LAB TEAM
Jarosinski Lab – Winter 2023
DR. KEITH JAROSINSKI
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Associate Professor, Department of Pathobiology
Brief biography. Dr. Jarosinski came to UIUC in August of 2016. He grew up in Upstate/Western NY raising ornamental avian species and playing many sports. He received his BS in Biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 1995 and his PhD in Microbiology from the State University of NY (SUNY) Health Science Center in Syracuse, NY (now Upstate Medical University) in 1999. After completing his PhD, he spent 12 years at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Dr. Karel A. Schat’s laboratory as a USDA-funded post-doctoral fellow (1999-2003) and Research Associate (2003-2008). He then was a Senior Research Associate (2008-2011) in Dr. Nikolaus Osterrieder’s laboratory. Before coming to UIUC, he spent 5 years (2011-2016) at the University of Iowa as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Carver College of Medicine. His research has focused mainly on Marek’s disease (MD) pathogenesis using chickens as a model for understanding how herpesviruses cause disease and transmit from host-to-host. When not in the lab, Dr. Jarosinski enjoys working outside in the Spring, Summer, and Fall and playing ice hockey in the Winter.
Email: kj4@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 300-4322
DR. HAJI AKBR
VETERINARY RESEARCH SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Brief biography. Dr. Akbar joined the Jarosinski lab in May 2019. His focus is to carry out research with real life implications that could help human and agricultural communities. He has more than 8 years of research experience in the field of -omics. He completed his BS in Biotechnology (2007) from University of Malakand, Pakistan and his Master’s degree in Molecular Virology (2010) from the Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB), Pakistan. He completed his PhD (2013) under the supervision of Prof. Juan J. Loor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) where he worked on five different projects dealing with transition in dairy cows. Most of the projects used RNA-based microarrays, qPCR, fatty acid profiles, and bioinformatics analysis. After completion of his PhD research, Dr. Akbar joined Prof. Nakamura’s Research Group (FSHN-UIUC) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2013-2015) and further developed his research skills by leading a research project funded by the Center of Nutrition, Learning and Memory (CNLM). He then served for two years (2015 to 2017) as an Assistant Professor at COMSATS University, Pakistan. Before joining the Jarosinski lab, he served in Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) as a NIH-funded Postdoctoral Researcher (2018 -2019) to uncover the interaction (via NMR) between different proteins involved in Alzheimer disease. Currently he is expanding his research career studying Marek’s disease pathogenesis under the supervision of Dr. Jarosinski.
Email: akbar3@illinois.edu
HUAI XU
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT IN PATHOBIOLOGY
Brief biography. Huai joined Dr. Jarosinski’s lab in January of 2020 to complete her PhD in Pathobiology. She received her BS and MS degree in Yangzhou University, China. Her thesis projects focuses on the role the conserved alphaherpesvirus glycoprotein C (gC) plays during host-to-host transmission.
Email: huaixu2@illinois.edu
HAFIZ SOHAIB ZAFAR
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT IN PATHOBIOLOGY
Brief biography. Sohaib joined Dr. Jarosinski’s lab in August of 2021 to complete his PhD in Pathobiology. He received is BS and DVM in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore, Pakistan in 2015. He then completed his Masters degree in Animal Microbiology at Quaid-I-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2018 before starting as a Veterinary Officer in the Livestock and Dairy Development Department in Punjab. He is partially supported through a scholarship through the Pakistan Higher Education Commission. His research projects focus on the role the conserved alphaherpesvirus glycoprotein C (gC) during host-to-host transmission.
Email: hszafar2@illinois.edu
ERIC LUNDBERG
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT IN PATHOBIOLOGY
Brief biography. Eric joined the Jarosinski Lab in December of 2023 to complete his PhD in Pathobiology. He received his BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State in 2023, where he worked in viral capsid structure. His thesis project focuses on studying the mechanism of cell-free MDV production in cell culture.
Email: ericjl2@illinois.edu
PAST LAB TEAM MEMBERS
DR. NAGENDRAPRABHU PONNURAJ
VETERINARY RESEARCH SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Brief biography. Dr. Ponnuraj began in Dr. Jarosinski’s lab in June of 2017. He received his BS and MS degrees in Biochemistry in Tamil Nadu, India at Madurai Kamaraj University and Bharathidasan University, respectively. He then completed his PhD in 2011 studying the effect of astaxanthin on the early stages of neoplastic transformation in rats at the University of Madras. He then came to the USA as a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Dr. Rex Gaskins lab, followed by Dr. Daniel Rock’s lab. He studied NQ01-mediated anti-cancer strategies in Dr. Gaskin’s laboratory for 2 years, followed by Poxviruses in Dr. Rock’s laboratory. Currently, he is working on multiple aspects of Marek’s disease virus, including proteomic studies in vitro and in vivo.
Email: naguponu@illinois.edu
JULIA JOY FASICK
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HOURLY
Brief biography. Julia joined the Jarosinski lab in May 2021. She is in her second year at UIUC in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences seeking a BS in Integrative Biology. Julia is a native of Mount Prospect, IL, where she graduated from Prospect High School in May 2020. She is currently working with Dr. Haji Akbar on cell signaling responses during MDV infection in chickens.
