MIC Postdocs, Research Associates and Research Scientists
MIC Postdocs, Research Associates and Research Scientists
Haley E. Adcox, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC)
University of Virginia
Email: dmg8ny@virginia.edu
Haley acquired her PhD at Virginia Commonwealth University under Dr. Jason Carlyon primarily investigating two different effector proteins and how they modulate the immune response for the benefit of the obligate intracellular bacterium, Orientia tsutsugamushi, the causative agent of Scrub Typhus.
Due to the lack of currently developed genetic tools for chromosomal manipulation of O. tsutsugamushi and the limited lab options for utilizing in vivo model systems, Haley decided to leave the Rickettsiales world and jump into the more competitive field of Chlamydia trachomatis. Although still a very difficult task, the Chlamydia field is on the leading edge for utilizing and developing genetic tools for obligate bacteria that have undergone reductive evolution.
In the summer of 2023, Haley joined the lab of Dr. Isabelle Derré to study C. trachomatis pathogenesis. While still maintaining an interest in host-pathogen interactions, a lot of her work now heavily focuses on the bacteria and how it regulates conversion from an infectious to a non-infectious but replicating form early in its developmental cycle.
Dilruba Akter, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC) Department
University of Virginia
Email: amz3jg@virginia.edu & dilruba117@gmail.com
Dilruba Akter is a postdoc in the Cliffe Laboratory at the University of Virginia, where she investigates the interplay between viral infections and neurodegenerative diseases. She earned her B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and completed her Ph.D. at SUNY Upstate Medical University, USA. Her doctoral work was focusing on how Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) induces heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) to promote viral replication, with potential therapeutic implications. Currently, her research centers on exploring the effects of HSV-1 infection in mice, particularly how HSV-1 synergizes with genetic risk factors (APOE mutations) to accelerate cognitive decline and CNS pathology, with a focus on Alzheimer’s-related biomarkers.
David Delgado Díaz, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Derré Lab https://med.virginia.edu/derre/
Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer Biology Department
University of Virginia
Email: rqz4ez@virginia.edu davidjosedelgadodiaz@gmail.com
Publications: Google Scholar
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddelgadod/
David is a microbiologist and biotechnologist with a strong interest in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly those affecting underserved populations. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology Engineering in Peru, he moved to Australia, where he completed a Master of Biotechnology at the University of Melbourne and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at the Burnet Institute and Monash University. His doctoral research explored how vaginal microbiota-derived metabolites influence immune responses and epithelial barrier integrity in the female reproductive tract, and how these changes affect susceptibility to HIV, leading to three publications.
During his PhD, David was awarded the prestigious MBio Postgraduate Discovery Scholarship from Monash University, which funded his tuition and stipend throughout his studies. He also received travel grants from HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P) and the Burnet Institute’s Pauline Speedy Travel Award, allowing him to present at HIVR4P 2018 in Madrid, Spain, and the 2020 Australasian Virology Society (AVS) meeting in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Following his PhD, David spent four years in the biotechnology industry, where he developed innovative, multiplex point-of-care diagnostic tools for infectious diseases. This experience sharpened his skills in product development and translational research, reinforcing his ability to bridge scientific discovery with real-world application.
Currently, David is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Virginia in the laboratory of Dr. Isabelle Derré. He is leading the development of a novel 3D biomimetic model of the human cervix to study Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a physiologically relevant context. His interdisciplinary approach integrates microbiology, cell biology, immunology, and bioengineering to recreate the complex cervical environment—including cellular components, mucus, microbiota, and sex hormones. This platform aims to uncover key microbial and host factors driving STI acquisition and progression, and to support the evaluation of new preventive and therapeutic strategies.
Songyu Dong, PhD (she/her)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC) University of Virginia
Email: wmk3ty@virginia.edu
Publications
LinkedIn Profile
Songyu received her PhD from Ohio State University, where she studied the pathogenic mechanisms of actin-targeting bacterial ADP-ribosylating toxins. She analyzed the behavior of ADP-ribosylating toxins secreted from various pathogens, including Photorhabdus luminescens and Salmonella enterica, under more physiologically relevant conditions in the presence of multiple host regulators. Impressed by how bacterial toxins efficiently manipulate the complex actin cytoskeleton, she joined the Agaisse lab in the MIC Department in December 2024 to investigate the interactions between actin-binding proteins and virulence effectors of Shigella flexneri.
