Tetsuhiro Kajikawa, DDS, PhD (Research Associate) earned his D.D.S. degree at Osaka University School of Dentistry in 2006. He went on to complete his Ph.D. degree at Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry focusing on PLAP-1, a molecule that is specifically expressed in periodontal ligament. After a term as a clinician at Osaka University Dental Hospital, he joined the Hajishengallis laboratory in 2014 as a postdoctoral fellow focusing on the role of homeostatic molecules and the complement system in periodontal health and disease. He is currently a Research Associate and Lab Manager. His current project involves the role of innate lymphocytes in the context of leukocyte adhesion deficiency.
Xiaofei Li, PhD (Research Associate) completed her B.A. degree in Life Sciences at Henan University in 2010. She then went on to earn her Ph.D. degree at Medical College of Fudan University in Shanghai, where she focused on the research of innate immunity and vaccine immunology and received Shanghai Outstanding Graduates Awards in 2015. In 2015, Dr. Li joined the Hajishengallis laboratory, where she has been investigating inflammatory cytokines (IL-17, IL-22), mechanisms of inflammation resolution, as well as trained innate immunity as a mechanistic basis linking different inflammatory diseases.
Hui Wang, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow) earned his Ph.D. degree in pathogenic microbiology from Fudan University in 2014. In 2017, he joined the Hajishengallis laboratory, where he is studying the role of complement in periodontal disease. Moreover, he is investigating the role of DEL-1 in local and systemic bone loss disorders using an array of transgenic and knockout preclinical models.
Jong-Hyung Lim, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow) 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 molecular mechanism DEL-1 in oral and mucosal tissue inflammation and homeostasis. He is currently working on the aging-related alterations of DEL-1 expression in progenitor niches and how this in turn impacts 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 studying local and systemic mechanisms that promote inflammation in mucosal barrier sites.