Present Trainees
Hui Wang, Ph.D. (Research Associate) earned his Ph.D. degree in pathogenic microbiology from Fudan University in 2014. In 2017, as a postdoctoral fellow he joined the Hajishengallis laboratory, where he had studied the role of complement in periodontal disease and investigated the role of DEL-1 in local and systemic bone loss disorders using an array of transgenic and knockout preclinical models. He is currently a Research Associate and Lab Manager. His current project involves the role of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential in periodontitis and other bone loss diseases.
Jong-Hyung Lim, Ph.D. (Research Associate) completed his Ph.D. in Immunology at Technische Universität Dresden, Germany in 2016. During his PhD studies, he studied mechanisms of action of the anti-inflammatory protein DEL-1 using distinct animal disease models. Following graduation, he joined the Hajishengallis laboratory in 2018 for further studies on the role of DEL-1 in oral and mucosal tissue inflammation and homeostasis. He is currently a Research Associate working on aging-related alterations in progenitor niches and how these in turn impact on host immunity, inflammation, and tissue regeneration in old age.
Gundappa Saha, M.Tech, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow) completed his B.Pharm (2012) from West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata, India; M.Tech (2014) from Anna University, Chennai, India; and Ph.D. (2020) from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, India. He studied host-pathogen interactions and immune evasion by Leishmania donovani and was bestowed with a prestigious “Prime Minister’s Fellowship for Doctoral Research” by Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India in the field of Immunology and Infection Biology. He joined the Hajishengallis laboratory in September 2020 and is currently investigating local and systemic mechanisms that promote inflammation in mucosal barrier sites as well as cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the connection between periodontitis and systemic comorbidities.
Xudong Wang, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow) completed his Ph.D. degree in Biology from Tsinghua University, China, in 2018. He completed postdoc training in ophthalmology and cancer biology at Harvard Medical School from 2019-2022. In 2023, he joined the Hajishengallis laboratory, where he is studying macrophage immunometabolic regulation in periodontitis and the impact of aging on trained immunity.
Lina Baeesa, B.D.S. (Graduate Student) earned her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia, in 2018. In 2021, she started her clinical training in Orthodontics, completed her residency training for two years, and joined the Hajishengallis laboratory for her Doctor of Science in Dentistry (D.Sc.D.) degree in 2023. Her postdoctoral research interest is focused on molecular mechanisms of inflammation resolution and bone regeneration in old age.
Huilin Ye, B.M. (Visiting Scholar) earned her Bachelor degree of Medicine in Dental Medicine from Sichuan University, China, in 2020. She has started her Ph.D. training in Basic Science of Stomatology at the College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University since September 2020. During her Ph.D. studies, she focused on periodontitis and systemic diseases, especially inflammation and microbiota. In April 2024, she joined the Hajishengallis laboratory as a visiting scholar, where she is studying clonal hematopoiesis and its effect on chronic inflammation.