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Lora G. Bankova, M.D.
Principal Investigator
Lora is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She joined the faculty in Allergy & Clinical Immunology in 2013 after training with Lisa Beck at Johns Hopkins and Frank Austen at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her research focuses on defining the specialized functions of epithelial cells in the olfactory and respiratory mucosa.
Alexander Perniss, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Alex is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He studied biology at the Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany. During his B.Sc and M.Sc studies he focused on airway epithelial ion transport mechanisms. After that he joined the working group of Wolfgang Kummer, the department of anatomy and cell biology at the JLU for his PhD project in which he investigated the role of rare cell types in the airways focusing on so called Brush or Tuft cells. Alex joined the Bankova lab in February 2023 his main research interests are rare epithelial cell types in the upper airways of mice and humans, how this cell can be activated and what are the consequences of that. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his dog, goes to concerts and explores the American way of life.
Caitlin Wong, M.S.
Research Assistant
Caitlin is a research assistant at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She graduated from University of Massachusetts Lowell with an MS in Biological Sciences. She received her BS in Pre-medical and Health Studies from MCPHS University.
Dante Grace Minichetti
Research Assistant
Dante is interested in translational medicine and research. She graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Wellesley College. Her research projects have focused on using targeted, anti-cancer peptides to control tumor growth as a natural alternative to radiation treatments and on understanding the neuro-psychobiological effects of psychiatric medications for patients with Bipolar Disorder.
Bankova Lab Alumni
Saltanat Ualiyeva, M.D., M.M.Sc.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Saltanat is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She graduated with an MD degree from Astana Medical University and completed her MMSc in Immunology at Harvard Medical School. She previously studied the role of tissue-resident macrophages in transplant immunity at Terry Strom’s lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Her current area of interest is type 2 inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.
Amelia Boyd
Research Assistant
Amelia graduated with her B.A. in biology from Hamilton College. As an undergraduate, she studied immune function and survival in Swainson’s hawks, and her senior thesis investigated inbreeding depression of cognition in American crows. She is broadly interested in immunology and genetics.