Meet the Lab!

Robert M. Anthony, PhD.

ROBERT.ANTHONY@mgh.harvard.edu

Rob is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, Frisbie Family MGH Research Scholar 2021-2026, and Principal Investigator at MGH in the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases. He joined the faculty in 2012 following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Rockefeller University. Outside the lab, he enjoys music, eating, traveling, and spending time with his family.

Michelle Conroy, MD

MECONROY@mgh.harvard.edu

Michelle joined the lab in 2012, energized to help Dr. Anthony elucidate the role of antibody glycosylation in various immunologically mediated diseases.  She received a Bachelors degree in Behavioral Neurosciences from Johns Hopkins University, a Masters degree in Health Policy from Boston University and her MD from Univ of Massachusetts.  In the Anthony lab, Michelle focuses on translational aspects of antibody glycosylation. She also works with patients in the clinic. Outside of science, her interests include cycling, baking/cooking, classical music, hanging out with her amazing family.

Sayantan Banerjee, PhD.

SBANERJEE9@mgh.harvard.edu

Sayantan joined the Anthony lab as a PostDoc in May 2021. His research is concentrated on studying IgE mediated allergic reactions to design mechanisms for therapeutic intervention. Sayantan completed his PhD from Binghamton University, New York, where he investigated aberrant inflammatory responses of intestinal epithelial cells. Since his doctorate, he has also worked in India and Canada. When not working, Sayantan likes travel, hike, follow sports, and cook.

Sneha Ratnapriya, PhD.

SRATNAPRIYA@mgh.harvard.edu

Sneha joined the lab as a PostDoc in July 2021. She completed her PhD from Central Drug Research Institute, India in 2019 where she focused on elucidating the immunological profiling of Leishmania antigenic proteins and peptides against visceral leishmaniasis. After her doctorate Sneha worked in the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis on several HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins-based immunogens. In the Anthony lab, she focuses on the mechanism of regulation of IgG sialylation in context of autoimmune diseases. Besides lab, Sneha enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

Aron Gyorgypal, PhD.

AGYORGYPAL@mgh.harvard.edu

Aron joined the lab as a post-doctoral fellow in June 2023 after completing his Ph.D. in chemical and biochemical engineering at Rutgers University. His past research focused on studying monoclonal antibody glycosylation for upstream bioprocessing. In the Anthony / Conroy lab, he continues to focus on glyco-science by studying the effects of antibody glycosylation in IgE-mediated allergic diseases to design therapeutic interventions against them. In his free time, he does freelance scientific writing and also enjoys hanging with friends, hiking, and traveling.

Alex Trachtenberg, MSc

ATRACHTENBERG@mgh.harvard.edu

Alex joined the lab in January of 2021 as the lab manager.  He has earned a Master of Science degree with a concentration in molecular biology and has been a research assistant at various levels at The George Washington University, Harvard Medical School, and the Boston University School of Medicine. After joining the Anthony Lab, he began work on the study of IgA1 Nephropathy. Outside of the lab, Alex enjoys cooking and baking.

Matthew DePonte, BSc

MDEPONTE@mgh.harvard.edu

Matthew joined the lab as a technician in June of 2024 after receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Trinity College. In the Anthony Lab, Matt works on IgE projects and assists Sayantan and Aron with their projects. Matt enjoys biking, reading, watching Giants games, and hanging out with friends and family.

Truc Tran, MSc

TTRAN74@mgh.harvard.edu

Truc joined the lab as a Research Technician in June 2024. She received her BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the Anthony lab, she works on IgE projects and assists Aron and Sayantan. Outside of the lab, she enjoys attending performing arts shows, visiting museums, and finding new restaurants and pop-up events.

Teresa Allan, MSc

tallan@mgh.harvard.edu

Tessa joined the lab as a technician in August of 2024 after receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology from Clark University. In the lab, she primarily works on IgE projects. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, hiking, biking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Alumni

Steph Trezise, PhD

2022-2024

Steph joined the lab as a PostDoc in March 2022. She completed her PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, where she developed an arrayed CRISPR screening technique for primary B cells to identify regulators of B cell survival, proliferation, differentiation and antibody secretion. In the Anthony lab, Steph focuses on understanding antibody glycosylation at a single cell level. Outside of science, her interests include crafting (particularly crochet), cooking and new exploring bars and restaurants.

