TEAM

​Principal Investigator (PI)
Lefteris Michailidis, Ph.D.
Lefteris was born and raised in Northern Greece and received his B.S. in Biology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He then moved to the U.S. for his graduate studies, and in 2012, he received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Missouri. Under the supervision of Dr. Stefan Sarafianos, he studied the mechanisms of action and resistance to HIV and HBV antivirals. Then he moved to New York to work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University in Dr. Charlie Rice’s laboratory. There, he focused on developing innovative cell culture and animal model systems for studying HBV and other liver-related diseases. In addition, he worked extensively on virus-host interaction projects towards the characterization of interferon-stimulated genes in the context of HBV, flaviviruses and coronaviruses. Lefteris started his own lab at Emory University in fall 2021 to continue his work on virus-host interactions in HBV and other viruses. When he is not in the lab he enjoys spending time with his family, cooking/eating Greek food and traveling.

Postdoctoral Fellows
Christopher Jones, Ph.D
Christopher was born and raised in North Wales, UK and completed a B.Sc. in biochemistry at the University of Leicester in 2013. He then studied for his Ph.D. in retrovirology at Queen Mary University of London, where he investigated host-virus interactions in the context of HIV infection. After completion of his studies, he joined the University of Chester as a lecturer, and later senior lecturer, in biomedical science. In this position, he continued his research by investigating the immune response to viral infection and also established the first B.Sc. microbiology programme at the institution. He was additionally awarded a PGCert in higher education. In his spare time he enjoys travelling, playing various instruments and bouldering.

Graduate Students 
Taylor Shue, B.S. 
Taylor is originally from Kannapolis, North Carolina and she completed her B.S. in Biology at Wake Forest University in 2019. As an undergrad, she studied rotavirus replication using reverse genetics to create temperature-sensitive mutant viruses. Taylor is now a graduate student in the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics program working to develop an in vitro HBV/HIV co-infection system. Outside of lab, she enjoys fantasy novels, trying new recipes, and spending time with friends and family.
Alfred Jiang, B.S.
Alfred was born and raised in southern California and received his B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale College in 2018. He received his M.P.H from the Yale School of Public Health in 2019, concentrating in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. Alfred’s previous research explored the therapeutic potential of repurposing small molecule agonists from studies of metabolic dysfunction as host-targeting antivirals for the treatment of emerging arboviruses. Outside of lab, he enjoys traveling, cycling, and watching science fiction shows/movies.

Rotating Graduate Students

Visiting Fellows
Antonis Athanasiadis, B.S.
Antonis Athanasiadis was born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece and received his B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Democritus University of Thrace. He is interested in gene editing, virology, and molecular medicine. Antonis interned in Dr. Ralf Kühn Lab in MDC, Berlin as part of the Erasmus program and worked on prime editing. As an undergraduate student, he spent six months in Dr. Aikaterini Katsani lab in Alexandroupolis. He did his undergraduate thesis in “Expression of the protein named DmSEH1/NUP44A on prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems." This is Antonis first time in the USA, and he is very enthusiastic to discover this new world! In his free time, he likes meeting new people, swimming, and playing basketball.
George Dangas, B.S.
George Dangas was born and raised in Angelochori, Naousa, Greece and received his B.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the Democritus University of Thrace in 2022. As an undergraduate student, he worked a year in Biochemistry and Molecular Virology Laboratory in Alexandroupolis - under the supervision of Professor Dr. Penelope Mavromara. He did his undergraduate thesis on molecular cloning, heterologous expression in E. coli, purification and evaluation of the antigenic properties of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant nucleocapsid protein. He also managed to develop an in-house immunodiagnostic test, via the immunoassay of ELISA, using the purified recombinant antigen. This is George first time in the United States, and he is very excited about it! He is interested in virology, immunology and biochemistry, and in his free time, he likes spending time with friends, playing board games, exploring new places and watching movies and series.

Research Specialists

Kenny Levenson, B.S. 
Kenny Levenson was born in Miami, Florida and raised in Georgia. Kenny graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College (2021) with a B.S. in Biology concentrating in cell biology & biotechnology. He aspires to do biomedical research in new or emerging areas of study. Kenny advocates for science policy addressing preservation of biodiversity, disparities in healthcare, and change in standards & practice of forensic science in our criminal justice system.​​ He loves having good conversations, being outdoors, hiking, writing portions of songs, the ocean, and commensal & mutualistic microbiota.​
David Li, B.S.
​David is from Dallas, Texas and graduated from Emory University (21Ox 23C) majored in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology with a minor in Sociology. He was an undergraduate research assistant in Michailidis Lab and is excited to continue to be a part of the team! During his free time, he likes hanging out with friends, trying new food, and watching movies. 

Undergraduate Students

Maddy Koenig 
Maddy is a fourth-year from Boston and she is majoring in biology. In her free time, she loves exploring the different restaurants of Atlanta. She is really interested in molecular biology and biochemistry and very excited to be a part of the Michailidis Lab!
Madeleine Sanders
Madeleine is a third-year from Northern California and is majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. Previously, she has studied siRNA therapeutics for NAFLD and is excited by cell culturing. In her free time, Madeleine likes running, yoga, and being outside!
Chris Rivera
Chris is a second year from Woodstock, Georgia, and he is majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology while on the premed track. In his free time, he likes to eat sushi, spend time with his friends, and learn how to play chess. He is very interested in virology and excited to learn as much as possible!
Kaiden Yeung
Kaiden is a second year undergraduate student majoring in biology and sociology. He was born and raised in New York City. He is very interested in microbiology and in his free time, he enjoys playing pingpong with his friends, cooking with friends, and running.
Patricia Liehr
Patricia is a third year undergraduate student from the Bay Area, California majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology as well as Music with a concentration in Piano Performance. In the past she has worked on gene expression through AAV vectors, cell culture, and HPLC. In her free time she enjoys playing piano, going on walks in Lullwater Park, and grabbing coffee with friends!

Alumni

Ritika Choudhary - Undergraduate Student (2021-2023) 
Kevin Song - Undergraduate Student (2021-2023)
Tian Qin - Undergraduate Student (2021-2023)
Yessica Lopez Valdez - BCDB Rotation Student (2022)