification and susceptibility project, Liz is using clinical isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus from the CDC to identify Aspergillus isolates to the species level using an rRNA based strategy and understand what happens to the genetic profile of Aspergillus after exposure to antifungal treatments using an RNA-seq and Nanostring based approaches.
When not at the lab, you can often find Liz walking her rescue pup Skipper around Oak Square, organizing game nights with friends, or in the summer months glued to a beach chair with a good book. Her Sci-Twitter (now X) handle is @eliz985.
Lauren Donnelly, MD PhD
Postdoctoral researcher (2024 - )
Lauren is an outdoor-loving Vermonter who grew up in Burlington, Vermont, where her journey in microbiology and medicine began. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Vermont, where she pursued undergraduate research under the guidance of Dr. Aimee Shen. Her research focused on unraveling the mechanisms of sporulation and spore germination in Clostridioides difficile, a nosocomial pathogen known for its impact on human health. Lauren moved to Boston to complete the Medical Scientist Training Program at Tufts University School of Medicine. Her PhD dissertation expanded her study of C. difficile into clinically relevant realms. Lauren developed fluorescent transcriptional reporters to visualize virulence and transmission gene expression in C. difficile, shedding light on its behavior within the host during infection.
Currently, Lauren is a clinical pathology resident at Mass General Brigham, preparing to undertake the clinical microbiology fellowship at MGH. As a post doc in the Bhattacharyya lab, Lauren is focused on elucidating factors involved in carbapenem resistance. She is particularly interested in bridging the mechanistic findings in the lab with the diagnostic implications for clinical microbiology.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Lauren thrives in the great outdoors. She enjoys hiking with her beloved Golden Retriever, Gracie, exploring Vermont's trails in every season (especially winter!). Lauren is an avid cross-country skier, finds joy in community sailing in the Boston harbor and enjoys playing golf with her family.
Dipesh Solanky, MD
Postdoctoral fellow (2024 - )
Born not too far away in New Jersey but raised quite further away in Arizona, Dipesh studied Genetics/Cell Biology at Arizona State University, received his MD at Mayo Medical School in Minnesota, and completed medicine residency at University of California, San Diego. His interest in molecular biology and ID began in high school as a summer intern at a biomedical research lab helping to design a homegrown, PCR-based assay for detecting Mycoplasma infection in pancreatic cancer cell lines. His interest in microbes only multiplied thereafter, working in a lab studying biochemical properties of antimicrobial clay-mineral mixtures during undergrad, and then doing clinical research on Clostridioides difficile infection during medical school and residency. He also spent time at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, where he helped investigate healthcare-associated outbreaks, implement infection prevention and control programs, and research antibiotic utilization and antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative bacteria colonization in Latin America.
Dipesh was finally drawn back to the East Coast where he is completing his infectious diseases (ID) fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women's Hospital here in Boston. His research in the Bhattacharyya Lab draws on his prior experiences to now confront an entirely different pathogen: using the SHERLOCK platform to diagnose high-risk types of HPV.
Outside of work, Dipesh enjoys hiking, cooking, exploring new restaurants in the Boston area, and eating fermented foods.
Jennifer Su, BS
Graduate Student (2024 - )
Jennifer grew up in the Bay Area and completed her undergrad education at UCLA, where she majored in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. There, she studied the molecular and mechanical basis by which progenitor and stem cells are regulated in the Jimmy Hu lab. Upon graduating in 2021, she ventured out to the East Coast for the first time to work as a research associate in the Tyler Jacks lab across the street at Koch Institute MIT. For two years, she elucidated the transcriptional subtypes of pancreatic cancer and explored the rising field of cancer neuroscience through spatial transcriptomics.
Jennifer is now pursuing her PhD in the Harvard BBS program. Currently, she is interested in uncovering the molecular mechanisms behind the inoculum effect. Despite believing Boston is a food desert (controversial opinion), she enjoys exploring new cafes and restaurants during her free time. Her favorite cafe is Ogawa, which she frequented 39 times the first year she discovered it!
Alyssa DuBois, BS
Research Associate (2023 - )
Alyssa studied Bioengineering and Global Health at Northeastern University (ironically located southeast of where she grew up in Burlington, Vermont). She interned at a company developing diagnostic tools for sepsis and antibiotic resistance before joining the Bhattacharyya Lab to explore sepsis immunopathogenesis. In her free time, Alyssa loves listening to podcasts about infectious diseases, enjoying the outdoors, painting, and live music.
Leslie Lopez, BS
Research Associate (2024 - )
Leslie grew up in Warminster, PA and graduated from Amherst College with a degree in Biochemistry & Biophysics. Although an aspiring astronomer at first, her interest in microbiology emerged from mentors and teachings in high school and college and she's been exploring weirdly sensible things bacteria do ever since. Now in the Bhattacharyya lab, she's helping investigate the mechanism behind the inoculum effect in carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales. Outside of the lab, Leslie loves hiking western Mass, watching films, and hunting down the ingredients for the best matcha latte.
