Meet the Team

Anika received her BS in Microbiology and her PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of South Florida. She conducted her PhD research in Dr. Charles Chalfant’s lab where she worked on elucidating the role of ceramide-1-phosphate in Anaplasma phagocytophilum pathogenesis and Golgi-ER retrograde trafficking. During this time, she had also worked on projects that investigated the implication of ceramide-1-phosphate in wound healing. Apart from science and her lab time, she loves food, enjoys cooking, going to the gym, watching food and workout reels on Instagram, long walks and biking in the winter time.

Andrew received his BS in Biology from the University of Florida and his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of South Florida. His PhD research was performed in the lab of Dr. Sandy Westerheide where he focused on examining the function of Heat Shock Factor 1 during organismal aging in C. elegans. After his PhD he briefly worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Veena Prahlad at the University of Iowa studying regulation of Serotonin signaling in neurodegeneration in C. elegans. Returning home to Florida, his current research examines the role of MHC-II in tumor immunobiology. Outside of the lab he is an adventurous cook, enjoys road biking, and taking in Florida’s many beaches.

Chris received his BS in Biomedical Science with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. While at UCF, he completed undergraduate research in medicinal chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Otto Phanstiel. It was during this time he learned to synthesize and biologically validate small molecule inhibitors of polyamine transport in addition to other relevant cancer targets. Eager to continue his journey as a cancer researcher Chris decided to join Moffitt’s Cancer Chemical Biology PhD program where he intends to study MHC Class I antigen presentation. Outside of working at the bench he enjoys playing tennis, watching the Tampa Bay Lightning, and spending time out on the water.

Miguel received his BS in Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Anthropology from the University of South Florida. He spent some time conducting research at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) with Dr. Felipe Cortés-Ledesma, where he developed CRISPR-Cas9 knockout cell lines and gained experience in cell culture and bioinformatics. In the Jaeger Lab, he focuses on MHC Class II antigen presentation in lung cancer cells, aiming to enhance targeted immunotherapy approaches. When he’s not at the lab, he enjoys exploring new restaurants, cooking, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and watching football.

Emily received her BS in Biomedical Sciences from Marymount Manhattan College. Upon graduating, she began work as a Project Assistant in the Integrated Genomics Operation core facility at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There she oversaw the flow of samples through various genomics applications and assisted investigators in the planning of their projects. Since joining the Jaeger lab, Emily has been working on developing methods and analysis pippelines for Ribosome Profiling experiments. As a lifelong dancer, Emily enjoys teaching classes at her local dance studio, as well as traveling and spending time with her cats.

Emma received her M.Sc. in Biology from University of Utah, and PhD in Cancer Biology from Moffitt Cancer Center in affiliation with USF. Emma’s M.Sc work in the lab of Professor Leslie Sieburth focused on understanding the signaling pathway that coordinates shoot development with conditioned perceived by the roots in model organism Arabidopsis Thaliana. For her PhD work, Emma transitioned to Cancer Biology field under the supervision of Dr. Eric Lau at Moffitt Cancer Center. Her PhD work focused on understanding the role of secreted fucosylated proteins from Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in breast cancer brain metastasis. Her current research primarily focuses on antigen presentation by a subtype of CAFs that express MHC-II in Pancreatic cancer. Apart from science, Emma enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, playing board games & video games, dancing, and traveling.

Emily received her BS in Biology and Allied Health from The University of Tampa. During her time at UT, she helped create a lab protocol for an Immunofluorescence experiment to identify the presence of gram positive and negative bacteria. After graduating, she joined the Jaeger Lab and began working to further understand the immune system and its connection with cancer biology.  In her free time, Emily enjoys playing tennis and pickleball, going on long walks, baking, trying new foods, and reading.