Principal Investigator
Dr. Emrah Altındiş is an Assistant Professor at Boston College Biology Department and an adjunct faculty member of Joslin Diabetes Center (affiliated with Harvard Medical School). His research is focused on(i)functional characterization of viral hormones and(ii)potential role of gut microbiome on onset of Type 1 Diabetes autoimmunity. Dr. Altindis’ primary goal and passion is to make significant contributions to our understanding on host and microbe interactions within the context of viral hormones and determine their role in human health and disease.
Post Doctoral Fellows
Dr. Bhattacharjee recently joined the Altindis Lab at Boston College as Senior research associate. His career has been dedicated to research in metabolic reprogramming, growth factor signaling, angiopathy, and mRNA-based therapies, with a focus on diseases such as diabetes, retinopathy, and renal disorders. Dr. Bhattacharjee brings experience from his previous roles at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, where he has honed his skills in both experimental and computational methods. At the Altindis Lab, he is excited to contribute to groundbreaking research that aligns with his passion for advancing scientific knowledge and improving patient outcomes.
Dr. Girdhar received her MSc. in Chemistry National institute of Technology (NIT) Jalandhar, India. She started her Ph.D. in Indian institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, India in the field of medicinal chemistry where she designed a small molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist for the treatment of diabetes. She also owns a patent for designing that molecule. After completing her Ph.D she joined as postdoctoral fellow in University of Michigan for several months. She joined the Altindis lab in October 2020 and is working in the field of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and Celiac disease exploring the role of the gut microbiome in the onset of autoimmunity. She has extensive experience in several in-vitro experiments, in-vivo handling and ex-vivoexperiments. She has also experience in the field of molecular biology and organic synthesis.
Graduate Students
Audrey receivedher Bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Maryland – College Park. After working as a student technician at the US Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases she decided to pursue a PhD in biology at Boston College. She joined the Altindis lab in April 2022 and is now studying the roles ofParabacteriodes distasonisin autoimmune disease onset.
Dogus received his BS degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. He then pursued his Master’s degree in Computational Sciences and Engineering at Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey. He then worked as a bioinformatics research technician in Altindis lab at Boston College. Here, he analyzed bulk RNA sequencing data from mouse tissue samples to perform differential gene expression and pathway analysis. His present works as a graduate student in the Altindis lab include 16S RNA sequencing analyses of the human gut microbiome and investigation of evolutionary relationships of insulin signaling ligands and receptors.
Hi, I’m Kat! I’ve been working in the microbiology field since 2016 when I began working in the laboratory of Dr. James Kirby studying antimicrobial resistance at Beth Israel DeaconessMedicalCenter in Boston, MA, while I completed my undergraduate degree at Boston University. I obtained my degree in biology, specializing in cellular biology, molecular biology, and genetics. After graduating in late 2017, I worked at the sequencing core at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA before finding a position with Dr. Howard Shuman at the University of Chicago studying the pathogenesis of Legionella pneumophila. After 2.5 years with Dr. Shuman, I moved back to Boston to continue my research on antimicrobial resistance in clinical bacterial isolates whilesearching for a graduate program. I am fascinated by the pathogenicity of microbes in various disease states, and that is why I am spending my Ph.D. studying how microbial molecular mimics trigger the autoimmune response in type1 diabetes onset.
Undergraduate Researchers
Kalai, class of ‘25, joined the Altindis lab in Fall 2022 and works under Aurelien. Kalai is a biology major concentrating in physiology and organismal biology, plays the French horn in the University Wind Ensemble, is a member of Ҵý’s Bollywood fusion dance team, Masti, is vice president of Timmy Global Health, and works as an EMT. In the future, Kalai wishes to pursue a career in medicine.
Lukas Rhodes, class of 2026, joined the Altindis lab in the Fall of 2023 and now works under Dr.Khyati Girdhar. Lukas is a Biology major on the Pre-Med track. He is the vice president of the Boston College chapter of the Diabetes Link and a member of Boston College’s MedLife Club. Lukas is a patient care technician at UPMC West Shore Hospital in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He hopes to pursue a career in medicine and attend medical school after college. Lukas’ interests include research, nature, basketball, and meeting new people.
Khadija Danazumi is a biochemistry major and pre-medical student in the class of 2023. She started working in the Altindis lab in Summer 2021, aiding Dr. Aurelien Chuard with his research on “Iridoviruses to find and define the role of Viral-Insulin-Like-Peptides (VILPs) during the viral cycle, as well as its implications for insulin-related cell signaling”. She is a sexual assault advocate, a disability advocate, a mentor, and a tutor in addition to working in the laboratory.
Sofia Pansini, class of ’26, joined the Altindis lab in Fall 2023 and works under Dr. Mahya Shariat Razavi and Katherine Truelson. Sofia is an English major with a minor in Global Public Health and the Common Good. She is co-president of the Diabetes Link, a member of Ҵý’s MEDLife club, and an advocate for wellness surrounding type 1 diabetes. During high school, Sofia researched the role of CRISPR gene editing in stem-cell derived beta cells to treat type 1 diabetes with the Egli Lab at Columbia University Medical Center. In the future, Sofia hopes to pursue a career that combines her interests in medicine, research, and the diabetes community.
Maria Alejandra Jové, class of 2027, joined the Altindis lab in Fall 2023 and works under Dr. Khyati Girdhar. Maria Alejandra is a biology major in the pre-med track. She is on the E-board of SACNAS, a member of the Student Admission Program, MEDLife club, Public Health Club, PRSA Club, a spokesperson for the Be Brave Foundation and the Pediatric Diabetes Foundation of Puerto Rico, and an advocate for type 1 diabetes. During highschool, Maria Alejandra researched the effect E. coli and its production of amyloid protein can have on the development of Alzheimer’s disease through the Scientific Research Academy with Dr. Arratia. In addition, during the summer she researched the correlation between chronic stress and the ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment with the Garcia Rinaldi Foundation. In the future, Maria Alejandra hopes to pursue a career in the medical field combining her interest with research.
Julianne Cutone, class of 2024, Biology major joined the Altindis lab in the fall of 2020 . Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing tennis and running. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in research.
Former Postdocs |
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Martina Chrudinova,Ph.D(2019-2022) |
Qian Huang, PhD(2018-2020) |
Michael Rak, Ph.D(2018-2019) |
Former Undergraduate Researchers |
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Kaitlin Reiners(2021-2023) |
Khadija Danazumi(2021-2023) |
Typhania Zanou(2022-2023) |
Yena Sung(2022-2023) |
Jaewon Oh(2022-2023) |
Matt Mojares(2020-2023) |
Amol Raisingani(2019-2022) |
Ruixi Huang(2019-2022) |
Maximilian Figura(2019-2022) |
Kaan Sevgi(2019-2022) |
Nathan Ji(2020-2022) |
RileyAquilano(2020-2022) |
Amaya Powis(2019-2021) |
Robert Reiners(2020-2021) |
Scott Hsu(2019-2021) |
Tu Tran(2019-2021) |
Claudia Brady(2019-2020) |
Yasmine Nousari(2019 Summer) |
Aparna Naik(2019 Summer) |