Lab Members

Our Staff

Barbara Rehermann.

Barbara Rehermann received her M.D. degree from Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany with an experimental doctoral thesis on signal transduction in lymphocyte activation.  She conducted postgraduate clinical training in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, and a research fellowship in the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, studying the immunopathogenesis of HBV infection.   Since 2004 she is a tenured senior investigator in the Liver Diseases Branch, NIDDK and chief of the Immunology Section.

Jihoon Oh
Research Fellow

Our Fellows

Jihoon Oh.
Ji Hoon Oh, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2018-present

Ji Hoon Oh received his Ph.D. degree from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea studying virus-induced type I interferon in NK cell-mediated tumor surveillance. His research interest is the regulation of immune responses by the microbiome.

Jun Seishima
Jun Seishima, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-present

Jun Seishima received both his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Kanazawa University, Japan and completed training in gastroenterology and hepatology at the same university. Currently, he studies tissue-specific immune responses to viral infections.

Photo of Shahar Azar.
Shahar Azar, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-present

Shahar Azar received his Ph.D. degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel studying the endocannaboid system in fatty liver disease. As a postdoctoral fellow he is interested in understanding the effect of microbiota on host metabolism.

Keisuke Fukutomi.
Keisuke Fukutomi, M.D. Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022-present

Keisuke Fukutomi is a gastroenterologist and hepatologist who received both his M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Osaka University, Japan. At Osaka University, he studied capsid allosteroic modulators and innate immune responses in hepatitis B virus infection. At NIH he is conducting translational studies on immune responses to hepatitis B and D viruses in clinical studies.

Sabitree Shahi, Ph.D.
Sabitree Shahi, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2023-present

Sabitree Shahi received both her master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Okayama University in Japan. Subsequently, she competed for a 2-year JSPS postdoctoral fellowship grant studying plant-microbe interaction at Okayama University. During her graduate studies and postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Shahi studied the relationship between mycoviruses and their host. At the NIH, she is analyzing the intrahepatic immune response in viral hepatitis.

Alexis Moore
Alexis Moore
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2024-present

Alexis Moore received a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a minor in digital studies from Davidson College, NC. In her time as a postbaccalaureate student at the NIH, she would like to further explore her interests in biology and data analytics by assessing immune responses of patients with viral hepatitis in clinical studies.

Our Alumni: Former Postdoctoral Fellows

Heiner Wedemeyer, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1998-2000

Current position:
Professor and Chair, Dept. of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Medical School
Hannover, Germany.

Eishiro Mizukoshi, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1999-2001

Current position:
Associate Professor, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.

Michelina Nascimbeni, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1999–2005

Current position:
Professeur des écoles, Académie de Paris, Paris, France.

Fareed Rahman, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2000-2002

Current position:
Lecturer and attending (academic physician scientist), First Medical Clinic and Policlinic, Johannes-Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany.

Heiko Mix, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001-2003 

Current position:
Internist, Praxis Polonius, Hille, Germany.

Tobias Manigold, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001-2003

Current position:
Head, Rehabilitation and Rheumatology, RehaClinic AG, Zuerich, Switzerland.

Vito Racanelli, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001-2003

Current position:
Full Professor, Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology, Center for Medical Sciences - CISMED, University of Trento, Italy.

Christina Weiler-Normann, M.D. 
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2004-2006

Current position:
Lecturer and attending (academic physician scientist), Martin-Zeitz Center for Rare Diseases and Center for Internal Medicine, First Medical Clinic, University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.

Masaaki Shiina, M.D., Ph.D. 
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2004-2007

Current position:
Director, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shin-Yurigaoka General Hospital, Kawasaki, Japan.

Joo-Chun Yoon, M.D. 
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2004-2007

Current position:
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Eui-Cheol Shin, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2002-2008

Current position:
Professor, Graduate School of Medical Science & Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Director, The Center for Viral Immunology, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, Republic of Korea

Golo Ahlenstiel, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2004-2009

Current position:
Professor and Chair of Medicine, Blacktown Mount Druitt Hospitals with Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
Lead, Liver Immunology Group, Storr Liver Centre, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, Australia.

Maria Quasdorff, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2008

Current position:
Attending, Gynecological Endocrinology and Reproduction Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany.

Naga Suresh Veerapu, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2006-2011

Current position:
Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Sukanya Raghuraman, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2006-2011

Current position:
Scientific Writer, Cactus Communications, Mumbai, India.

Aintzane Zabaleta-Aspiroz, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2007-2010

Current position:
Research Associate, Translational Immuomics in Hematological Neoplasms Research, University de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.

Jens Werner, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009-2013

Current position:
Lecturer and Attending (academic physician scientist), Department of Surgery, University Hospital, Regensburg, Germany.

Su-Hyung Park, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2008-2014

Current position:
Professor, Graduate School of Medical Science & Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Lauren Holz, Ph.D. 
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2009-2015

Current position:
Research Fellow, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, Australia.

Elisavet Serti Chrisos, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2011-2017

Current position:
Associate Director, Vaccines and Prevention, US Military HIV Research Program at WRAIR.

Heiyoung Park, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, 2009-2018

Current position:
Program Director, Division of Skin and Rheumatic Diseases, NIAMS, NIH, Bethesda, MD.

Fabian Bolte, M.D. 
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014-2018

Current position:
Clinical Fellow, Hematology/Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Stephan Rosshart, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2013-2019

Current position:
Full Professor and Head, Department of Microbiome Research, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.

