The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
McGovern Medical School
Department of Pediatrics

My research focus is on the interplay between host immunity and infections, with a focus on studying immune alterations in different immunocompromised pediatric populations and their impact on response to vaccines and infections. I have a biobank of different biologic samples collected prospectively. My ongoing projects focus on measuring immunocompetency through multilayered cellular assays, and cytokine and immune cell profiling, using collected samples. The hope is to generate data to understand better response to vaccines and common viral infections and reactivations and characterize further immune regulation and dysregulation that affects these patient populations’ disease outcomes. My goal is to identify new markers that can be used in clinical practice to predict prognosis and guide optimal treatment plans in managing immunosuppression and infections in transplant recipients and other immunocompromised pediatric populations. I am greatly motivated to contribute to the field of transplant and immunocompromised infectious diseases.

PubMed

McGovern Medical School Faculty

Education & Training

MD, Saint Joseph University, 2006