Godfrey A. Dzhivhuho, PhD
Research Scientist
Rekosh and Hammarskjöld Laboratory
Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer Biology Department
University of Virginia
Email: gad3u@virginia.edu | godfreydzhivhuho@gmail.com
Publications: Google Scholar
LinkedIn
Godfrey Dzhivhuho is a virologist whose work centers on understanding how HIV-1 manipulates host and viral pathways to regulate the export of intron-containing RNA, an essential step in viral replication and a key barrier to latency reversal. His research integrates CRISPR-based functional genomics, RNA biology, and viral mutational analysis to uncover mechanisms of HIV persistence and reactivation.
He earned his PhD in Medical Virology from the University of Cape Town, where he demonstrated that chronic Schistosoma mansoni infection suppresses immune responses to candidate HIV vaccines and exacerbates vaccine-associated pathology. This early work sparked his lasting interest in how immune context shapes viral pathogenesis and vaccine efficacy.
In 2017, Dzhivhuho joined the Rekosh and Hammarskjöld lab at the Myles H. Thaler Center for AIDS and Human Retrovirus Research at the University of Virginia. There, he leads investigations into the HIV-1 Rev–Rev Response Element (RRE) axis, revealing how small changes in Rev sequence profoundly alter RNA export efficiency, viral fitness, and the likelihood of latency reversal. These findings point to the Rev-RRE system as a potential therapeutic target in HIV cure strategies. Recent studies from his group show that viruses with low Rev activity replicate more slowly and resist reactivation, while higher Rev activity promotes both replication and latency reversal, offering insight into how viral reservoirs persist despite therapy.
In addition to his HIV work, Dzhivhuho contributes to SARS-CoV-2 research, including efforts to dissect spike protein-mediated viral entry and the role of TMPRSS2. He is also co-author of a widely cited review on the environmental factors influencing COVID-19 seasonality across global regions.
A recipient of the Leonard ‘Pug’ Evans Retrovirology Prize (2022), he actively mentors graduate and undergraduate researchers and has co-authored multiple high-impact publications. His work has appeared in PLOS Pathogens, Scientific Reports, Current HIV Research, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Leandro Fernández-García, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC)
University of Virginia
Email: bqd4gs@virginia.edu & leandrofg1990@gmail.com
LinkedIn Profile
Leandro is a general Microbiologist with extensive experience in Virology, which includes viral detection from clinical and environmental samples, host response to viral infection, endogenous viral elements (EVEs), and basic virology research like cell-virus interaction, virus evolution, and viral mRNA translation. He obtained the BSc in Microbiology from the University of Havana, Cuba, and PhD in Microbiology from the University of Chile, Chile. He is interested in studying viral mRNA translation initiation mechanisms and how virus infection subverts the host cell translation. Previously, he described and characterized the Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) of Dengue virus (DENV) RNA as well as the role of the Polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) as a DENV IRES trans-acting factor (ITAF).
At UVA in Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco’s Laboratory, he continues working on the non-canonical translation mechanism of the Flavivirus´s mRNAs, exploring the role of host RNA-binding proteins (RBP) in viral protein synthesis.
Niti B. Jadeja, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC)
University of Virginia
Email: nitijadeja@virginia.edu
Google Scholar Profile
LinkedIn Profile
Niti has a doctorate in Biotechnology from CSIR-NEERI & RTMNU, Nagpur, India where she worked extensively with the Central and State Governments and private industries. She specializes in Molecular Biology, Metagenomics, and Systems approaches. More specifically, she is driven by the questions of novel gene functions, gene transmissions, genetic adaptations, evolution, and stress response. Her research aims at understanding the ever-evolving genetic functions in microbes and more recently in host-pathogen interaction. She was awarded a CSIR-Senior Research Fellowship (2015) and was invited by the Academy of Finland (2016) to work at Syke in Helsinki during her doctoral research. She volunteers as a mentor to students who wish to translate their scientific findings into industrial applications. Her work finds application in understanding host-pathogen interactions, immune response, drug discovery, communicable diseases, bioenergy, environmental sustainability, and OneHealth.