Colleen Phelan, BSc

2021-2024

Colleen joined the lab as a technician in June of 2021 after receiving two Bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Psychology from UMass Amherst. She primarily works on IgE projects and assists Sayantan with his projects. Outside of the lab she loves to ski, play rugby, and go to Patriots games.

Ana Laureano, PhD.

2021-2024

Ana joined the lab in May 2021 as a PostDoc. She received her bachelor degree in Biological Sciences in 2011 from Sao Paulo State University and got her Masters in Health Sciences in 2015 from Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de Sao Paulo. She received her PhD in Biotechnology in 2020 from Federal University of ABC where she investigated anti-kallikreins scFv antibodies generated by phage display. Outside the lab her activities include music, reading, traveling, binge watching series, video games, and cooking.

Brian Reese, BSN

2022-2024

 

Brian joined the lab as a Technician in June 2022. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing with a minor in Biology from Keene State College, where he focused on the non-IgE allergy FPIES and its connection to the microbiome. In the Anthony Lab, Brian works with Steph to understand glycosylation at a single-cell level and analyzes mass-spectrometry data. He enjoys running, biking, hiking, skiing, water skiing, and playing lacrosse.

Lauren Salter, BS

LSALTER@mgh.harvard.edu

 

Lauren joined the lab as a Technician in September 2022. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Evolutionary Anthropology at The University of New Mexico and is currently completing her thesis for her Masters of Science in Human Skeletal Biology at NYU. Her research interests concern general patterns of disease in the Black-American community and more specifically the effects of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade on contemporary Black-American health, incorporating research on epigenetics and genomics as well as skeletal morphology. In the Anthony Lab, Lauren works with Sneha to study the regulation of sialylation. Outside of work and scholarly pursuits, Lauren loves to sing, act, write and travel. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, IL and is still a big fan of Deep Dish pizza!

Sunny Sneed, MSc

2021-2023

Sunny joined the lab in January 2021 as a Research Technologist after completing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In the Anthony Lab, she primarily works on characterizing the mechanisms behind differing biological responses to differentially glycosylated IgG antibodies in cell and animal models. Sunny enjoys reading, taking care of her many houseplants, playing Fortnite, painting, riding horses, and spending time with her dog. Sunny is currently pursuing a PhD in immunology at East Carolina University.

Nicolina Braccio, MSc

Lab Technician, 2021-2022

Nicolina joined the Anthony lab as a tech in July 2021. She received her BS in Biology from Clark University in 2020. Through Clark’s accelerated 5th-year master’s program she also received her MS in Biology in 2021. During her time at Clark, Nicolina’s research focused on determining which cis-regulatory modules bind to and regulate the Twin of Eyeless gene in Drosophila melanogaster. Her interests outside of science include running, cooking, hiking, and spending time with friends and family. After leaving the lab, Nicolina started work as a Business Development Associate at Cancer Research UK.

Daniel Huynh, BSc

Lab Technician, 2019-2021

Dan joined the lab as a technician in July 2019 after graduating from Cornell University with a BS in Human Biology. With a team of scientists, he worked to unravel the mysteries of glycosylation in IgE-mediated allergic diseases. Dan enjoys anime, BTS, cooking, and socializing. He went on to attend the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University to achieve his goals of becoming a clinician-scientist!

Maya Kitaoka, MSc

Sr. Research Technologist, 2012-2020

Maya joined the lab as a technician in 2012 when Dr. Anthony started his laboratory in MGH. She received a Bachelors degree in Microbiology from Oklahoma State University, followed by a Masters in Bacteriology, studying Vibrio cholerae Type VI Secretion System in Dr. Stefan Pukatzki’s lab in University of Alberta, Canada.  In the Anthony lab, she mainly focused on IgG glycosylation while helping everyone with their projects. Her interests include swimming, cooking/baking (and eating), video games, comics/anime, and crafting. She left the lab in 2020 as a Senior Research Technologist and became a Senior Scientist at Novartis.

