Maureen A. Su, MD, is a physician scientist and the Principal Investigator of the research group. She received her combined AB/AM degrees from Harvard College and MD from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology [Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program]. She completed her pediatrics residency, chief residency, and pediatric endocrine fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In the summer of 2018, she joined the faculty at UCLA where she is a Professor of Microbiology Immunology and Medical Genetics (MIMG) and Pediatrics and Associate Director of the UCLA/Caltech MSTP program. Dr. Su is a member of the Society of Pediatric Research (SPR) (Council member 2016-19) and the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI).  

Melissa G. Lechner, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of
Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.
After undergraduate studies in Public Health at Berkeley, she completed a combined
MD/PhD in the USC/CalTech program in Los Angeles. She completed residencies in
Medicine and Pediatrics in Boston at the Harvard Medical School hospitals before returning
to Los Angeles for her clinical endocrinology fellowship at UCLA. As a physician scientist,
Dr. Lechner’s clinical and research interests are related to endocrine disease resulting from
cancer immunotherapy and advanced thyroid cancer. Her work seeks to understand the
cause of immune related adverse events from cancer immunotherapy so that new therapies
can be developed for patients that reduce autoimmune toxicities without compromising anti-
cancer efficacy. She established the Onco-Endocrinology clinic at UCLA and serves on the
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Management of Immunotherapy Toxicity
Side Effects guidance panel. In addition, she leads multiple prospective clinical trials at
UCLA studying thyroid disease and cancer immunotherapy and her research is funded by
the American Thyroid Association, the Aramont Charitable Foundation, and the National
Institutes of Health.
UCLA health

I moved to the Bay Area from China at age 12. I received a bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) at UCLA in 2020. After working in Dr. Ting-Ting Wu's lab during my gap year, I started PhD in 2021, and joined Maureen's lab. I am currently studying CD8 T cell mechanism in Type I diabetes. In my free time, I would jog, paint, and hang out with friends.

My name is Mandy and I'm currently a third year graduate student here at UCLA. I'm originally from Miami, Florida and moved to California to do my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley.  I am currently working on trying to understand the epigenetic mechanisms underlying T cell and NK cell development. I hope that my work will contribute to understanding the immune response against cancer and viral infections.

Bryan is a third year undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics with a minor in Food Studies. Currently, he is interested in the relationship between tumor necrosis factor signaling and autoimmunity, in hopes of developing treatments to target neuropathy. In the future, he hopes to go to medical school and plans to further pursue allergy and immunology research as a physician scientist. In his free time, Bryan enjoys eating out with his friends, listening to music, (trying) to cook, sneaker reselling & streetwear.

Young was born and raised in Guangzhou, China before moving to LA in 2014. He is currently a second-year Biochemistry student at UCLA and plans to go to medical school in the future. Using single-cell sequencing technology, he is investigating the key difference between NOD wildtype mice and NOD knockout mice to further understand and identify the development of autoimmunity, especially Type 1 Diabetes. In his free time, Young loves to travel, read, and try out different cuisines of food.

Nicole is a third year undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Human Biology and Society, and hopes to go to medical school in the future with a continued interest in research throughout her career. She is largely interested in autoimmunity, and is currently investigating mechanisms and potential therapies for immune related adverse events that result from cancer immunotherapy. Born and raised in the Bay Area, she enjoys graphic design, learning different recipes, and exploring new places in her free time.

Jessica is a third-year Biochemistry student at UCLA and is originally from Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Overall, she is interested in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Research and autoimmunity. Jessica is currently studying the mechanisms of Immune-related Adverse Events from Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor treatments. As a Type 1 Diabetic herself, she hopes to go to medical school and pursue a career as a Pediatric Endocrinologist in the future. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, embroidering, and exploring new places and experiences.

Ethan McCarthy is a fourth-year undergraduate studying microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics with a minor in biomedical research. His research is currently focused on characterizing the autoantibody profile of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in the hopes of developing antibody tests for the autoimmune disease. Ethan plans on attending medical school and pursuing a career as a physician scientist. In his free time, Ethan enjoys running, computer programming, and exploring LA.

My name is Howard Chen and I am currently the second year of PhD student in IMMP at UCLA. I am originally from Taiwan and received my master degree with Chemical Engineering major at Rutgers University at New Jersey in 2016. After that, I worked as a research technician in Dr. Scott Lowe’s lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for 1 year. Then, in order to learn research in Immunology, I moved to California, joined group of Dr. Gay Crooks and Dr. Christopher Seet and studied human T cells and dendritic cells development in vitro. My current project is to study infiltrating immune cells in local tissues of autoimmune diseases and to develop immunotherapy for type I diabetes and Graves’ disease.

Maryam is a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Su's lab at UCLA. Prior to this, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Thomas Jefferson University studying immunological aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS).
She obtains a Ph.D. in neurobiology, specializing in glial cell
responses in animal models of MS. She also holds a Master of Science in physiology. Her current research aims to understand the mechanisms underlying autoimmune neuropathy (CIDP), with T helper cells as a focal point.

Nicole Wilkinson is a 3rd year student in the UCLA-Caltech MSTP. She is currently a PhD student in the IMMP. Before coming to UCLA, she studied neuroscience at the University of Michigan and conducted research related to the pathophysiology of Multiple Sclerosis. In the Su Lab, she will continue studying autoimmunity, with a focus on mechanisms that contribute to sex differences in disease incidence and outcomes. 

Kristy is a second-year medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Originally from Port Orange, Florida, she completed her undergraduate studies in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University. After graduation, she worked as a Research Associate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigating personalized neoantigen vaccines in the lab of Dr. Joshua Brody. Currently, she is researching mechanisms mediating immune-related adverse events (iRAEs) as a result of cancer immunotherapy treatment. In her free time, Kristy enjoys reading, long walks, and rewatching Seinfeld.

My name is Christian and I am a current second year in the IMMP program. Prior to starting my PhD at UCLA, I studied biology at California Lutheran University and received a Masters in Translational Medicine from City of Hope conducting my thesis research in NK cell biology and immunotherapy. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my cat, going to concerts, and watching movies.