People

Kristin Anderson, PhD, (she/her)

Principal Investigator

Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology (MIC)
Member, Beirne B. Carter Immunology Center (CIC)
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN)

Dr. Kristin Anderson received her PhD in Immunology from the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology (MICaB) Program at the University of Minnesota in the lab of Dr. David Masopust in 2014. Her graduate work led to the adoption of an intravascular staining technique now widely used in the field of immunology that allows investigators to distinguish between intra-vascular and tissue-localized cells. Her 1st author publications in the Journal of Immunology and Nature Protocols already have received >500 citations.

During graduate school, she was diagnosed with and underwent treatment for aggressive breast cancer. After finishing treatment, she redirected her research focus to immunotherapy and joined the lab of Dr. Philip Greenberg at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Clinical Research Division) and the University of Washington (Department of Immunology). During her postdoctoral training, she learned how to engineer T cells to recognize and kill cancer. Her research lab now focuses on engineering cancer-killing T cells to overcome obstacles in solid tumors.

Kristin has served on the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Associate Member Council (AMC, 2018-2023), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Early Career Scientist (ECS) Committee (2020-present), and the SITC Awards Review Committee (2020-present), as a Rivkin Center Breast and Ovarian Health Education Program Facilitator and Instructor (2016-2021), an Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA) Advocate Leader (2021-present), as a Board member of the Powell-Drescher Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (2022-present), and as a Social Media Editor for the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer (JITC; 2022-present).

When she is not in the lab, she enjoys traveling, hiking, connecting with friends, and spending quality time with her family.

Senior Research Staff

Kara Cummings, PhD, (she/her)

Lab Manager

Dr. Cummings received her PhD in Cellular Biology from the University of Georgia in the lab of Dr. Rick Tarleton. During her graduate work, she investigated the role of iNOS signaling during Trypanosoma cruzi infections. She completed her post-doctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Young Hahn at the University of Virginia, where she studied CD4 T cell responses to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. She joins the Anderson and Justin Taylor labs from Dr. Vic Engelhard’s lab, where she was a Senior Lab Specialist. Her research in the Engelhard lab focused on the immunogenicity of cancer-expressed phosphorylated MHC Class I peptides. In the Anderson Lab, Kara aims to apply her cancer immunology training to investigate immune responses in solid tumors and develop novel immune-based cancer therapeutics. She also oversees the lab’s undergraduate research program.

In her free time, she enjoys reading suspense novels.

Gabriel Alencar, PhD, (he/him)

Senior Computational Biologist/Bioinformatician

Dr. Alencar received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of Virginia under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Owens and Dr. Stefan Bekiranov. During his graduate work and for a couple of years thereafter, he used bioinformatic tools to interrogate the role of pluripotency genes in smooth muscle cells late-stage atherosclerosis. During his training, he mastered coding languages Python, JavaScript, HTML, Perl, and R, built pipelines for scRNA-seq, bulk RNA-seq and ChIP-seq analyses, and designed software for data visualization. He worked at Tandem Diabetes Care as a Senior Customer Experience Researcher role where he designed studies and performed data analysis, i.e. comparing diabetic patients (type 1 and type 2) glycemic control improvement, as well as several quality of life parameters, after being in a insulin pump for a year. He joins the Anderson and Justin Taylor labs bringing his biostatistician experience from the biotech world. In the Anderson Lab, Gabe aims to leverage his expertise in programming and statistical analysis of “big data” to interrogate how immune responses are modulated in tumors.

When he's not sciencing, Dr. Alencar is a proud parent to two awesome boys. And when he's got some free time on his hands, you'll find him geeking out over everything cool, grooving to music, and wandering around the region soaking in the great outdoors (and indoors).

Graduate Students

Yaning Li

Yaning Li is a first year BIMS PhD student at UVA. She received her B.Sc. in pharmacy from China Pharmaceutical University and M.Sc. in Pharmacology from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She was inspired to study cancer immunology after working in the pharmaceutical sector where she engaged in preclinical studies of immunocytokines and immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer treatment. She recognized that therapeutic breakthroughs often arise from fundamental research and chose to pursue a PhD to embrace research opportunities & expand her research skills. She is attracted by the science in the Anderson lab as she believes in the boundless potential of T cells which are her favorite immune cells. Her motivation for scientific research lies on creativity and applying knowledge in innovative ways to benefit human health.

