Group Members

Joshua T Schiffer, MD, MSc

Joshua T Schiffer, MD, MSc

Title: Principal Investigator
Phone: 206.667.7359

I am Professor in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease and Clinical Research Divisions at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and an Associate Professor at the University of Washington in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine. I love identifying problems in the clinic and the infectious diseases literature that can be addressed with mathematical models. I feel privileged to collaborate with such a driven and gifted group of multi-disciplinary scientists and clinicians at Fred Hutch and the University of Washington.


E. Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda, PhD

E. Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda, PhD

Title: Sr. Staff Scientist

I am a Senior Staff Scientist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division. My primary field of research is the theoretical biology of in-host virus and immune system dynamics, with particular attention to HIV cure. I spend most of my time thinking about nonlinear mixed-effects models and using differential equations to analyze multiple types of longitudinal, viral, immune, and pharmacokinetic data from in-vivo experiments. Before coming to Fred Hutch, I worked in the Theoretical Biology & Biophysics group at Los Alamos National Lab. I have a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Delaware.

 

Daniel Reeves, PhD

Daniel Reeves, PhD

Title: Staff Scientist, Fred Hutch; Affilite Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health, UW

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 at https://www.fredhutch.org/en/research/divisions/vaccine-infectious-disease-division/faculty-labs/vidd-staff-scientists-physicians/reeves-daniel.html (FHCC), and www.dbrvs.org (personal). 

 

 

Elizabeth Krantz, MS

Elizabeth Krantz, MS

Title: Statistical Research Associate

I am a biostatistician in the Infectious Disease Sciences Program in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Northwestern University and a MS in Biostatistics from the University of Washington. I provide statistical support for observational studies and clinical trials in infectious diseases and oncology.

 

Vessel sculpture and Arnold Building on Fred Hutch campus

Catherine Byrne

Title: Post-Doctoral Fellow

 


 

 

 

Ugo Avila-Ponce de Leon

Ugo Avila-Ponce de Leon

Title: Pre-Doctoral Research Associate

 

 


 

Elizabeth Duke, MD

Elizabeth Duke, MD

Title: Associate in VIDD

I joined the group in the summer of 2015 as an Infectious Disease Fellow. I studied Math and Latin at Marshall University in West Virginia as an undergraduate, Math as a master's student, and Medicine at Marshall's School of Medicine. After completing my residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin (UW), I came to the Pacific Northwest as an Infectious Disease Fellow at the University of Washington (UW). Staying on at the UW and Fred Hutch as a KL2 scholar in the Institute for Translational Health Sciences (ITHS), I am currently working on projects that include intra-host models of CMV and HIV latency.

 

David Swan, MS, MME

David Swan, MS, MME

Title: Bioinformatics Analyst

I have worked for several years in the Schiffer group developing compartmental and agent-based spatial models for various infectious diseases with a primary focus on HSV.  Additionally, I have worked with several other groups at Fred Hutchinson providing simulation expertise and other types of computing support. Prior to working at Fred Hutchinson, I was a senior software engineer with F5 Networks and Boeing as well as serving as a high school teacher with the Peace Corps in Kenya, East Africa. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford and graduate degrees in Computer Science and Medical Engineering from UW.

Katherine Owens

Katherine Owens

Title: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

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.

Shadi Esmaeili-Wellman

Shadi Esmaeili-Wellman

Title: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

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.


Alumni

Subhasish Baral, PhD

Subhasish Baral, PhD

Title: Postdoctoral Reseracher, Emory University
Ashish Goyal, PhD

Ashish Goyal, PhD

Title: Senior Scientist, Pfizer
Bryan Mayer

Bryan Mayer

Title: Sr Staff Scientist, Fred Hutch
Makayla Poindexter

Makayla Poindexter

Title: Biomedical Engineering Student at NC State University


 

Florencia Tettamanti Boshier, PhD

Florencia Tettamanti Boshier, PhD

Title: Associate Director, Systems Medicine, AstraZeneca
Shuyi (Judy) Yang

Shuyi (Judy) Yang

Title: Summer Student
Salisu Garba, PhD

Salisu Garba, PhD

Title: Principal Scientist, Merck
Jonah Hall

Jonah Hall

Title: Intern, Infectious Diseases in the Immunocompromised Host
Laura Matrajt

Laura Matrajt

Title: Staff Scientist, Fred Hutch
Pavitra Roychoudhury, PhD

Pavitra Roychoudhury, PhD

Title: Assistant Professor
Shuang Xu

Shuang Xu

Title: Associate Scientist, Certara