Team

Our lab is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment for all members. We strive to realize each individual’s potential, to support a diverse research group and career goals, and to contribute to society through scientific advancement.

Yolanda Huang, PI

Yolanda completed her PhD at Harvard University in Chemical Biology and was a postdoctoral fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in systems biology before starting her lab at UB. Throughout her scientific journey, she has been fascinated by microbial diversity and their ability to colonize all habitats. This includes the human gut, a nutrient-rich environment that supports densely populated, complex microbial communities. She is excited to build a research program to tackle long-standing challenges in microbiology and advance the field through a molecular lens and by developing new tools.

Allison Hanna, PhD student, Microbiology and Immunology

Allie graduated with her BSc in Biochemistry with a minor in Chemistry from University at Buffalo. Her undergraduate research focused on repurposing anti-viral and chemotherapeutic drugs for combination therapy against multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. She joined the lab through the PPBS program, where she’s gained a fascination for microbial genetics and the complex interactions of microbes and their environments. Her long-term research goals are centered on antibiotic resistance mechanisms and antibiotic development.

Krushe Mundru, Research Technician

Krushe earned her Master's degree in Microbiology and Immunology from University at Buffalo. Her thesis research focused on isolating and characterizing bacteriophages against multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter strains. Fascinated by the intricate relationships between microbes and their hosts, she is drawn to the role of gut anaerobes in human health and disease. In the Huang lab, she is excited to work on characterizing the bacteriophages that infect Bacteriodales and study their interactions with their bacterial hosts.

Sharaf Maisha, Research Technician

Sharaf Maisha earned her B.S. in Biochemistry with Honors from the University at Buffalo in 2023. She recently completed a two-year research fellowship at the NIH as part of the Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP), where she investigated KRAB-zinc finger proteins and their role in genome regulation and mammalian development. Her research experience spans molecular biology, immunology, biochemistry, genetics, mouse embryology, and bioinformatics. In the Huang Lab, Sharaf is passionate about characterizing a phase-variable system in B. theta.

Khalida Khatun, Undergraduate Student

Khalida is a junior majoring in Neuroscience. She started as a summer intern in the Huang Lab through the CLIMB UP program, gaining valuable insights into microbiology and lab research. Her work involves isolating phages that infect gut anaerobes. When she is not in the lab or studying, she enjoys caring for her succulents. She is excited to further her research journey and explore fields like psychology, neurology, and clinical research. She looks forward to where this path will take her!

Maddy Manasse, T35 Scholar

Madeleine is a rising second-year MD candidate at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in music and spent her early post-graduate years working as a violinist. After deciding to pursue medicine, she completed her prerequisite coursework through the post-baccalaureate premedical program at Columbia University in 2023. Madeleine has previously worked in clinical research in pediatric emergency medicine and is joining the Huang Lab this summer as an NIH T35 scholar. She is interested in the relationship between commensal organisms and human health and is excited to gain experience in bacterial genetics.