Ram Savan, Ph.D.
Professor of Immunology
Adjunct Professor, Microbiology
Savan is a Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington. He received his early education in India before moving to Japan to obtain his doctoral degree from Kagoshima University under the mentorship of Dr. Masahiro Sakai from the University of Miyazaki. During his time in Japan, he was awarded the Monbusho fellowship, which allowed him to study the evolution of the immune system in lower vertebrates. After completing his Ph.D., Savan continued his postdoctoral training with Dr. Howard Young at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, where he studied the influence of non-coding RNA on immune responses. In 2011, He joined the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor, and he was granted tenure in 2017. He was promoted to Professor in 2023. He has received the Monbusho, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, NCI Director's Innovation, and Milstein Young Investigator Awards. Contact
Other affiliations:
Department of Microbiology
Training Programs
UW Molecular and Cellular Biology
UW Pathobiology graduate program
UW Microbiology graduate program
Professor of Immunology
Adjunct Professor, Microbiology
Savan is a Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington. He received his early education in India before moving to Japan to obtain his doctoral degree from Kagoshima University under the mentorship of Dr. Masahiro Sakai from the University of Miyazaki. During his time in Japan, he was awarded the Monbusho fellowship, which allowed him to study the evolution of the immune system in lower vertebrates. After completing his Ph.D., Savan continued his postdoctoral training with Dr. Howard Young at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, where he studied the influence of non-coding RNA on immune responses. In 2011, He joined the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor, and he was granted tenure in 2017. He was promoted to Professor in 2023. He has received the Monbusho, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, NCI Director's Innovation, and Milstein Young Investigator Awards. Contact
Other affiliations:
Department of Microbiology
Training Programs
UW Molecular and Cellular Biology
UW Pathobiology graduate program
UW Microbiology graduate program
Gargi Mishra, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Gargi is an interdisciplinary researcher who earned her PhD developing nanocarriers for theranostic applications. With a passion for uncovering meaningful insights from complex biological data, she utilizes her skills in coding and data science to analyze multi-omics datasets. At the Ram Lab, Gargi through, subcellular proteomics and machine learning techniques, investigating innate immune responses. Beyond her scientific pursuits, Gargi is a dedicated mother who cherishes reading to her young toddler. As an avid reader herself, she particularly enjoys works of humor, sattire and poetry. Gargi is also a passionate advocate for women in STEM fields. She devotes her time to networking, peer mentoring, and tutoring fellow science enthusiasts, working to support and inspire the next generation of diverse scientific talent.
Senior Fellow
Gargi is an interdisciplinary researcher who earned her PhD developing nanocarriers for theranostic applications. With a passion for uncovering meaningful insights from complex biological data, she utilizes her skills in coding and data science to analyze multi-omics datasets. At the Ram Lab, Gargi through, subcellular proteomics and machine learning techniques, investigating innate immune responses. Beyond her scientific pursuits, Gargi is a dedicated mother who cherishes reading to her young toddler. As an avid reader herself, she particularly enjoys works of humor, sattire and poetry. Gargi is also a passionate advocate for women in STEM fields. She devotes her time to networking, peer mentoring, and tutoring fellow science enthusiasts, working to support and inspire the next generation of diverse scientific talent.
Leonard Clinton D'souza Ph.D.
Senior Fellow - From Mangalore India
Clinton received his Ph.D. in 2023 from Nitte University, Mangalore, India, where he worked on developing Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) as an alternate in vivo model to understand the toxicity of environmental pollutants on development and functions of immune cells. He investigated the role of ROS/Toll/NFkB signaling in triggering emergency hematopoiesis. Currently, he is investigating mechanisms of interferon and cytokine signaling.
Senior Fellow - From Mangalore India
Clinton received his Ph.D. in 2023 from Nitte University, Mangalore, India, where he worked on developing Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) as an alternate in vivo model to understand the toxicity of environmental pollutants on development and functions of immune cells. He investigated the role of ROS/Toll/NFkB signaling in triggering emergency hematopoiesis. Currently, he is investigating mechanisms of interferon and cytokine signaling.
Emmanuelle Genoyer Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Emmanuelle received her B.S. from Yale in 2014 and her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. During her PhD she studied the impacts of immunostimulatory defective viral genomes on paramyxovirus particle production with Dr. Carolina Lopez. For her postdoc Emmanuelle decided to explore the world of positive-sense RNA viruses and is interested in the spatial regulation of innate immune activation during flavivirus infection. She is currently funded by an NIAID F32. Emmanuelle is deeply passionate about RNA viruses, her cat Sylvie, contemporary fiction, and finding cheap flight deals.
