People

David is the principal investigator of the lab and runs the Inflammatory Disease Genetics Clinic in the Department of Medicine. He received his B.A. from Brown University in the Departments of History and Biology. He earned his M.D./Ph.D. from New York University in the laboratory of Dr. Danny Reinberg. He continued with clinical training in the clinician scientist pathway in Internal Medicine at Columbia University and then went on to perform Clinical Genetics training at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins combined program. David performed his postdoctoral research with Dr. Dan Kastner at the National Institutes of Health.

Sam is an MD/PhD candidate within the New York University Grossman School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). His work revolves around elucidating the mechanism of disease in patients with VEXAS and  characterizing the role of the master regulator of the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS), UBA1, in physiological and disease states.  He received his B.A. in Biochemistry from Columbia University.  He earned his MPhil in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge in the laboratory of Prof. George Salmond.  Prior to joining the NYU GSoM MSTP, Sam was an IRTA fellow at the National Institutes of Health where he worked in the group of Dr. Heather Hickman examining mechanisms of adaptive immunity in the setting of viral infection.  In his free time Sam enjoys entrepreneurship, reading and writing science fiction, and caring for his pet chameleon Clive.

Brecca is a  PhD candidate in the Computational Biomedicine program at NYU with Dr. Kelly Ruggles as her co-mentor. Brecca’s current work involves characterizing genetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic markers of autoinflammatory diseases and scleroderma. Brecca graduated from University of Florida with a major in Biomedical Engineering and worked on studying allele specific expression and computational tool development in the lab of Dr. Lauren McIntyre. She enjoys  hiking, rock climbing, and listening to music.

Amy is a MD/PhD student in the NYU Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). Her current work seeks to understand the role of Trisomy 8 in inflammatory conditions and the effects UBA1 variants in development. She graduated from Washington University in Saint Louis with a major in Biology with a focus in Computational Genetics and Genomics and a minor in music. While attending WashU, Amy worked with Dr. Sarah Elgin on identifying gene regulatory motifs in the heterochromatic domain and Dr. Yehuda Ben-Shahar on characterizing the role of miRNAs on behavioral state regulation in flies and bees. In her free time, Amy enjoys taking dance classes, going to concerts in the city, and cooking with friends.

Amy is a PhD student in the Cell Biology program at NYU Vilcek. She earned her B.S. in Cell and Developmental Biology from UC Santa Barbara. She in interested in gaining insight into the molecular mechanisms of VEXAS using cell and mouse models. Outside of performing research, Amy likes to explore new restaurants and cafes, dive into various art projects, and go vintage shopping.

Flore is a post-doctoral fellow, working on bioinformatic approaches to characterize somatic mutations. She received her M.Sc. degree from the multidisciplinary engineering school ESPCI in Paris and her Ph.D. from the embryology lab at the University of Tokyo. Her thesis research revealed the immune influence of maternal cells on the development of the neonatal immune system in mice, combining wet and dry lab. She’s also a jack of all trades in her hobbies, enjoying crafts, games as well as performances and outdoor activities.

Jingyao is a research scientist in the lab, where he focuses on establishing mouse models and investigating inflammation driven by novel somatic mutations. He earned his PhD from the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he studied the regulatory mechanisms underlying hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal. Prior to joining the lab, he conducted postdoctoral research in T-cell immunology at Columbia University Medical Center. Outside the lab, Jingyao enjoys spending time with his family and taking his son to playgrounds around New York City.

Allen is a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory and an attending rheumatologist in the NYU Division of Rheumatology. His work revolves around characterizing the systemic immune response in Sjogren’s Disease using single cell profiling methods. He received his A.B. in Chemistry and Physics from Harvard University. He earned his M.D./Ph.D. from Harvard University during which time he trained in synthetic biology in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Lu and in human genetics in the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Walsh. He continued clinical training in the Medical Research Track at Weill Cornell / Hospital for Special Surgery, completing residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology. During fellowship he trained in immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Alexander Rudensky.

