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.

Niharika is a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory and currently studying the mechanism underlying rare genetic diseases. She received her B.Sc and M.Sc. degree from the Banasthali University, Rajasthan, India.  Her Ph.D. involved the immune signaling in the Vitiligo disease which she has done with Dr. Davinder Parsad (PGIMER, Chandigarh, India) and Dr. Sarika Gupta (Banasthali University, Rajasthan, India).

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.

Daniela is currently characterizing novel mutations causing autoinflammatory diseases. She received her B.S. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore county, and was previously an IRTA fellow at the National Institutes of Health.

Mary is a research associate in the laboratory. She is currently using exome and genome sequencing data to try to identify new genetic drivers of disease. Mary graduated from Saint Michael’s College with a BA in general biology and a minor in chemistry. She worked at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as a lab assistant in the Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technologies Lab as well as the Microbiology Lab. Mary will receive a master’s degree in applied genomics from the University of Connecticut in December 2022,

Anna Cantor is a board-certified genetic counselor specializing in cancer and immunogenetics. Her clinical and research work focuses on providing genetic diagnoses for patients with suspected immune dysregulation disorders. She has a particular interest in promoting genomic education among healthcare providers and is a clinical supervisor and mentor for genetic counseling students. She earned her M.S. in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Anna also has a M.A. in behavioral neuroscience from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and completed her B.A. in psychology from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Meghan is a Rheumatology fellow at New York University. She received her B.A. in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and earned her medical degree from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency training at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia where she also served an additional year as chief resident before coming to NYU. Meghan has a clinical interest in the diagnosis, classification, and treatment of autoinflammatory diseases.