Research Specialists
Amie Albertus, B.S.
Research Specialist
Amie Albertus received her B.S. in Biology with a minor in Mathematics from Drexel University in 2016. Her professional experience includes High-Throughput Epitope Mapping at Integral Molecular and Flow Cytometry Analysis and Cell Sorting at the Flow Cytometry Core at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Since joining the Weissman Lab in 2023, Amie has been working with Dr. Edward Kreider to apply the mRNA-LNP platform to HIV vaccine development and HIV cure efforts.
Valeria Bornacelli Pabon, M.S.
Research Specialist
Valeria obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Florida in 2019 and subsequently completed a Master’s degree in Infectious Diseases from Drexel University in 2022. During her internship at Dr. Navas-Martin's laboratory, Valeria's research focused on understanding the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the antiviral and inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and beta coronavirus (β-CoV) infection in microglia. In 2023, Valeria joined Dr. Weissman's Lab, where she has been working with the direction of Dr. Xiomara Mercado-Lopez on developing vaccines for a variety of flaviviruses.
Benjamin Davis, Ph.D.
Research Specialist
he/him/his
Dr. Benjamin Davis received his B.S. from Rutgers University in 2011 and his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Thomas Jefferson University in 2019, in the laboratory of Dr. Matthias Schnell. His thesis work focused on innate immunity to neurotropic virus infections, particularly rabies virus. This line of research explored a novel hypothesis concerning the recognition of viral RNA by an interferon-stimulated gene of unknown function. In early 2021, Dr. Davis joined the laboratory of Dr. Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as a research specialist. With the direction of Drs. Mohamad-Gabriel Alameh and Istvan Tombacz, Dr. Davis oversees the production of the lab’s mRNA-LNP platform, assists in the development of mRNA vaccines to SARS-CoV-2 variants, and continues to seek safer and more effective interventions for diseases caused by SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.
Michael Kegel, B.S.E.
Research Specialist
he/him/his
Michael Kegel received his B.S.E. in Bioengineering from Temple University in 2023. There he worked in a mechanobiology lab investigating the role of pH in chronic wounds on fibronectin matrix formation. Michael joined Dr. Weissman’s Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in 2023 under the supervision of Dr. Jilian Melamed in the development of targeting lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery.
Emily McMillan, B.S.
Research Specialist
Emily McMillan received a B.S. in Neuroscience: Cellular & Molecular and a B.A. in Psychology in 2020 from Temple University. During the summers of 2016-2018, she worked in David Lynch's lab at CHOP and helped Yina Dong research how overexpression of GRP75, a mitochondrial molecular chaperone, could provide a potential therapeutic target for Friedreich's ataxia. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic she worked at a 24-hour turnaround time COVID-19 testing laboratory, DDL, where she became a General Supervisor and tested patients for various respiratory pathogens in addition to ensuring compliance with COLA and CAP. In fall 2023 she joined Dr. Drew Weissman's laboratory as a research specialist, where she's currently working under Dr. Garima Dwivedi and Dr. Benjamin Davis.
Brieyanna McWilliams, B.S., M.B.S.
Research Specialist
Brieyanna McWilliams graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2016 with a B.S. in Science with a Health Policy and Administration background. In 2018, she received her Masters degree in Biomedical Sciences at Rowan University, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. There she worked in a couple molecular biology labs investigating how the translation of mitochondrial mRNAs are controlled by nuclear genes, and how mitochondrially encoded proteins are assembled with nuclear-encoded proteins into the respiratory chain complexes using yeast models. Brieyanna also got to work with HeLa cell lines and studied metabolic stress effects on apoptosis, and how organelles, specifically the mitochondria and cytoskeleton, communicate during the cell death process. In 2019, Brieyanna worked as a Research Intern at Mt. Sinai, Icahn School of Medicine, in New York, NY in the department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health. She investigated possible health-related adverse effects of chronic exposure to low-level glyphosate, alone and Roundup® from in utero period to early adulthood of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats’ liver. She took a deeper focus on hepatic gene expressions like Cyp7a1 and Srebf1 during exposure. In 2020, Brieyanna worked as a Research Technician at Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, PA. She worked in the Department of Hematology known as The Cardeza Foundation. In this lab, she studied interactions of platelets on E. coli strains. More mainly, Brieyanna investigated the pathology of Heparin-induced Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (HITT) as well as assess its potential therapeutics using in-vivo and in-vitro models. In 2021, Brieyanna transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where she did research in the Immunology Core at the Gene Therapy Program (GTP). There, she passaged and seed HEK293 cells to perform in-vitro assays such as neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), ELISAs and IFN-γ ELISPOTs to evaluate humoral and cellular immune responses to adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid and to transgene product using lymphocytes, isolated from small and large animals.