Jerome is an adjunct member of the lab, currently faculty within the Internal medicine Saint Antoine Hospital and Imagine Institute in Paris. He is an MD in France specialized in internal medicine at the Saint-Antoine hospital in Paris, focused on autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. He did his PhD in the Frederic Rieux-Laucat’s lab named “Immunogenetics of pediatric autoimmune diseases” Imagine Institute (Paris), focused on the genetic bases and molecular mechanisms of pediatric Evans syndrome, in particular on the JAK/STAT pathway, and made it possible to highlight the SOCS1 deficiency. He is now working on clinical description and therapeutic management of VEXAS syndrome and somatic mutations in complex inflammatory diseases. Outside of science, he loves soccer and spending time with his family and friends.

Maria is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab co-mentored by Dr. Iannis Aifantis. She is working on identifying novel drivers of overlapping inflammatory disease and myeloid malignancy. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and her Ph.D. at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the lab of Dr. Elli Papaemmanuil. During her Ph.D., she established integrative single cell frameworks to study genetic and cellular heterogeneity in IDH-mutated acute myeloid leukemia and defined how cooperative mutations shape treatment response. She also studied the overlap of VEXAS and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and defined the prevalence, co-mutation patterns, and clinical associations of UBA1 mutations in a large, international cohort of MDS patients.

Kalay is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, utilizing their functional genomics expertise to investigate the intersection of clonal hematopoiesis, inflammation, and VEXAS syndrome. They obtained their PhD at Columbia University where they employed genome-wide CRISPR screens to identify and characterize novel therapeutic targets in hematological malignancies. Outside of the lab, Kalaye njoys running, biking, hiking, and rock climbing.

Mei-Kay is a board-certified genetic counselor and public health professional interested in patient advocacy and health equity. She received her B.S. in Biology and Psychology at the University of Notre Dame before earning her M.S.in Genetic Counseling as well as her M.P.H. in Public Health Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was awarded a fellowship from the New York Mid-Atlantic Consortium (NYMAC) for Genetic and Newborn Screening Services. When not coordinating clinical care or research studies delving into the genetic mechanisms of known or (as of now) undiagnosed disorders of inflammation, she enjoys playing volleyball, finding her next favorite song, and snacking.

Athena is a research associate in the lab. Athena recently graduated from Brandeis University majoring in biology. She has an interest in genetics and molecular biology, specifically in studying the role of  new genetic diseases in inflammation. She is currently characterizing multiple novel genetic diseases both in models and in the patient cells. In her free time she enjoys modern dance and creating short films.

Ruby is a research associate in the Beck Lab.  She holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics from NYU Grossman school of Medicine and was previously trained as a clinical embryologist. She studies hematopoietic and inflammatory disorders, using single-cell transcriptomic approaches. In her free time, she enjoys doing digital art and cooking elaborate meals for friends and family”

Sachiko has an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and a concentration in Statistics from Columbia University. She is currently a Research Associate in the Beck Lab establishing the autoimmune inflammatory disease VEXAS in mouse models. Sachiko is also a competitive archer and enjoy shooting on weekends.

Gani is a 3^rd year medical school student at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. His current work involves the use of population databases to better characterize the phenotypic spectrum of autoinflammatory disease driven by somatic, hematopoietic mosaicism. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a major in Biochemistry before working at NHGRI for a few years in the lab of Dr. Ellen Sidransky. Outside of research, he enjoys playing the cello and finding new dessert recipes to make.

Deborah Rivera is the lab manager for the Beck Lab. With more than 25 years experience in research settings, she has developed extensive expertise in laboratory operations, team coordination, and scientific support. Before joining the Beck Lab, Deborah worked in Dr. Danny Reinberg’s lab at both UMDNJ and NYU, where she honed her skills in managing complex research projects and fostering collaborative environments. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, DIY projects and spending time with her family