Shenoy Lab - People

Anukul T. Shenoy (he/him/his)

Principal Investigator,

Assistant Professor,

Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology,

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Anukul starts the Shenoy Lab of Barrier Immunobiology (SLOBI) at the University of Michigan Medical School at Ann Arbor in April 2023. He completed his BS and MS in Biotechnology from Ruia College (University of Mumbai, India) before moving to USA and starting his doctoral training with Dr. Carlos Orihuela at Univ. of Texas Health Center at San Antonio in 2014. In 2015, he moved with Dr. Orihuela to the Dept. of Microbiology at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where he went on to complete his PhD in 2017. His doctoral work was focused on understanding host-pathogen interactions involved in pneumococcal infection of the heart. In 2018, he joined Dr. Jay Mizgerd’s lab at the Pulmonary Center, Boston University School of Medicine where his work focused on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying lung epithelial and resident CD4+ TRM cell communication in context of pulmonary immunity during health, infections and allergy.

Email: anukuls@med.umich.edu

Vijay Raaj Ravi

Lab Manager

Vijay Raaj Ravi was born in India, raised in Singapore, and currently resides in the U.S. He did his undergraduate at the PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore majoring in Biotechnology. Becoming fascinated by host-pathogen interactions, he did his master’s at the University at Buffalo working in the laboratory of Dr. Elsa Bou Ghanem. There he looked at how extracellular adenosine regulates cardiomyocyte toxicity following Streptococcus pneumoniae infection along with Dr. Manmeet Bhalla. Vijay joins the SLOBI as its lab manager and he will also be studying how T cell cytokines modulate lung epithelial responses. Outside the lab, Vijay loves to play games on his PS5, watch anime, and listen to lo-fi songs!

Email: ravivi@umich.edu

Olivia Harlow

PhD Student

Olivia completed her B.S. in Biology and Biochemistry from Calvin University in 2020, where she worked with Dr. Erica Boldenow studying host interactions with Group B Streptococcus. She then went on to work at Mayo Clinic in the lab of Dr. Kathryn Knoop studying neonatal sepsis, before joining PIBS in 2022. Olivia is excited to learn about lung mucosal immunology, as her project looks at instruction of T cell residence in the lung. In her spare time, Olivia likes to run, go to concerts, and spend time with her family.

Email: oharlow@umich.edu

Sophie Maxfield

PhD Student

Sophie earned her B.A. in Biological Sciences from Mount Holyoke College in 2021, where she worked with Dr. Craig Woodard to study embryonic mortality of polyploid Ambystoma jeffersonianum-laterale complex hybrid salamanders. After this, she went on to work in the lab of Dr. Bryan Greenhouse at the University of California San Francisco EPPIcenter, where she studied genomic epidemiology of malaria in Uganda before joining PIBS in 2023. Sophie is now shifting to examine the mechanisms by which microbial experience may affect proclivity to allergic inflammation. In her free time, Sophie enjoys making music, hiking, and doing an obscene amount of word puzzles.

Email: smaxfi@umich.edu

Kalyn Whitehead

PhD Student

Kalyn completed her B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2023. She then pursued a postgraduate research position at Yale University in Dr. Mark Lee’s lab where she developed methods focused on enhancing antigen presentation for T cell identification. Kalyn then found herself back in the midwest, joining PIBS in 2024. Currently, Kalyn is interested in topics related to neuroimmunology in the context of microbial infection. In her free time Kalyn enjoys crocheting, spending time with family and friends, baking, and professing her love for Chicago!

Email: kalynw@umich.edu

Andrea Chupina Estrada

PhD Student

Andrea previously attended the University of California, Los Angeles where she worked with Dr. Hon Wai Koon investigating new treatment options for Clostridium difficile infections and inflammatory bowel disease. She completed her B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics in June 2023 and joined PIBS in the fall of the same year. Andrea is now shifting her research sights from the guts to the lungs, and is excited to investigate immune memory in lung epithelial cells. Outside of the lab, Andrea can be found either baking or trying to regain the ability to photosynthesize.

Email: achupina@umich.edu

Emma Niszczak

Undergraduate Research Student

Emma is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan studying microbiology, and she plans to pursue a career in medicine or research. She grew up in Michigan, not too far from Ann Arbor. Emma is also a member of the University of Michigan Synchronized Skating Team and in her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and pets!

Email: emmanisz@umich.edu

HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE SLOBI

Meet Sully.

Sully is Olivia's cat. She has approximately two brain cells and they rarely form a cohesive thought. What she lacks in smarts, though, she more than makes up for in fluff. She loves to play fetch and her favorite foods are tuna and shredded cheese. Sully's greatest talent is making Olivia laugh at her wild antics. All-in-all, she's a great companion to have during grad school!

Meet Stella.

Stella is Emma’s dog. She enjoys watching University of Michigan football games and gnawing on chew toys. While she may be a big dog, she is most definitely a gentle giant and is afraid of the dark and smaller dogs.

Anukul T. Shenoy (he/him/his)

Vijay Raaj Ravi

Olivia Harlow

Sophie Maxfield

Kalyn Whitehead

Andrea Chupina Estrada

Emma Niszczak

HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE SLOBI

Meet Sully.

Meet Stella.

OUR ALUMS

Rotation Students

Olivia Harlow - The University of Michigan Microbiology and Immunology Program (Winter 2023)

Juliet Anku - The University of Michigan Microbiology and Immunology Program (Fall 2023)

Andrea Chupina Estrada - The University of Michigan Microbiology and Immunology Program (Fall 2023)

Sophie Maxfield - The University of Michigan Microbiology and Immunology Program (Fall 2023)

Allison Wang - The University of Michigan Immunology Program (Winter 2024)

Staff

Fang Ke - Research Investigator

Undergraduate Students

Nourin Chowdhury - Undergraduate Research Student

Shyam Vyas - Undergraduate Research Student