Dana Thornlow Lamson

Staff Scientist

[she/her]

Dana grew up on the south shore of Long Island, and takes significant pride in her lack of accent. While earning her PhD from Cornell in upstate NY, she learned the value of cold winters on research productivity, and thus proceeded to move due east to Cambridge for her postdoc in the Schmidt Lab. While not in the lab, she enjoys running, dancing, or talking about the most recent episode of the podcast, "Planet Money".

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Cornell University; Alabi Lab

contact: dthornlow [at] mgh.harvard.edu

Emerson Glassey

Post-doctoral fellow

Emerson was raised in the sticks of very Northern California (NOT the Bay Area). After getting his undergraduate degree as a UC Santa Cruz slug, he decided to brave the harsh New England weather and moved to Cambridge to work on his PhD. Somehow the Schmidt Lab convinced him to stay in the area for a postdoc, where he works on developing antiviral small molecules. Outside of the lab, he alternates between unending home renovations and exploring the great outdoors by foot or bike.

Ph.D. in Biological Engineering, MIT; Voigt Lab

contact: eglassey [at] mgh.harvard.edu

Amanda Ruiz

Post-doctoral fellow

MIT Postdoctoral Fellowship Program for Engineering Excellence

BWF Postdoctoral Diversity Enrichment Program (PDEP) Fellow

Hailing from Queens, NYC, Amanda attended Barnard College of Columbia University, because of its reputation for producing changemakers, proximity to quality pizza and bagels, and location on a subway line (she is committed to never learning how to drive). After graduation, Amanda moved to the Ocean State to pursue her doctoral studies at Brown University (and become a self-proclaimed oyster sommelier). After dedicating six years to studying the neglected tropical disease - schistosomiasis, Amanda decided to pivot from worms to viruses and pursue a postdoc in the Schmidt Lab. When not in the lab, Amanda is exploring Boston’s café scene, curating charcuterie boards, and enjoying meaningful moments with her family.

Ph.D. in Pathobiology, Brown University; Kurtis Lab

contact: ruizae [at] mit.edu

Pablo Cárdenas R.

Post-doctoral fellow

A native of Colombia, Pablo spent his undergrad grappling with the frustrations of experimental and field research. He left Bogotá to intern in the US and France, where he learned that experiments fail in labs on every continent and of every budget. Resigned to his fate, he went to MIT to get a PhD in patience engineering malaria parasites, with side quests in pathogen evolution. The latter led him to the Schmidt lab, where he hopes to make experiments fail faster and in larger amounts. Besides failure, Pablo enjoys everything to do with music, games with balls or cardboard, and history, which reminds us that someone always messed up worse.

Ph.D. in Biological Engineering, MIT; Niles Lab

contact: pcarden [at] mit.edu

Rachel hecht 

graduate student

Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F30 Fellow

Born in Brooklyn, NY as one of 13 children, Rachel found that a great way to ensure visits from her adorable nieces and nephews during grad school was to move near her grandparents in Boston. When not in lab, Rachel enjoys skiing, hiking, hosting dinner parties, and planning extensive menus for future dinner parties.

Harvard/MIT M.D.-Ph.D. Program

contact: rochel_hecht [at] hms.harvard.edu

Andrea Garavito

Graduate Student

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Herchel Smith Fellow

Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Andrea left the South American Andes mountains for the land of BBQ and cowboys, Texas. She obtained her undergraduate from Texas Tech and shortly after completed a post-bac at Harvard. It was there that she decided to join the chemical biology program and most importantly the Schmidt lab. In her free time, she enjoys going for a run and spending quality time with her baby, Léon.

Harvard Chemical Biology Ph.D. Program

contact: paulagaravito [at] g.harvard.edu

Isaiah Shriner

Graduate Student

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

[he/him]

Hailing from beautiful Colorado, Isaiah ventured far from his family home to pursue his undergraduate degree in Boulder. He then followed his research up and down the California coast, surfing when he could (once) and treating himself to burritos (every day), before making the move to Boston for his PhD. When not in the lab, you can find him spending time outdoors, cycling around the city, and pretending to know everything about coffee.

Harvard Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program

contact: isaiahshriner [at] g. harvard.edu

ANNE ROFFLER

Graduate Student

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

[she/her]

Originally from Taipei, Anne hopped the Pacific to pursue her undergraduate studies in sunny southern California before trading in high rent prices for even higher rent in Boston. When not in lab, Anne can be found irresponsibly spending at supporting local bakeries, building furniture that probably won’t be weight bearing, and collecting coffee contraptions so that she will finally “make coffee at home”. She also enjoys supplementing her schooling with physical therapy in the pottery studio to combat pipette-related carpal tunnel.

Harvard Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program

contact: aroffler [at] g. harvard.edu

Ceili Peng

Graduate Student

[she/her]

Originally from a teeny tiny town in central Connecticut, Ceili spent most of her early research career wrangling butterflies, birds, lizards, and rodents. Eventually, her interests in ecological theory and genetic engineering merged into a passion for viral systems, and she now spends her time wrangling influenza in the Schmidt Lab. Outside of lab Ceili can be found birdwatching, ice climbing, playing volleyball, or building new aquariums.

MIT Microbiology Program; co-advised by Kevin Esvelt

contact: clpeng [at] mit.edu; clpeng [at] mgh.harvard.edu

Connor Murphy

Research Assistant

Having seen enough alligators in their backyard for one lifetime, Connor left their native South Florida and moved to North Carolina for undergrad. And, after losing all tolerance for heat, they had no choice but to make their way even further up the Eastern Seaboard to Boston. If not in the lab, they’re probably baking, singing songs about their cat, or finding an excuse to make a spreadsheet.

contact: cmurphy111 [at] mgh.harvard.edu

Sophia Sordilla

Research Assistant

[she/her]

Sophia was born and raised in the Chicago metropolitan area and moved to Providence to pursue her interests in evolutionary biology at Brown.  After five years of working with elephants, pigs, and bats (oh my!), she made the move to Cambridge to continue enjoying New England winters. Outside of the lab, Sophia can be found playing ultimate frisbee, hiking, and rewatching all her favorite sitcom series.

contact: ssordilla [at] mgh.harvard.edu

[Insert your name here] 

We are always interested in recruiting enthusiastic individuals to join our group! Please send all inquiries to aaron.schmidt [at] mgh.harvard.edu.

Postdoctoral Fellows: please arrange to send three letters of recommendation, CV and a cover letter.

Graduate Students @ Harvard, MIT: please email Aaron about setting up a meeting to discuss possible rotations in the lab.

Undergraduate Students: we want to provide opportunities for ambitious undergrads in the Boston and Cambridge area to pursue research. Please email Aaron about possible semester or summer options.