Lab
Members
Michael K. Mansour, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator
Michael attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine then matriculated into the combined MD/PhD program at Boston University School of Medicine. His graduate thesis focused on innate immune responses to the human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. After completing internal medicine residency at the MGH, Michael served as Chief Medical Resident at the MGH and then completed the combined Harvard Infectious Diseases fellowship program. Michael is now a faculty member in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the MGH, where his clinical focus is Transplant Infectious Diseases. As a physician-scientist, he believes in addressing unmet clinical needs by developing translational research programs. Michael also enjoys teaching clinical trainees as well as Harvard Medical School students. When not thinking about innate immunity and invasive fungal infections, he likes to explore black and white photography.
farnaz daneshnia
Research Technician
Farnaz grew up in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she completed her master’s degree at the University of Tehran in agricultural science. Then she moved to the Netherlands, where she was introduced to the field of medical mycology. Then she moved to the USA to continue her research at Dr. Perlin’s Lab. Farnaz is currently a PhD student at Amsterdam University while continuing her research at Dr. Mansour’s lab. She is so excited to explore the interaction of yeast pathogens, especially Candida parapsilosis with the host cells.
Daniel floyd
Research Technician
Dan is a 2022 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology who is passionate about research. Since joining the Mansour lab, he has become very interested in immunology, especially the exciting field of stem cell biology. Learning More each day and refining his laboratory skillset, he plans on furthering his education by applying to graduate school to pursue a PhD. In his free time, Dan enjoys traveling to new places, working out, and playing the guitar.
Hailey Warren
Project Manager
Hailey is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from Northeastern University as a biology major. She is currently working as a project manager on multiple clinical trials for the Mansour Lab. In her free time, Hailey enjoys traveling, baking, and hiking.
Amir arastehfar
Postdoctoral Fellow
Amir grew up in a small city in the Northwestern part of Iran, Bukan. His bachelor’s and master’s were in plant breeding and plant biotechnology, respectively. He got a PhD in scholarship in medical mycology from Amsterdam University in June 2016. After graduating on December 9, 2019, he joined Dr. Perlin’s lab, where he studied the mechanisms underpinning tolerance, persistence, and resistance to antifungal drugs. Since he found that antifungal persistence and resistance are heightened in the context of innate immune cells, he was passionate to study the complex interaction of antifungal, yeast pathogens, and host cells in more detail and therefore joined Dr. Mansour’s lab in November 2022. He really enjoys scientific discussions with Dr. Mansour and seeing his passion and enthusiasm to focus on novel and complex concepts intensified his motivation.
During his free time, he likes to watch movies, walk, and sometimes cook. He also enjoys reading articles and discussing the findings with his peers.
Maria Lampou
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Maria grew up in Athens, Greece, and earned her M.D. from the University of Crete in 2023. She was then awarded a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s in Nutrition and Microbiome at Democritus University of Thrace. She moved to Boston to join the Mansour Lab as a Research Fellow in September 2024 to study host-pathogen interactions, focusing on hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. Passionate about both clinical medicine and research, she hopes her work in the lab will enhance her skills and knowledge as she prepares to apply for an internal medicine residency.
In her free time, she enjoys learning new languages -currently speaking four- traveling, and discovering the best coffee spots.
Sebastian Jusuf
Postdoctoral Fellow
Sebastian graduated from Cornell University in 2013, receiving a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering. Following his undergraduate studies, Sebatian enrolled at Boston University to pursue his doctoral studies, joining the Ji-Xin Cheng Lab and publishing multiple manuscripts on the applicability of phototherapy for bacterial and fungal infections. Since obtaining his PhD in 2023, Sebastian has joined the Mansour Lab to explore additional methods of identifying and treating infectious diseases, and how to take further advantage of the host immune system to fight off invasive pathogens.
Elizabeth Trull
Clinical Research Coordinator
Elizabeth was born and raised in Texas where she attended Texas A&M University and received a BS in Biomedical Sciences in December 2021. She worked in healthcare as a telemetry technician before moving to Boston and joining the Mansour lab. Elizabeth loves learning new things in the lab every day and hopes this will prepare her for a career in medical research. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys trying out new recipes, listening to Taylor Swift and hanging out with her cat, Lulu Belle.
Alumni
Anna Apostolopoulou – New York Presbyterian, Infectious Diseases Doctor
ADAM VIENS – SAFI BIOTHERAPEUTICS, RESEARCH OPERATIONS MANAGER
Allison Scherer – University of virginia, department of biology
Johnny atallah – university of connecticut health, Residency program
Kyle timmer – University of Massachusetts Medical School
Linda Xu – Tufts School of Medicine, Graduate Program in Immunology
MEAGAN ADAMSICK, PHARMD – MGH INFECTIOUS DISEASES PHARMACY AND ANTIBIOTIC STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
NATALIE ALEXANDER – ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIOSCIENCE
Natalie Atallah, MD – St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Internal Medicine Residency Program
NICO BARROS, MD – TRANSPLANT INFECTIOUS DISEASES, INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Paige Negoro – Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Sally Knooihuizen, MD – University of Texas Southwestern, Gastroenterology Fellowship
Samantha Steiger, PharmD – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center