2021 Landry Fellows

	Collins Cheruiyot Immunology, Robert Manguso Lab Collins Cheruiyot grew up in Eldoret, Kenya and graduated in 2016 from Brown University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics – Biology with honors. He then trained in Nicholas Haining's Lab as a research technician before enrolling in the PhD program in Immunology at Harvard University. As a graduate student in Robert Manguso’s Lab, Collins studies mechanisms of enhancing tumor responses to immune checkpoint blockade. He is specifically interested in understanding how lipid metabolism and autophagy drive tumor sensitivity or resistance to cytotoxic lymphocytes.
	Emma Garcia Chemical Biology, Brian Liau Lab Emma grew up in Rochester, NY and began her research career running simulations at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester. She then received her B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University in 2019. While at Yale, she performed research in Professor Alanna Schepartz’s lab aiming to expand the genetic code by evolving a tRNA synthetase to allow for incorporation of beta amino acids into translated proteins. Now a member of Harvard’s Chemical Biology program, Emma studies the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer with Professor Brian Liau. She focuses on the key epigenetic regulator DNA methyltransferase 3A, investigating how mutations modulate its activity and lead to gene dysregulation and cancer.
	Lauren Landau Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Jonathan Kagan Lab Lauren grew up in Mountain View, California and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. At Notre Dame, she conducted research in the lab of Dr. Brian Baker, where she used structural and biochemical approaches to understand the recognition of tumor antigens by T cell receptors and inform cancer immunotherapy. To continue studying the ability of the immune system to drive anti-tumor responses, Lauren joined Dr. Jonathan Kagan’s lab for her Ph.D. work. She hopes to develop chemically-inducible synthetic signaling platforms to rewire tumor-associated macrophages to drive anti-tumor inflammatory responses.
	Francesca Nardi Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Karen Cichowski Lab Francesca grew up in Italy and completed her bachelor's degree in Biotechnology at the University of Bologna and her master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Milan. Then, she moved to the US where she found a research position at NorthShore University Research Institute (Chicago) where she worked under Dr. Susan E. Crawford studying the role of tumor metabolism in prostate cancer development. Now, as a PhD candidate in Dr. Karen Cichowski's laboratory, she is investigating novel combination therapies in KRAS-mutant lung cancers that co-target the RAS/ERK pathway and the eIF4F translation initiation complex.
	Ena Oreskovic Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Jason Buenrostro Lab Ena grew up in Zagreb, Croatia and graduated from University of Rochester in 2019 with a B.S. in Molecular Genetics. There, she worked in Dr. Vera Gorbunova’s lab studying the cancer resistance and longevity mechanisms in long lived rodents with a particular focus on the innate immune response to the activation of retrotransposable elements in tumorigenesis and aging. To continue exploring her long-lasting interest in genome and epigenome instability, she also performed research in Agata Smogorzewska’s lab at Rockefeller University and Maria Jasin’s lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Now a PhD student in Jason Buenrostro’s lab, she studies epigenetic changes induced by chronic inflammation which predispose tissues to tumorigenesis.