Currently, she applies her expertise in Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics at the Agaisse Lab in the MIC department to study the evolution and pathogenesis of Shigella species using in-vivo models, integrated ‘omics, and cell biology techniques. Her work focuses on finding biological markers and identifying immune cells enriched in host-pathogen interactions. She likes to teach and continues to mentor students at the Agaisse lab.
Wenjie Liu, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC) Department
University of Virginia
Email: xep3yf@virginia.edu
Wenjie is a research scientist in the Department of MIC, working under the supervision of Dr. Hui Zong. His current research focuses on glioma initiation, progression, and interactions with cells of the central nervous system (CNS). Utilizing a novel genetically engineered mouse model of glioma, he aims to elucidate the intricate CNS signaling pathways that drive gliomagenesis and tumor progression.
In addition to his primary research, Wenjie has extensive interests and experience in animal molecular genetics, cancer immunology and immunotherapy, and inflammatory disease.
Marina Perusina-Lafranca, PhD
ORCID: 0000-0002-3845-2585
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/mirna-p-638799176
Dr. Mirna Perusina-Lanfranca is a tumor immunologist with extensive and diverse research experience. Passionate about translational science. Dedicated mentor and teacher. She is currently a research scientist in Dr. Victor Engelhard’s lab at the Carter Immunology Center at the University of Virginia, studying the regulation of T cell homing to tumors. In several tumor types, an immune-supportive tumor microenvironment in addition to the presence of CD8 T cells is associated with better clinical outcomes for patients. The factors that regulate the entry of CD8 T cells into tumors are not completely understood. A major research area of Dr. Perusina-Lanfranca is understanding the mechanisms that control the entry of CD8 T cells, focusing on the role of the vasculature, tumor endothelial cells crosstalk with the immune infiltrate and its impact on tumor immunity, as well as their role mediating metastatic disease.
Steven J. Rolland, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC)
University of Virginia
Email: yhj2jn@virginia.edu ; stevenj.rolland@gmail.com
Google scholar
ORCID
LinkedIn
Steven is a cellular microbiologist passionate about uncovering the mechanisms used by intracellular bacteria to infect their hosts and cause disease. He discovered his interest in host-pathogen interactions during his MSc at the University of Paris Diderot and Pasteur Institute (Paris, France), where he studied the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. He earned his PhD from the University of Poitiers (Poitiers, France), investigating the physiology of the free-living amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii during encystment and its interaction with the intracellular bacterium Legionella pneumophila.
In October 2020, Steven joined the Agaisse lab at the University of Virginia to study the host factors facilitating the cell-to-cell spread of Shigella flexneri. He believes that a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved in pathogenesis is essential for combating the alarming rise of multi-drug-resistant strains by targeting host factors to disrupt bacterial pathogenesis.
Shekhar Saha, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Cancer (MIC)
University of Virginia
Email: ss7st@virginia.edu
Google Scholar Profile
LinkedIn Profile
Dr. Shekhar Saha is a senior research scientist at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia. He earned his PhD from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, India, where his research focused on understanding the role of Nonmuscle Myosin II-C2 in neuritogenesis. He demonstrated that Nonmuscle Myosin II-C2 interacts with β-integrin to regulate neurite adhesion to the substratum, ultimately influencing neurite growth.
Following his PhD, Shekhar joined the University of Virginia for postdoctoral training, where he investigated the role of long noncoding RNAs in cancer, with a particular emphasis on prostate cancer and glioblastoma. Currently, his research centers on using CRISPR/Cas9 screening to study glioblastoma in combination with various drugs. He aims to identify novel therapeutic strategies to effectively inhibit glioblastoma initiation and progression.
