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Postdoctoral Associates
Natasha Duggan, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Scripps
Natasha earned her MSPH with a focus in Tropical Medicine from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2014. She then earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from the University of Miami where her work focused on isolating anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies. Currently she is conducting her post-doctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute where she is investigating HIV latency reversal agents. Natasha wants to establish an academic career that focuses on diagnosing and treating viral diseases in underrepresented populations. In her free time Natasha enjoys watching movies, painting, travelling, and being outdoors.
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Lucy Gordon, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Scripps
Lucy was awarded her Ph.D. from The University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with The Pirbright Institute, for her research investigating the antibody response to infection with foot-and-mouth disease virus. Lucy is interested in fundamental virology with the ambition to pursue a career in academia. Her work in the Chanda Lab focuses on the innate immune response to flaviviruses, including identifying and characterizing restriction factors of Dengue virus. In her spare time Lucy enjoys being active outdoors, swimming in the ocean, drinking wine, all whilst meeting and socializing with new people.
Daniel Fuentes, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Scripps
Daniel received a Master’s in Genetics and Cellular Biology followed by a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology at the National Center of Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC). He enjoys learning new things related to science and the universe. Daniel sets ambitious goals and pushes himself to achieve them. Joining the Chanda Lab offers him the opportunity to solve problems in virology. In his free time, he enjoys sports, including handball, football, swimming, running, cycling and paddle tennis. Afterwards, the best recovery is having a drink and spending quality time with my friends.
Meera Raj, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Calibr
Meera received her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Her postdoctoral training at Canadian Blood Services focused on developing a better-humanized mouse using polymer-derivatized human PBMC exhibiting immune-camouflage. Before joining Calibr-Chanda Lab, she gained industry experience working at BioLegend/PerkinElmer in Product Development and at Takeda- San Diego with their Global Biologics unit focusing on antibody discovery for biomedical research and therapeutic purpose. Meera joined Chanda Lab (Calibr division) to pursue her interest in virology and drug-discovery. When not in the lab, she enjoys spending quality time with her family cooking, hiking, and traveling.
Shipra Sharma, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Calibr
Shipra completed her Ph.D. at the Virology Group ICGEB, New Delhi, and worked in collaboration with Influenza Division, CDC, Atlanta. Before joining the Chanda lab in 2021, she was awarded the DST-Young Scientist grant by SERB, India, and worked as a co-principal investigator at IIT, Bombay where she studied the role of host non-coding RNAs in the context of IAV pathogenesis. Currently, Shipra is applying her skills to drug-discovery projects involving small molecule inhibitors that exhibit antiviral activities against multiple respiratory viruses. In her free time, she enjoys being with family and friends, stargazing on a nice dark clear night.
Vedita Anand Singh, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Scripps
Vedita earned her Ph.D. in virology from Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-R) India, where she extensively studied chimeric alphavirus virus-like particles (VLPs) for various biomedical applications, such as diagnostics, drug discovery and immunization. During her doctoral studies she has gained valuable training in fundamental virology as a visiting scholar at Purdue University, USA through OVDF 2019 fellowship program sponsored by SERB-DST, India. Vedita is passionate about exploring the uncharted virology territory, seeking functional solutions. At Chanda lab, her research focuses on host-pathogen responses with a focus on identifying cellular antiviral responses and molecular signatures linked to severe disease. Beyond research, Vedita finds solace in meditation, culinary adventures, and connecting with new acquaintances.
Romel Rosalez Ramirez, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Calibr
Romel received his PhD in Infectomics and Molecular Pathology from Center for Research and Advanced Studies-IPN in Mexico City. During his studies, he has worked on virus-host interactions on dengue virus. He did his postdoctoral training with Professor Adolfo Garcia-Sastre on antiviral research on SARS-Cov2 at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He joined Chanda Lab in 2024. He is a proud cat father of two and loves to spend time with his family. Romel enjoys cooking and watching sci-fi movies.
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Saikat De, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Calibr
Saikat accomplished his Ph.D. degree at DBT-Institute of Lifesciences, Bhubaneswar, India. He worked with the molecular virology team, primarily involved in determining the mode of action of several novel or pre-existing compounds against different viruses (CHIKV, HSV1, JEV, and SARS-CoV-2). He also has experience in host-virus interaction, drug discovery and animal handling, especially Chikungunya-animal model development. Saikat is interested in the identification of novel pro and antiviral host factors in different viral infections. He joined Chanda Lab to pursue his aims in the virology field and to a greater extent. He enjoys playing outdoor games like cricket and several activities like acting, thereupon spending quality time with friends and family is the best repossession.