Senior Fellow
Emmanuelle received her B.S. from Yale in 2014 and her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. During her PhD she studied the impacts of immunostimulatory defective viral genomes on paramyxovirus particle production with Dr. Carolina Lopez. For her postdoc Emmanuelle decided to explore the world of positive-sense RNA viruses and is interested in the spatial regulation of innate immune activation during flavivirus infection. She is currently funded by an NIAID F32. Emmanuelle is deeply passionate about RNA viruses, her cat Sylvie, contemporary fiction, and finding cheap flight deals.
Alison Greenlaw Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Alison received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. During her doctoral work, she studied non-coding transcription and post-transcriptional regulation in quiescent budding yeast in Toshi Tsukiyama’s lab at Fred Hutch. For her post-doctoral work, she is investigating Treg-mediated suppression of translation in T effector cells in collaboration with Steven Ziegler’s lab at Benaroya Research Institute. She is currently supported by the UW Rheumatology T32. Outside of the lab, Alison loves her cat, spending time with friends and family, exploring nature, and just about any art or craft.
Senior Fellow
Alison received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. During her doctoral work, she studied non-coding transcription and post-transcriptional regulation in quiescent budding yeast in Toshi Tsukiyama’s lab at Fred Hutch. For her post-doctoral work, she is investigating Treg-mediated suppression of translation in T effector cells in collaboration with Steven Ziegler’s lab at Benaroya Research Institute. She is currently supported by the UW Rheumatology T32. Outside of the lab, Alison loves her cat, spending time with friends and family, exploring nature, and just about any art or craft.
Isaac Barber-Axthelm, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Acting Assistant Professor and
Senior Clinical Veterinarian, Department of Comparative Medicine
Isaac completed his D.V.M. degree at Oregon State University, followed by residency in laboratory animal and comparative medicine and a M.S. degree in comparative medicine at the University of Washington. He then went to the University of Melbourne in Australia for additional research training, completing his Ph.D. in immunology in 2023. His Ph.D. studies focused on unconventional T-cell characterization in murine and nonhuman primate animal models, under the mentorship of Drs. Jennifer Juno and Stephen Kent. Isaac joined the Department of Comparative Medicine as an Acting Assistant Professor and Senior Clinical Veterinarian in 2023, as well as the Gale laboratory in the Department of Immunology. Isaac subsequently joined the Ram laboratory in 2024. His current research focuses on multiomics characterization of cytokine signaling networks and their role in vaccine protection, in collaboration with Drs. Michael Gale Jr. and Ram Savan.
Acting Assistant Professor and
Senior Clinical Veterinarian, Department of Comparative Medicine
Isaac completed his D.V.M. degree at Oregon State University, followed by residency in laboratory animal and comparative medicine and a M.S. degree in comparative medicine at the University of Washington. He then went to the University of Melbourne in Australia for additional research training, completing his Ph.D. in immunology in 2023. His Ph.D. studies focused on unconventional T-cell characterization in murine and nonhuman primate animal models, under the mentorship of Drs. Jennifer Juno and Stephen Kent. Isaac joined the Department of Comparative Medicine as an Acting Assistant Professor and Senior Clinical Veterinarian in 2023, as well as the Gale laboratory in the Department of Immunology. Isaac subsequently joined the Ram laboratory in 2024. His current research focuses on multiomics characterization of cytokine signaling networks and their role in vaccine protection, in collaboration with Drs. Michael Gale Jr. and Ram Savan.
Skyler L Niemeyer
Ph.D. student, Microbiology
Skyler Graduated from the University of Washington in 2022 with a B.S. in microbiology. She did her undergraduate research on the pathogenesis of Zika virus during co-infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) under the mentorship of Megan O’Connor in Deborah Fuller’s lab. Skyler joined the Ram lab in 2023. Her favorite things outside of lab are spending time with her husband, Teagan and her two Dogs, Boba and Luna, miscellaneous crafts and creative endeavors, Taylor Swift, video games, traveling, and trying new foods.
Contact
Ph.D. student, Microbiology
Skyler Graduated from the University of Washington in 2022 with a B.S. in microbiology. She did her undergraduate research on the pathogenesis of Zika virus during co-infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) under the mentorship of Megan O’Connor in Deborah Fuller’s lab. Skyler joined the Ram lab in 2023. Her favorite things outside of lab are spending time with her husband, Teagan and her two Dogs, Boba and Luna, miscellaneous crafts and creative endeavors, Taylor Swift, video games, traveling, and trying new foods.
