Our Team
Sanjay K. Jain, M.D
Sanjay Jain, M.D. is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He directs the Center for Infection and Inflammation Imaging Research and is a member of the Center for TB Research at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Jain also directs the Pediatric Infectious Diseases fellowship program. His primary research interests include the development of novel imaging technologies for bacterial infections, pediatric tuberculosis (TB), TB meningitis and developing low-cost technologies to improve the health of children in the developing world. Alongside his wife, he is raising two children.
Liz W. Tucker, M.D
Dr. Elizabeth Tucker is an assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her area of clinical expertise in pediatric critical care medicine and her research involves neuroinflammation in the developing brain secondary to tuberculosis and utilization of noninvasive imaging technology and drug delivery to understand the pathogenesis and improve treatment in children with central nervous system tuberculosis.
Kelly Flavahan
Kelly manages both the Jain lab and Ci3R. Her research interests are in vivo imaging methods and their application in disease diagnosis and treatment. Outside of the lab, Kelly is enrolled in the MS in Research Administration program at JHU. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, running, and attempting to grow a nice garden at her home in Timonium.
Xue Yi Chen, M.D
Xue is a research fellow at Johns Hopkins University, she holds an MD from Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga in Colombia. Xue is currently interrogating the pathophysiology of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, researching new drug regimens and neuroinflammation response in TB meningitis. Her interests lie broadly in epidemiology and infectious diseases. Outside the lab, she can be found outdoors climbing or hiking, or exploring museums and exhibitions nearby.
Oscar Nino Meza, M.D
Oscar Nino Meza is a postdoctoral research fellow at Dr. Sanjay Jain's Lab. He earned his medical degree from Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga in Colombia. He is currently working on evaluating PET tracers for bacterial and fungal imaging and CNS tuberculosis. Oscar enjoys visiting aviation and automotive museums, reading history books, and going to small towns.
Mona Sarhan, Ph.D
Mona is a post-doc fellow at the Jain Lab. She is an Egyptian Medicinal Chemist/Radiochemist. She obtained her Bachelor degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University. Mona started her academic career by joining the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority which helped her in gaining experience in the field of radiochemistry through national, regional, and internationally organized training programs and workshops. Prior to joining the Jain Lab her work focused on exploring new radiotherapeutics for cancer. Also, she worked as a visiting lecturer for both undergraduate and post-graduate students in different Egyptian Universities. By joining the amazing group at the Jain Lab, she is investigating with the team the development of new imaging agents as diagnostic tools for infectious diseases as well as developing new regimens for the treatment of MDR forms of TB.
Nelly Lauren Damiba, B.S
Nelly completed her B.S. in Biology from Methodist University, NC. As a research technologist, she works with Dr. Liz Tucker on a pediatric rabbit model of CNS Tuberculosis. Outside the lab, Nelly loves to cook dishes from her home country, Burkina Faso, and volunteer her time for non-profit organizations.
Medha Singh, Ph.D
Medha is a Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, investigating the immuno-pathophysiology of pulmonary and CNS tuberculosis. She assesses novel host-directed therapeutics and explores innovative radiotracers for bacterial and fungal infection imaging. Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Delhi, India, she balances her scientific pursuits with culinary delights, offbeat travel, leisurely walks, and Netflix binges.
Yuderleys Masias-Leon, M.D
Yuderleys is an M.D from Colombia, she received her medical degree from the Industrial University of Santander. Currently, she is working on the development of new PET tracers for infectious diseases, especially fungal and bacterial ones. She loves her pets, Loki and Greta. She enjoys traveling and exploring new places, spending time with her friends, and savoring good food. Reading, coloring, and swimming are her favorite hobbies.
Carlos Ruiz-Gonzalez, M.D
Carlos is a Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He obtained his MD degree from the Industrial University of Santander in Colombia. He is interested on infectious diseases. Currently, he works on testing tracers for the detection of invasive fungal infections and describing the immune landscape in brain infections using flow cytometry. Outside the laboratory, he enjoys practicing sports and learning about new places.
Lynn Shambles
Lynn Shambles is a senior at Johns Hopkins University studying molecular and cellular biology, archaeology, and creative writing. She enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with her cats.
Former Lab Members
2007-2009 Peter Um – Technician at JHU; accepted as a graduate student at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX immediately after finishing in our lab
2006-2011 Nick Be, BS – Ph.D. candidate in Molecular and Cell Biology Program at JHU; became a Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Biosciences and Biotechnology Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory after finishing in our lab.
2007-2010 Stephanie Davis – Technician at JHU; accepted as a law student at Georgetown University, Washington, DC immediately after finishing in our lab
2009-2010 Janine Knudsen – Undergraduate at JHU; accepted as a medical student at Harvard University Medical School, Boston, MA
2009-2012 Edward Weinstein, MD, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Medicine at JHU and Medical Officer, Division of Anti-infective Products at the US Food and Drug Administration; was Adult ID fellow at JHU under Sanjay Jain’s mentorship (2010-13)
2010 - 2012 Ciaran Skerry, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow (Immunology), JHU
2010 - 2012 Jamie Harper - Technician at JHU; accepted as a technician at University of Maryland immediately after finishing in our lab
2012 - 2016 Supriya Pokkali, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2013 - 2014 Liz MacDonald, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2013 - 2016 Vincent DeMarco, BS – Technician, JHU; currently a medical student at Loyola; Awards while in my laboratory:
2013 - 2016 Allison Murawski, BS – Technician, JHU; currently an MD-PhD student at Rutgers-Princeton
2014 -2018 Alvin Kalinda, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2014 - 2017 Lauren Bambarger, BS – Technician, JHU
2015 - 2017 Yongseok Chang, BS – Technician, JHU
2015 - 2016 Vikram Sani, MD – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2015 - 2017 John Thompson, MD – Orthopedic Surgery Resident, JHU (Co-mentor)
2017 - 2018 Julian Sanchez, MD – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2017 - 2018 Richa Sharma, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2018 - 2019 Alok Singh, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2018 - 2020 Sudhanshu Abhishek, Ph.D. – Postdoc fellow, JHU
2010 - 2020 Mariah Klunk, BS. Senior Lab manager. Currently in Occupational Healthy office at JHU
2018-2020 Lisa Pierterse - Technician, JHU.
2018 - 2021 Filipa Mota, Ph.D. - Postdoc Fellow, JHU. Currently Senior Imaging Scientist (Study Director) at Invicro.
2020 - 2021 Clara Erice, Ph.D. - Postdoc Fellow, JHU. Currently Biologist at the FDA.
2020- 2022 Farina Mahmud, Ph.D. - Postdoc Fellow, JHU.
2020-2021 Mitch Turner, BS - Technician, JHU.
2012-2022 Alvaro Ordonez, MD - Postdoc fellow/Assistan Professor, JHU.
2018-2022 Oren Gordon, MD, Ph.D. - Postdoc Fellow, JHU
2018-2022 Camilo A. Ruiz-Bedoya, MD - Postdoc Fellow, JHU.
2020-2022 Patricia de Jesus, B.S - Technician, JHU.
2020-2022 Melissa Wood, B.S - Technician, JHU.
2020-2022 John Kim, B.S - Technician, JHU.
2021-2023 Anna Napiorkowski - Technician, JHU.
2021-2023 Hyunsoo Ray Shin - Technician, JHU.
2020-2023 Dylan Bone - Technician, JHU.
2022-2024 Nathan Jeon - Technician, JHU.
Support members
Opee
Opee is Xue’s son and provides emotional support for members of the Jain lab. He is incredibly energetic and playful.