Helenie Kefalakes, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2015-2020

Current position:
Clinical fellow and research group leader, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany.

Benedikt Hild, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2018-2021

Current position:
Lecturer and Attending (academic physician scientist), Clinic for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Essen University Hospital, Essen, Germany.

Akira Nishio, M.D. Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2017-2021

Current position:
Instructor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.

Min Kyung Jung, Ph.D.
Visiting Guest Researcher, 2019-2021

Current position:
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Medical Science & Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

Tomoaki Yoshida, M.D. Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021-2024

Current position:
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Services, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.

Our Alumni: Former Students

Christoph Eisenbach
Research Student supported by Scholarship of the Biomedical Exchange Academic Year Program, 1999-2000

Current position:
Professor, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Diabetology, GRN-Klinik Weinheim, Germany.

Markus Bosmann
Research Student supported by Scholarship of the Biomedical Exchange Academic Year Program, 2001-2002

Current position:
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA.

Petra Sander
Summer Student (Minority Access to Research Careers Program), 2002

Next position:
Yerby Postdoctoral Fellow, Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.

Brittany Holmes
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2005-2006

Current position:
Clinical Associate Professor, Pathology Practices at Stanford Health Care, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

Nydiaris Hernandez-Santos
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2005-2006

Current position:
Research Associate, University of Madiscon-Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

Rachel Titerence
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2007-2008

Current position:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC.

Jonathan Stoltzfus
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2008-2009

Current position:
Associate Professor, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Millersville University, PA.

Birgit Edlich
Graduate Student from Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany., 2008-2010

Current position:
Medical Manager Oncology, Daiichi Sankyo Germany, Jena, Germany.

Leah Hogdal
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2009-2010

Current position:
Director, Biomarkers – Late-Stage ADC Development, Pfizer, Chicago, IL.

Onyinechi Eke
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2010-2011

Current position:
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Warren Pan
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2011-2012

Current position:
Resident, Ophthalmology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Xenia Parisi, nee Chepa-Lotrea
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2012-2014

Current position:
Hematopathology Fellow, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dallas, TX.

Kathryn Bowman
Medical Research Scholar Program, 2012-2013

Current position:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Meghan Keane
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2014-2015

Current position:
Family Medicine Physician, Strasburg, CO.

Ashley Bolte, nee O’Keefe
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2015-2016

Current position:
Resident, Internal Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.

Brian Vassallo
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2015-2017

Current position:
Medical Writer at Costello Medical, Cambridge, MA.

Lauren Webb
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2016-2017

Current position:
Resident, Neurology, Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, Rochester, MI.

Ashli Hunter
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2017-2018

Next position:
Student, Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT.

Kaleb Bogale
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2017-2018

Current position:
Fellow and Millenium Scholar, Internal Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.

Brent Piligian
Summer Student, 2017
Cody Stein
Summer Student, 2018

Current position:
Postbac IRTA student, Vaccine Research Center, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD.

Matthew Dreier
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2018-2019

Current position:
Clinical Associate in Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.

Na Hyun Park
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2018-2019

Current position:
Medical Student, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY.

Xylia Horgan
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2019-2021

Current position:
Medical Student, Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lynchburg, VA.

Claire Thefaine
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2019-2020

Current position:
Graduate Student, Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Sharika Hasan
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2019-2021

Current position:
Medical Student, New York University, New York, NY.

Mary McCarthy
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2021-2022

Current position:
Medical Student, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

Priya Singh
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2022-2024

Current position:
Medical Student, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.

Greta Baker
Postbaccalaureate Student, 2022-2024

Current position:
Student, Master’s Degree program in Bioinformatics Data Science. University of Delaware, Newark, DE.

Group Photos

NIDDK Immunology Section. Immunology section at the annual lab picnic on September 23, 2022. From left to right: Greta Baker, Shahar Azar, Jihoon Oh, Jun Seishima, Barbara Rehermann, Keisuke Fukutomi, Priya Singh with Tobi, Tomoaki Yoshida

Lab members standing in a lab Tomoaki Yoshida’s last day in the laboratory on March 25, 2024 before returning to Niigata University as Assistant Professor. From left to right: Jun Seishima, Greta Baker, Sabitree Shahi, Barbara Rehermann, Tomoaki Yoshida, Ji Hoon Oh, Keisuke Fukutomi, Shahar Azar, Priya Singh

Lab members standing outdoors in front of trees with leaves of many colors Immunology Section on November 17, 2021. From left to right: Jun Seishima, Ji Hoon Oh, Barbara Rehermann, Mary McCarthy, Shahar Azar, Tomoaki Yoshida.

Lab members sitting at a long tableVisit of alumni Eui-Cheol Shin and Su Hyung Park, who were postdoctoral fellow alumni of the Immunology Section. Eui-Cheol and Su Hyung are now Professors at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon and Eui-Cheol is additionally Director of the Center for Viral Immunology, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon, Republic of Korea. From left to right: Keisuke Fukutomi, Su-Hyung Park, Eui-Cheol Shin, Tomoaki Yoshida, Shahar Azar, Jun Seishima, Priya Singh, Barbara Rehermann, Ji Hoon Oh, Sabitree Shahi

Two lab members pose in front of an HCV 2018 bannerAt the International HCV conference in Dublin, Ireland on October 10, 2018. From left to right: Barbara Rehermann and Akira Nishio.

Last Reviewed October 2024