Jenna Muscat-Rivera, B.S.
Research Specialist
she/her/hers
Jenna Muscat-Rivera received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Delaware in 2021. Prior to joining the Weissman Lab, she worked at Drexel University for the Biology Department's Teaching Laboratory and under Dr. Dino Giussani at the University of Cambridge researching fetal hypoxia and maternal obesity in sheep models. Jenna has recently enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to obtain her M.S. in Bioengineering. Since joining the Weissman Lab in May 2023, Jenna currently works under Dr. Jilian Melamed on projects involving targeted lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery.
Nathan Ona, B.S.
Research Specialist
he/him/his
Nathan Ona graduated Drexel University in 2022, with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering and a minor in Information Systems. Through Drexel’s Cooperative Education program, he got to work for a small medical device company, Moberg ICU Solutions. In that position, Nathan assisted in the development of software updates for several of the company’s software products involving patient care for the Intensive Care Unit. Coming from that experience, Nathan desired to shift from the technical aspects of biomedical engineering and experience the world of biochemistry. Nathan joined Dr. Weissman’s Lab at the University of Pennsylvania in 2020 under the supervision of Dr. Elena Atochina-Vasserman and assists her in mRNA vaccine research and in the development of novel mRNA delivery system. Nathan plans to attend graduate school in the future to expand his academic background.
Tyler Ellis Papp, B.S.
Research Specialist
he/him/his
Tyler Ellis Papp earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Anthropology from Drexel University in 2016. While enrolled, he was a research intern at Fox Chase Cancer Center, under the mentorship of Dr. Jose Russo, M.D./F.A.C.P. At Fox Chase, Tyler investigated functions of long non-coding RNAs in the context of parity-induced breast cancer prevention in postmenopausal years. After graduating from Drexel, Tyler joined the laboratory of Dr. Jean Bennett, M.D./Ph.D., at the University of Pennsylvania, who pioneered Luxturna, the first ever FDA-approved Adeno Associated Virus (AAV) based gene therapy in 2017, which ultimately cured genetic blindness for those who suffered from Leber Congenital Amaurosis. As a research specialist in Dr. Bennett’s lab, Tyler contributed significant experimental data to support industry-sponsored Pre-IND studies for other AAV-based gene therapies in multiple retinal degenerative diseases with the aim to advance to the clinic.
In April 2020, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Drew Weissman, as a research specialist to focus on novel cell-specific targeting projects and efficient delivery of mRNA-LNPs. Under the mentorship of Assistant Research Professor Dr. Hamideh Parhiz, Tyler’s continued research efforts help elucidate the expanded translational application of the mRNA-LNP therapeutic platform for multiple injuries and diseases. In the future, Tyler plans to advance his research career through graduate studies in gene therapy and immunology.
Ruiqi Shi, B.S.
Research Specialist
he/him/his
Ruiqi Shi received his B.S. in Neuroscience with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2018. During his time as an undergraduate student, his main interests focused on neuroplasticity, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
He joined the Weissman Lab in 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Qin Li and has been helping produce mRNA as well as assisting in other projects. In the future, he hopes to further explore clinical research or other healthcare related fields.