Meet the Lab
Gary C. Chan, PhD
Principal Investigator
Gary is an Associate Professor in the Microbiology & Immunology Department. He is from Alberta, Canada and obtained his PhD from Univeristy of Alberta. Gary continued his career at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center until coming to SUNY Upstate in 2010. His research interests include Human cytomegalovirus pathogenesis and persistence.
Email: Chang@upstate.edu
PhD Candidate
Juthi Biswas received her B.Sc (Hons.) and M.Sc in Microbiology from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. After her graduation, she joined Jagannath University as a lecturer in the Department of Microbiology. Currently, she is investigating transcriptional regulation of HCMV immediate early gene expression. In her spare time, Juthi loves to paint and listen to folk music.
Email: BiswasJ@upstate.edu
Juthi Biswas
Hue Bui
Graduate Student
Hue earned her B.Sc. in Biology from the Vietnam National University of Science and her M.Sc. in Biomedical Science from the University of Central Florida, USA. In the Chan lab, she is exploring the role of CRKL in promoting HCMV entry and viral dissemination. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking and traveling.
Email: Buih@upstate.edu
Christine Burrer
Research Support Technician
Chris has been a technician for the Microbiology & Immunology department for more than 30yrs. She has helped several labs set-up and get running, including our very own. She hails from Massena, NY and obtained her B.S. at SUNY Plattsburg. In her free time Chris often visits her children, Leah and Alex, or can be found cuddling her cute cats, Manny & Chandler.
Email: burrerc@upstate.edu
Shima obtained her BS degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Tehran, Iran. Shima’s project investigates the role of Heat Shock Factor 1 in promoting the establishment of HCMV quiescent infection in primary Monocytes. Shima is from Gachsaran which is a small town in the south of Iran. She enjoys hanging out with her cat, May, and her friends.
Email: MoradpoS@upstate.edu
Shima Moradpour
PhD Candidate
Graduate Student
Monir obtained his BS and MS degrees in Microbiology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He then pursued another MS degree from Soonchunhyang University, South Korea. In the Chan lab he is investigating monocyte subclass switching/differentiation in response to HCMV infection. During his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows and taking walks.
Email: HossainM@upstate.edu
Monir Hossain
Olivia Laniak
MD/PhD Student
Olivia is from Rochester, NY. She graduated with her BA degree in Chemical Biology and Music in 2022 from Case Western Reserve University. In the Chan Lab, Olivia investigates how HCMV reshapes protein expression in HCMV-infected peripheral blood monocytes. In her free time Olivia enjoys knitting.
Email: LaniakO@upstate.edu
Lab Alumni
Megan Peppenelli, PhD
Senior US Clinical Specialist, Cell & Gene Therapy at Miltenyi Biotec
Nicholas Smith, PhD
Senior Scientist at Taconic Biosciences
Ben Chauder
Post-Baccalaureate Research Intern
Olesea Cojohari, PhD
Postdoctorate in the Kowalik Lab at UMass
Jamil Mahmud, PhD
Postdoctorate with Dr. Derek Walsh at Northwestern University - Finberg School of Medicine
Jennifer Cheung, MD, PhD
Residency for General Surgery at Mount Sinai
Aaron Altman, MD, PhD
Residency for Pediatric Research Track at UPMC
Michael Miller, PhD
Postdoctorate with Dr. David Butler at the Neural Stem Cell Institute
Brittany Geiler, PhD
Freelance Science Writer