Emma Laprise, BA

Lab Technician, 2017 – 2019

Emma joined the lab as a technician, helping Michelle with her clinical studies. After spending time with us, she spent time on her other passion of skiing then went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in Agriculture, Food, and Environment from Tufts University.

Pascale Moon

Summer Intern, 2021-2022

Pascale was a high school intern for the summers of 2021 and 2022. She shadowed Jose and  Sunny in their work while also pursuing her own project on mutated IgG antibodies. Pascale likes reading, drawing, and playing the piano. After spending her summers with us, Pascale went on to pursue an undergraduate degree in Physics at the University of Washington.

Tina Motazedi, MD

Allergy & Immunology Fellow, 2020-2022

Tina was an Allergy & Immunology Fellow who joined the lab in the summer of 2020. She looked at the role of antibody glycosylation as biomarkers of allergy in patients completing peanut oral immunotherapy.  Tina received her Bachelors degree in Chemistry & Mathematics from Williams College, and her MD from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She completed her internal medicine residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Tina also works with patients in the clinic. After working with us, Tina started a new position as an Assistant Professor at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Jose Pagan, MD

Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014-2022

Jose joined the Anthony lab in 2014. He received his BSc in Biology from University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, and his MD from Ponce School of Medicine at Puerto Rico. As a Postdoctoral fellow in the Anthony lab, Jose focused on enzymatic modulation of IgG antibody glycosylation. Jose enjoys traveling with family, soccer and music. He left the Anthony Lab in January 2022 and became a Senior Scientist at Seismic Therapeutic.

Kai-Ting Shade, PhD.

Instructor & Research Fellow, 2013-2021

Kai was an instructor in Dr. Anthony’s lab. She joined the lab in 2013 after obtaining her Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology from University of Oxford and since worked to reveal the secret of IgE glycans. When she gets a moment of peace from chasing her 3 kids, she likes to eat, read, and crochet. After leaving the Anthony Lab, Kai started as a Principal Scientist in the Immunology & Inflammation Research Therapeutic Area at Sanofi.

Katrin Sinning, BSc

Master’s student, July 2021-March 2022

Katrin is originally from Bavaria, Germany and received her Bachelor’s degree in molecular medicine from the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany. She joined the lab in July 2021 as a Master’s student and focuses on biochemical aspects of IgE signaling, which mediate allergic reactions. Katrin also holds a B.A. in art history and is passionate about architecture, taekwondo, the piano, and running. Katrin completed her Master’s in spring 2022 and went on to pursue a PhD with the Max Planck Research Group at the Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology.

Kujtim Thaci, PhD.

Fulbright Scholar, August 2022-January 2023

Kujtim joined the lab in August 2022 as a Fulbright Scholar. He received his Master’s Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Pristina, completed a specialization program in Clinical Biochemistry at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, and received his PhD in Biomedicine and Health Sciences at the University of Zagreb School of Medicine. In his PhD, Kujtim investigated the role of IgG N-glycosylation in patients with colorectal cancer. He also received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievements during his PhD study. In the Anthony Lab, Kujtim’s focus is to elucidate the role of IgE N-glycosylation in autoimmune and allergic diseases. Outside the lab, his interests include exploring nature, swimming, biking, and spending time with his family.

Ravi Vattepu, PhD.

Postdoctoral Fellow, 2017-2022

Ravi joined the lab as a Postdoctoral fellow in 2017. He completed his BSc in  Biotechnology, followed by his MS in Organic Chemistry at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. His PhD was in Chemistry, focused on Investigating the role of actin-binding protein palladin in actin regulation at Wichita State University, Kansas. Ravi’s main project in the Anthony Lab was to elucidate the role of glycosylation in all four subclasses of human IgG. Outside of the lab, Ravi is interested in cricket. After leaving the lab, Ravi began work as a Scientist at Amgen.