Fife Lab
The Fife Lab
Graduate Students and Post Doctoral Fellows in the lab are working on research that is focused on understanding the fundamental mechanisms that regulate T lymphocytes during autoimmune disease such as Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
View publications here.
Looking for current Fife Lab Info or Graduate Students, Post Doctoral Fellows or Research Associates? click here
Graduate Students
Christopher Tucker, Ph.D.
Program: MICaB
Defense Year: 2020
Advisor: Brian Fife
Dissertation Title: "The Divergent Role of Co-receptors and Cytokines in the Immune Response to Cancer and Self"
Current Position: Medical student, University of Minnesota Medical School
Contact Infotucke374@umn.edu
Tijana Martinov, PhD
Program: MICaB
Defense Year:2018
Advisor: Brian Fife
Dissertation Title: "Programmed death-1 restrains islet-specific lymphocytes in type 1 diabetes."
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Phil Greenberg lab), Seattle, WA
Contact Info: mart3527@umn.edu
Kristen Pauken, Ph.D.
Program: MICaB
Defense Year:2013
Advisor: Brian Fife
Dissertation Title: "The Inhibitory Receptor PD-1 Differentially Regulates Effector and Anergic Autoreactive CD4+ T Cells During Type 1 Diabetes."
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School (Arlene Sharpe lab), Boston, MA
Contact Infokristen_pauken@hms.harvard.edu
Caitlin Heiderscheidt, M.S.
Program: MICaB
Defense Year:2013
Advisor: Brian Fife
Dissertation Title: "Exploiting Antigen Specific Approaches to Induce Tolerance in Type 1 Diabetes."
Current Position: Science Instructor at LEARN Charter School Network, Evanston, Illinois
Cheide098@gmail.com
Post Doctoral Fellows
Adam Burrack, PhD
Fellowship dates: 2014-2017
Research Emphasis: Determine the ability of pancreatic beta cells to act in their own defense.
Current Position: Research Associate, Ingunn Stromnes Lab, University of Minnesota Medical School
Contact Info: alburrac@umn.edu
Justin Spanier, Ph.D.
Fellowship dates: 2012-17
Research Emphasis: Began building molecular tools, called peptide:MHCII tetramers, to understand antigen specific responses in both people and mice with autoimmune diabetes.
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School
Contact Info:span0005@umn.edu
You-Jeong Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Fellowship dates: 2016
Research Emphasis: Helped to develop a comprehensive CyTOF panel to evaluate antigen specific T cells in autoimmune type 1 diabetes.
Current Position: Principal Investigator, Academy of Immunology and Microbiology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea
Contact Info: youjeong77@ibs.re.kr
Post-Baccalaureate Research Alumni
Linnea Swanson, M.D.
Training dates: 2016-2017
Research Emphasis: Linnea was a research scientist during her third year of medical school at the University of Minnesota. She also trained in the lab during the summer as a recipient of the publications
Jenna Ruggiero, B.S.
Training dates: 2013-2015
Research Emphasis: Jenna is the recipient of the College of Biological Sciences 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 Monica Tsang and James Weatherbee Merit Scholarship. Jenna was also the 2014 video
publications