Email: jfasick2@illinois.edu
Akshita Kendai
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER
Brief biography. Akshita joined the Jarosinski lab in May 2023. She is in her second year at UIUC in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences seeking a BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She is currently working with Dr. Haji Akbar on cell signaling responses during MDV infection in chickens.
Email: akendai2@illinois.edu
DR. YVETTE (YUNG-TIEN) TIEN
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT IN PATHOBIOLOGY
Brief biography. Dr. Tien began in Dr. Jarosinski's lab in August of 2017. She is originally from Taiwan. She received her DVM in 2010 from National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan where she also completed a Masters of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. Yvette then came the USA to complete a Master of Veterinary and Biomedical Science from the University of Georgia-Athens. Her research projects in Dr. Jarosinski's lab focuses on the improvement of Marek's disease vaccines by understanding the complex replication of Marek's disease virus in vitro and vivo. She is also participating in the UIUC Pathology Program and is independently funded through a fellowship from the Taiwanese Ministry of Education.
Email: yttien2@illinois.edu
ANDREA LYNN KRIETER
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT IN PATHOBIOLOGY
Brief biography. Andrea began in Dr. Jarosinski's lab in August of 2017. She is a native of the Chicago suburbs. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northern Michigan University and completed her B.S. in Biochemistry with an English minor. Her research focuses on the role conserved herpesviral protein kinases play during replication and host-to-host transmission. Andrea defended her PhD thesis in February 2023.
Email: krieter2@illinois.edu
WIDALIZ VEGA-RODRIGUEZ
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT IN PATHOBIOLOGY
Brief biography. Widaliz came from Puerto Rico where she finished her B.S. in Biological Sciences (2017) at the University of Puerto Rico at Aguadilla. She joined the lab in May of 2017. Her thesis projects focuses on the role glycoprotein C (gC) plays during Marek’s disease virus (MDV) replication and host-to-host transmission. Widaliz successfully defended her thesis entitled "The regulation and role of glycoprotein C during herpesvirus pathogenesis" on Feb. 11, 2022. She will be moving to the University of Minnesota for a P0st-doc with Dr. Hinh Ly.
Email: widaliz2@illinois.edu
Zeidy Garcia
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HOURLY
Brief biography. Zeidy was an undergraduate student majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where she attended boarding school before choosing UIUC. As an undergraduate student, she has developed an interest in the molecular biology of pathogens worked with graduate student, Andrea Krieter, to learn more about the roles of the UL 13 protein kinase in Marek’s disease virus. She worked as a Research Technician II at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA studying viral entry mechanisms and viral inhibitors. She will be entering the University of Washinton's Microbiology PhD program starting the fall of 2023.
Email: zgarci3@illinois.edu
VALERIA CAMPOS
SUMMER RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM
Brief biography. Valeria is a DVM student in the College of Veterinary Medicine at UIUC and is going into her second year of vet school. She worked in Dr. Jarosinski's laboratory in the NIH funded 2020 Summer Research Training Program. She completed a BS in Biological Sciences at the University of Florida in 2016. She worked on the avian herpesvirus glycoprotein C during host-to-host transmission project with the help of Widaliz Vega Rodriguez. Her goal during the short time was to generate epitope tagged viral proteins in the context of the viral genome in order to identify expression in vivo which she completed with ease.
Email: vcampos3@illinois.edu
KATHERINE ANJALI FLECK
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HOURLY
Brief biography. Katherine began in Dr. Jarosinski’s lab in May 2018. She is a native of Memphis, TN, and was an undergraduate student pursuing a BS in Biochemistry at the UIUC. Her senior thesis project focused on the identifying cellular targets of RLORF4 protein in Marek’s disease virus (MDV). She graduated UIUC and spent two years at the NIH to participate in the PostBac Intramural Research Traineeship Award (IRTA) Program in Dr. Christine Kozak's laboratory. Dr. Kozak's laboratory is in the Viral Biology Section in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) focusing on the genetics of resistance to retroviruses, specifically genes that inhibit the early stages of viral replication. She will be attending the University of Connecticut in the Fall of 2021 in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in their PhD program.
Email: kfleck2@illinois.edu
MICHAEL R. BROOKS
SUMMER RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM
Brief biography. Michael was a DVM student in the College of Veterinary Medicine at UIUC and worked in Dr. Jarosinski's laboratory in the 2018 Summer Research Training Program. He is originally from Central Florida, where he completed a BS in Molecular Biology at the University of Central Florida. He worked on a latency/reactivation model for herpesviruses. His goal is to pursue specialty training, possibly in internal medicine. He will be attending Virginia Tech Graduate School in the Fall 2021 on an NIH T32 post-DVM training grant.
Email: mbrooks4@illinois.edu
SNEHA CHERUKURI
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT HOURLY
Brief biography. Sneha began in Dr. Jarosinski’s lab during the summer of 2017. She completed her BS in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program at the UIUC in the spring of 2018. She recently received her MS in Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and is beginning a fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the influenza division this fall.
Email: spcheru2@illinois.edu