Jonathan Chen
Undergraduate Researcher (2023 - )
Jonathan comes from Houston, TX where he spent high school obsessed with all things science and math. Now that he's an undergrad at Harvard planning to study Chemical and Physical Biology, Jonathan is excited to be part of the Bhattacharyya lab where he is exploring mechanisms of carbapenem resistance under the mentorship of Roby's team. When he's not learning the ropes of working in a lab, Jonathan is likely to be found catching up on sleep, running, or exploring Boston's delicious food options (suggestions welcome!)
Eden Seyoum
Undergraduate Researcher (2023 - )
Eden is from the lively city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College. Through her introductory courses at Harvard, she deepened her understanding of gene expression and protein structure and function, which further heightened her interest in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of life for the betterment of healthcare. Eden is enthusiastic to join the Bhattacharyya lab where she will be focusing on fungal diagnostics. During her free time, she loves to explore the city of Boston, read articles related to global health, listen to Afrobeat music, and indulge in exhilarating activities such as roller coaster rides.
Pun Sangruji
Undergraduate Researcher (2023 - )
Pun hails from the vibrant city of Bangkok, Thailand, embarking on a remarkable journey across the Pacific Ocean to escape the sweltering heat and oppressive humidity. He now finds himself as an undergraduate student at Tufts University, passionately pursuing a degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, and nurturing a dream of one day practicing medicine.Fortunate enough to join the ranks of the Bhattacharyya lab, Pun is currently under the esteemed mentorship of Dr. David Roach. In this role, he wholeheartedly dedicates himself to aiding Dr. Roach in the development of cost-effective assays for profiling drug-resistant infectious bacteria, utilizing the cutting-edge SHERLOCK system. When not engaged in his work alongside Dr. David, you might stumble upon Pun in his room, savoring a peaceful nap, or find him tirelessly reviewing biochemical mechanisms with his friends (note: the napping is done alone).
Shriya Bhat
Undergraduate Researcher (2024 - )
Shriya is from Dallas, TX and is studying Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College. In high school, she studied the grape-candy smelling bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and became engrossed in its biofilm forming mechanisms and the secret cross-talk that occurs between different actors in polymicrobial communities. Since then, she has conducted research at various research settings, from academic institutions to biopharma, becoming fascinated by the molecular basis for gene expression and omics and gene-editing technologies. She is currently working with Dr. David Roach to develop rapid bacterial diagnostics using CRISPR-Cas enzymatic systems: her long term goal is to practice medicine with the hopes of deploying cutting-edge molecular tools in the clinic. Outside the lab, you can find her swimming at the MAC, indulging in any East or South Asian cuisine, or picking up another random hobby (of recent interest has been crochet).
Afua Asare
Undergraduate Researcher (2024 - )
Afua was born in Ghana and moved to the United States for high school, where she's since made Massachusetts home. From a young age, she had a strong passion for science, which deepened during a high school internship at the Broad Institute. There, she conducted computational research focused on identifying compounds potent against Cryptococcus neoformans, sparking her interest in understanding disease mechanisms to inform drug development. This experience inspired her to concentrate in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard College, where she is now a junior.
Afua is excited to work under the mentorship of Dr. Pierre Ankomah and Alyssa Dubois on a sepsis project that investigates the body’s immune response to infection. In her free time, she loves to travel, immerse herself in different cultures, and explore new cuisines. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family, cooking, sharing meals, and making lasting memories together.
Sara Gomez Villegas, MD
Medical resident, affiliated researcher, and Friend of the Lab (2023 - )
Sara is from Medellin, Colombia. She was born an raised in the city of the "Eternal Spring" were she went to Medical School and fell madly in love with microbiology and molecular biology from the very first lecture. She graduated as an MD from the University of Antioquia - School of Medicine, but knowing that she wanted to become a physician-scientist, she immigrated to the United States to begin her training as a researcher. She trained as a post-doctoral fellow (2019-2022) at the Texas Medical Center (Houston, Texas) under the mentorship of Dr. Cesar Arias and then moved to Boston in late 2022 to start her residency training in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. As she missed the bench and her dear bugs very much (the more resistant, the more she loves them), she sought, early during her intern year, an opportunity to go back to them in the few hours she is not sleeping or taking care of patients. She loves dancing (as any Colombian), listening to audiobooks (while working at the bench), and taking naps with her two cats: Gregorio and Luciano.
Lab alumni
Melanie Martinsen, BS, research associate (2019-2021). Current position: MD-PhD student, Brown University
Michelle Matzko, MD PhD, postdoctoral associate (2020-2021). Current position: Director of Clinical Research, AlloVir, and Infectious Disease physician, Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Alasdair Fletcher, summer undergraduate (2022). Current position: graduate of University College London (class of 2023). Next step: medical school!
Kyra Taylor, BS, research associate (2020-2022). Current position: Engineer I, Seres Therapeutics
Alex Jaramillo Cartagena, PhD, postdoctoral fellow (2020-2023). Current position: CPEP clinical microbiology fellow, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Selama Tesfamariam, summer BSRP undergraduate (2023). Current position: undergraduate student (senior), Howard University.
Eleanor Young, BS, research & computational associate (2021-2024). Current position: wanderer :-) , will begin PhD program at UC Davis this fall in Plant Pathology
Rotating graduate students:
2023-2024: Jennifer Su (BBS), Bailey Bowcutt (BSPH), Tsion Abay (BBS)
2024-2025: Zoe Weiss (MSTP)
