Group Members

I use a broad range of mathematical tools ranging from statistical physics, ecology, pharmacology, and epidemiology to inform vaccination, treatments, and cures for infectious diseases like SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. You can find out more on my Fred Hutch profile and www.dbrvs.org (personal). 

I am a statistical physicist by training, graduated from Virginia Tech in 2019. My burning desire to understand the complexity and interconnectedness of the human body sparked during my sister’s battle with cancer and only grew over time.  After three years of post-graduate work at the interface between modeling ecological systems with statistical physics, I joined the fantastic, diverse group of scientists at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division to understand and model the virus dynamics and its interaction with the immune system. Here at Schiffer’s group, I’m modeling gene drive technology in herpes viruses and the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling of combination therapy and simulating a clinical trial.

I'm an applied mathematician who studied at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley before earning my Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences from Arizona State University in 2024. I joined the Schiffer Group in early 2025 to use mathematical modeling to study the complex systems that arise at the cellular level, particularly in the context of the human immune system and HIV infection. My current research focuses on modeling the evolutionary dynamics of HIV to better understand the persistence of the viral reservoir and to help identify which therapeutics are most effective at different stages of infection.

I studied mathematics at Willamette University and applied mathematics at the University of Washington before joining the Schiffer group as a post-doctoral research fellow in spring 2022. I am excited about using mechanistic mathematical models to address open questions in biology and medicine. In my current work, I aim to understand the within-host dynamics and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 during infection in order to inform optimal treatment plans for immunocompromised patients and clinical trial design.

I am a computer scientist who earned her MS and PhD from the University of New Mexico.  I received both Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. My research aims to develop advanced computational techniques to model and analyze complex biological systems, large datasets, and bioimaging to enhance understanding and improve prognosis capabilities. My PhD projects include: spatial modeling of viral infection dynamics in the lung using CT-informed agent-based models; developing information-theoretic methods for analyzing multivariate, time-varying imaging data; and modeling Immune (T cell) cell search behavior. I joined the Schiffer Group as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2026. I build computational models that connect virus and immune system dynamics with phylogenetics and large-scale data. The goal is to understand HIV persistence better and help pave the way towards a cure.

I am a pediatric infectious disease physician who studied at the Medical College of Wisconsin for my MD/PhD and then completed my clinical training at the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital. My research interests have focused on how geography and spatial structure affect human disease and health systems.  My PhD work focused on modeling cancer disparities, and during residency I estimated the spatial accessibility of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for children. During fellowship, I studied the geographic and social transmission patterns of SARS-CoV-2 using genomic data. My current work focuses on integrating these spatial and social structures into mechanistic mathematical models of viruses to understand how new lineages spread across populations.

I'm an undergraduate student at Colubmia University studying math. I'm especially interested in the application of math and computational theories and tools to biomedical research. 

I am currently in my fourth year of undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Chemistry, graduating June 2026. I am particularly interested in immune responses, epidemiology, and translational research. I’m particularly excited about how these interests converge in addressing clinical questions through mathematical modeling.