Contact
Olivia Kern
Ph.D. student, Pathobiology
Olivia graduated from Wellesley College in 2017 with a B.A. in Biological Sciences. After graduation, she spent a year performing research on Schistosoma haematobium transmission in Togo as a Fulbright fellow. She then pursued postbaccalaureate research at the NIH in Eric Calvo’s lab, focused on the characterization of mosquito salivary proteins. She joined the Ram lab in 2024 and her work is now focused on defining organelle-specific restriction factors against viral infections. Outside of the lab, Olivia enjoys adventuring around Seattle including biking and skiing, going to the movies and traveling. She is currently funded by the Diseases of Public Health Importance T32 training grant.
Contact
Ph.D. student, Pathobiology
Olivia graduated from Wellesley College in 2017 with a B.A. in Biological Sciences. After graduation, she spent a year performing research on Schistosoma haematobium transmission in Togo as a Fulbright fellow. She then pursued postbaccalaureate research at the NIH in Eric Calvo’s lab, focused on the characterization of mosquito salivary proteins. She joined the Ram lab in 2024 and her work is now focused on defining organelle-specific restriction factors against viral infections. Outside of the lab, Olivia enjoys adventuring around Seattle including biking and skiing, going to the movies and traveling. She is currently funded by the Diseases of Public Health Importance T32 training grant.
Contact
Maria Fernanda McCavitt-Malvido
Ph.D. student, Pathobiology
Maria graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2019 with a B.S. in Microbiology. After graduating, she worked at Mapp Biopharmaceutical supporting the development of antibody therapies for neglected diseases such as botulism and Ebola . Prior to grad school, she worked in the lab of Melanie Ott at the Gladstone Institutes, mainly using human airway organoids to study the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Maria joined the lab in 2025 and is working under the co-mentorship of Ram Savan and Tristan Jordan. When she is not in the lab, Maria enjoys hiking, camping, reading, and spending time with her cats.
Ph.D. student, Pathobiology
Maria graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2019 with a B.S. in Microbiology. After graduating, she worked at Mapp Biopharmaceutical supporting the development of antibody therapies for neglected diseases such as botulism and Ebola . Prior to grad school, she worked in the lab of Melanie Ott at the Gladstone Institutes, mainly using human airway organoids to study the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Maria joined the lab in 2025 and is working under the co-mentorship of Ram Savan and Tristan Jordan. When she is not in the lab, Maria enjoys hiking, camping, reading, and spending time with her cats.
Megan Knoll
Research Scientist/Engineer 3
Megan began working part time at UW Surgery Department in 2002 while getting her BS in Chemistry from Seattle University. She was hired full time in 2006 after graduating, working in the Maier and Cushieri Labs studying sepsis and the immunes response to trauma. In 2014 She was hired by the Michale Gale, Jr Lab to assist in adjuvant and antiviral research. Then in 2024 she transitioned to Ram Savan's Lab to work with his collaborative research team in their search for understanding the immunes responds to viral infections.
Research Scientist/Engineer 3
Megan began working part time at UW Surgery Department in 2002 while getting her BS in Chemistry from Seattle University. She was hired full time in 2006 after graduating, working in the Maier and Cushieri Labs studying sepsis and the immunes response to trauma. In 2014 She was hired by the Michale Gale, Jr Lab to assist in adjuvant and antiviral research. Then in 2024 she transitioned to Ram Savan's Lab to work with his collaborative research team in their search for understanding the immunes responds to viral infections.
Dylan Omelia
Lab Manager
Dylan graduated from University of Washington studying Biology. He took over as the lab manager in 2023. If Dylan isn’t ordering or pointing out where things are in lab, Dylan will be talking about his baking endeavors that he did the past weekend. Outside of lab, Dylan loves going to watch movies and swimming at the pool.
Lab Manager
Dylan graduated from University of Washington studying Biology. He took over as the lab manager in 2023. If Dylan isn’t ordering or pointing out where things are in lab, Dylan will be talking about his baking endeavors that he did the past weekend. Outside of lab, Dylan loves going to watch movies and swimming at the pool.
Russell K Sam
Research Assistant
Russell graduated from the University of Washington studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. He joined the lab in 2022 and is currently studying the role of RNA in the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway.
Research Assistant
Russell graduated from the University of Washington studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. He joined the lab in 2022 and is currently studying the role of RNA in the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway.
