Megan started her research career as a chemist and performed her bachelor research project in physical chemistry on the “sweating space shuttle effect”. She then moved into studying viruses and obtained her PhD from Brown University. At Brown, she worked in the lab of Dr. Walter Atwood and studied the human polyomaviruses JCV and BKV. Megan performed a first post-doc at Harvard Medical School in the lab of Dr. Sean Whelan. During this post-doc, Megan evaluated VSV entry and fusion using advanced microscopy techniques. In 2012, Megan moved to the University Hospital Heidelberg and shifted her focus to studying enteric viruses and how human intestinal epithelial cells combat them. In 2022, Megan moved to the University of Florida to start her own lab. When not in the lab, she spends her free time chasing after her two highly energetic children.

Yagmur received her B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bilkent University, Turkey in 2019. Then, she completed her M.Sc. degree in the Molecular Biosciences Master program – Major in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Heidelberg University, Germany in 2021. Just after her master program, she joined the Stanifer Lab as a Ph.D. student in late 2021. Her research is focused on similarities and differences of type III interferon signaling at mucosal surfaces during the epithelium immune homeostasis and antiviral responses.

James is a University of Florida graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Cell Science. Having a diverse background from plants and animals to bacteria and organoids, he likes to take a holistic view of biology and combine the micro and macro pictures.

Gianna is originally from New Jersey. She recently graduated in May 2022 with her B.S. in Biology from High Point University in North Carolina. In the Stanifer lab, Gianna has been working with rotavirus infections. During her time at the University of Florida, she will be researching the correlation between calcium waves and the formation of infectious colonies.

 Victoria is a freshman Microbiology and Cell Science major at UF, minoring in Russian. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outside canoeing, camping, and hiking. She also enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and reading.