Postdoctoral and Clinical Fellows
Brittney Allyn, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Brittney Allyn received her B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017. Following graduation, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Teresa Tarrant’s lab at Duke University, contributing to projects investigating the role of G-protein coupled receptor kinases in immune cell function. Dr. Allyn earned her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Craig Bassing. Her doctoral research focused on how genome topology regulates antigen receptor gene assembly, specifically at the Tcrb locus. Dr. Allyn joined the Weissman lab in 2024 as a postdoctoral fellow and is currently working under the supervision of Dr. Jilian Melamed. Her research centers on developing lipid nanoparticle-based therapies for autoimmune diseases, with a particular focus on Celiac disease.
Jaclynn Meshanni, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Jaclynn Meshanni earned her B.S. in biology from University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2015. She was a laboratory technician for the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense working to develop medical countermeasures against chemical warfare agents from 2013-2016. From 2016-2018, Dr. Meshanni worked as a technician at Weill Cornell Medicine under Dr. Sabine Ehrt to evaluate genes influencing the drug resistance of mycobacterium tuberculosis. Under the mentorship of Dr. Debra Laskin, Dr. Meshanni earned her doctoral degree from Rutgers University in 2023 where her work focused on the role of nuclear receptors in the development of chemical warfare induced pulmonary injury. She joined Dr. Weissman's lab in April 2023 as a postdoctoral fellow and is working under the supervision of Dr. Elena Atochina-Vasserman. Her research focus is on the targeted delivery of mRNA to the lungs.
Wook-Jin Park, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Wook-Jin Park earned his B.A. in Biology from Western University in 2010 and subsequently pursued his Ph.D in Biological Sciences at the Seoul National University under the mentorship of Dr. Yeong-Jae Seok, completing his doctoral studies in 2022. From 2014-2023, Dr. Park served as a researcher at the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) where he dedicated his efforts to the development of vaccines against Cholera, Typhoid, and Rotavirus. At IVI, he conducted comprehensive studies on the early development of conjugate vaccines, playing a pivotal role in the design and optimization of processes for antigen purification. Additionally, his contribution extended to the advancement of chemistries for the preparation of conjugate vaccine. Building upon his expertise, Dr. Park continued his career at Renhaim Inc. as a Senior Research Scientist, leading the development of mRNA-based therapeutics and optimization of GMP mRNA manufacturing processes. Driven by a commitment to academic excellence, he joined Dr. Weissman’s lab in January 2024 as a postdoctoral fellow and is working under the supervision of Dr. Elena Atochina-Vasserman.
Theerapat Phoka, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Theerapat Phoka obtained his B.S. in microbiology from Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand, in 2015 and his doctoral in medical microbiology from Chulalongkorn University in 2021. His thesis involved the identification of a novel vaccine candidate for leptospirosis and post-transcriptional gene regulation in Leptospira spp. Following graduation, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Dr. Supason Wanichwecharungruang's lab, where he worked on the development of dissolving microneedles for biologic delivery. He joined Weissman's lab in July 2023 as a visiting scholar and is working under the supervision of Dr. Mohamad Alameh. His research focuses on transdermal immunization of mRNA-LNP via dissolving microneedles.
Tong Wu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Wu obtained her B.S. in chemistry from Jilin University in 2017 and completed her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Temple University in 2022. Following her doctoral achievement, she served as an adjunct research assistant professor at Temple. During her six years there, she investigated the biophysical and dynamical changes of lipid bilayers in bacteria and lipid delivery carriers under environmental perturbations. Her research, utilizing nonlinear spectroscopy and microscopy, non-invasively monitored molecular transport across lipid bilayers within colloid systems in real-time and elucidated phase separation and membrane phase asymmetry. In 2023, she joined the University of Pennsylvania as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Wu's current endeavors are focused on developing and refining characterization methodologies and techniques for nucleic acid-based lipid nanoparticles (LNP). Her primary aim is to unravel the complex interactions of chemo-physical parameters on the potency, stability, and safety of LNPs, with a goal to optimize mRNA-based vaccine designs further.
Ping Zhou, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Zhou earned her B.S in Biology from Shandong Normal University, China, in 2017. She subsequently completed her Ph.D. in Microbiology at the Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2022, focusing on the development of innovative vaccines using chimpanzee adenoviral vectors to target infectious pathogens, including influenza virus and norovirus. Her doctoral research also explored the therapeutic potential of oncolytic chimpanzee adenoviruses engineered with PD-1 antibodies for cancer immunotherapy. Following her Ph.D., Dr. Zhou joined a biotechnology company in Shanghai as a Research and Development Scientist. In this role, she contributed to the advancement of cutting-edge vaccine platforms, including virus-like particles (VLPs) and mRNA-based systems, to improve immunogenicity against SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In January 2025, Dr. Zhou joined Weissman Lab as a Postdoctoral Fellow under the supervision of Dr. Qin Li. Her current research focuses on designing a broadly protective universal influenza vaccine and developing innovative vaccine strategies for emerging infectious diseases.