Currently, I work in Dr. Tan’s lab studying how to harness natural killer (NK) cells to control JC polyomavirus (JCV) and Ebola virus (EBOV) infection. JCV is a neurotropic DNA virus that causes progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in immunocompromised individuals. Existing therapies are limited and often reliant on HLA-matched T cell therapy. Our lab previously demonstrated NK cell–mediated control of JCV infection. I am now extending this work by generating cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) NK cells using IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 and co-culturing them with JCV-infected SVGA cells. This system required substantial optimization, as JCV is a difficult virus to work with and takes 10+ days to infect SVGA cells, while NK cells are a rare cell type found in donor blood and highly sensitive to handling. I synthesized methods from the literature and worked closely with other labs to refine plating densities, cytokine timing, and viability protocols; an effort that taught me not just technical precision, but how to troubleshoot complex biological systems through collaborative iteration. In our studies, we assess viral control using VP1 and T antigen (JCV viral proteins) quantification and measure NK cell function via CD107a degranulation and IFN-γ expression. I am also piloting two cytotoxicity assays (Progema LDH release and CFSE-based killing) to generate additional functional readouts. These efforts have deepened my understanding of experimental rigor and assay validation in immunological research. In parallel, I am profiling NK receptor expression in PBMCs from healthy, JCV+, PML+, and PML+/HIV+ donors. I focus on NKG2A/C and NKG2D expression and plan to conduct receptor blocking experiments to define their mechanistic role in viral control. This line of investigation aims to identify receptor expression patterns that may underlie NK cell dysfunction in PML, and I have learned how to manage high-parameter spectral flow cytometry panels and donor variability in primary cell experiments.

Honors/Awards

Immunology T32 Pre-doctoral Training Grant (2025-2026)