In her free time, she enjoys journaling, collecting stationery items, and building Legos. Her life motto is “make the world a cuter place”.

Rossymar Rivera

Rossymar (Ross) Rivera Colón received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce. Ross was inspired to pursue a PhD after losing a loved one to cancer. She is deeply dedicated to discovering new treatments and advocating for Latinas in STEM. In the Anderson lab, Ross focuses on investigating adenosine-mediated suppression to improve the efficacy of engineered T cell anti-tumor therapies.

Outside the lab she enjoys cooking, baking, dancing salsa & cuddling with her two cats.

Undergraduate and Post-baccalaureate Researchers

Ramsey Beladia

Ramsey Beladia is a Third Year at UVA. His passion for science and biology has been a driving force throughout his academic journey. Exploring the intricate complexities of the natural world, from the microscopic realm of cells to the broader ecosystem dynamics, fuels his curiosity and determination. Ramsey’s brother passed away 5 years ago and his passing has helped fuel Ramsey’s passion for Medicine and Research. In his free time, he loves playing and watching basketball and football, gaming, strength training and working out.

Matt Bode

Matt Bode received his BA in Economics from Davidson College in 2019. He was inspired to pursue research by a desire to understand physical performance during extreme aerobic exercise. In his free time, he likes to rock climb, play the guitar, hike, and run/bike.

Daniel Dapaah

Daniel Dapaah is a Second Year at UVA. His initial desire to participate in medical research began a few years ago when one of his family members struggled with an unknown skin condition. His family member went from doctor to doctor, and none could identify the cause of his suffering. Seeing his family member struggle was challenging and inspired Daniel pursue the medical field. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outside admiring nature, traveling with friends and family, watching movies, and playing basketball!

Caroline Grant

Caroline Grant is a Second Year at UVA. In middle school, she received an at-home chemistry kit for Christmas and began performing small experiments with her dad after school. Over the following years, she became increasingly interested in science because it offered an intuitive way for her to answer her own burning questions about the natural world. By the time she entered high school, she knew she was passionate about biology and chemistry, and she was fortunate enough to participate in a wonderful biomedical research experience that further cemented her interest in medical research. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, running, taking her yellow lab for walks, and spending time with her family!

Arianna Gravatt

Arianna Gravatt is a Third Year at UVA. She used to live in Japan and has been reading manga (Japanese comics) from a young age. When she was in high school, she started noticing some manga with medical and scientific themes reading them sparked her interest in science (biology in particular). She fell in love with immunology after reading "Cell's at Work!", which pushed her to take an intro course to immunology at college and sparked her interest in Dr. Anderson's research. In her free time she likes to read (a variety of books) and cook new dishes.

Chloe Kline

Chloe Kline is a Third Year in the UVA College of Arts and Sciences studying Global Public Health and Biology. Her interest in research stems from her belief in research as a tool to save and improve lives. The possibility for research to potentially change the world for the better inspires her, and the open-endedness of the field allows numerous pathways to solve the problems in our world. In her free time, she loves to hike and run, and she ran her first half-marathon last November!

Lizzie Mangilit

Lizzie Mangilit is a Second Year at UVA. She was inspired to pursue biomedical research because of a family history with eczema. Going to countless dermatologist visits sparked her curiosity for immunology and inspired her to pursue a career in medicine to help others struggling with stubborn medical conditions. She excited to pursue her interest in immunology at the Anderson Lab! In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, dancing, drawing, and trying new restaurants.

Abby Minkin

Abby Minkin is a Third Year at UVA. She has always loved science and the learning, exploration, and discovery it involves. During her summer job as a medical assistant, she worked with a patient who underwent CAR T-cell therapy, which piqued her interest in the Anderson Lab’s research. In her free time, she enjoys painting, cooking, spending time with friends and family, and going for walks.

Tina Nguyen

Tina Nguyen is a Third Year at UVA. Learning about the innovative ways that science/research has been used to develop cutting-edge tools to solve complex health/biological issues piqued her interest in biomedical research. In her free time, she enjoys reading, painting, crocheting, and making matcha lattes!