Meet the team
Diana K. Morales, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Key questions that I am interested in answering: How do non-motile bacteria invade surfaces such as human tissues? What factors are involved in promoting this movement or invasion? What are the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms? How do specific members within microbial communities interact with each other to modulate their ecological and pathological behavior? What pathways do bacteria dysregulate in the host to facilitate their movement across diverse epithelial barriers?
About Diana: Originally from Bogota, Colombia, I moved to New Hampshire to pursue my Ph.D. at Dartmouth Medical School. After completing my postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, I joined WCM as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Besides the lab, I love illustrating unique microbial phenotypes in my paintings. I also enjoy traveling, exploring new places, and pampering my doggies.Current Members
Haoyu Zheng
Research Technician
Seong-eun (Grace) Kim
Postdoctoral Fellow
My interest in host–microbiota interactions began during my undergraduate and master’s studies at Korea University. I later earned my Ph.D. at Georgia State University in the Gewirtz Lab, where I investigated how dietary wheat fiber protects against intestinal inflammation by modulating macrophages and regulatory T cells.
In 2026, I joined the Morales and Cubillos-Ruiz labs to investigate how bacterial translocation from the intestine affects immune cell function along the gut–liver axis and whether these interactions lead to changes in immune responses. I am also interested in understanding how dietary factors influence bacterial translocation and its immunological consequences.
Outside the lab, I enjoy hiking, reading outdoors, and experimenting with new recipes. Project: Gut–Liver Axis: Dietary Regulation of Bacterial Translocation and Immune Reprogramming.
Chen Tan, Ph.D.
Research Specialist and Lab Manager
Felipe Castro Martinez
Research Associate
Former Members
Sofia Thurston.
Period: June 2025 – August 2025; June 2026 – August 2026.
Position/Site: Summer Research High School Student.
Project: Systemic immunoregulatory consequences of gut microbial translocation.
Reditha Yousafo.
Period: July 2023 – August 2024
Position/Site: High School Senior Student, Bronx High School of Science.
Project: Inflammatory modulation in phagocytic cells by vaginal Enterococcus faecalis.
Kylie Huber.
Period: June – August 2024
Position/Site: Undergraduate student, Cornell University.
Project: Investigating the Mechanisms of Gut Barrier Translocation by Enterococcus faecalis.
Yusibeska Ramos, Ph.D.
Period: 2017 – April 2024
Position/Site: Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate
Project: Molecular programs driving surface invasion by enterococcal multicellular communities
Ashley Llenas.
Period: June 2023
Position/Site: Traveller Research Fellow
Project: Investigating the Mechanisms of Gut Barrier Translocation by Enterococcus faecalis.
Stephanie Sansone, M.D.
Period: January 2021 – June 2023
Position/Site: Urology Clinical Fellow
Project: Tissue penetration and invasion by Enterococci: Implications for the female reproductive tract.
Recipient of the June Allyson Memorial Fund Research Award Grant
Current Position: Urologist at the Hackensack Meridian Health.
Melanie Collana
Period: June 2019 – September 2019
Position/Site: High School Summer Research Program
Project: Exopolysaccharides as drivers of surface penetration by Enterococcus faecalis.
Current Position: Undergraduate student at Stony Brook University.