Featured Trainees are students, postdoctoral fellows, practicing physicians and faculty, and others who work under the tutelage of Levy CIMAR Core Faculty members and who stand out for their efforts in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Trainees might be graduate students, antimicrobial stewards, educators, scientific researchers, medical doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, or a combination of any of these and other professions. If you are a Levy CIMAR Core Faculty member and would like to nominate someone for “Featured Trainee” distinction, please email us any time at cimar@tufts.edu.
Fall 2023 Featured Trainee:
Jonathan Samuel
- Sophomore at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences working with Levy CIMAR investigator Dr. Ralph Isberg on understanding factors contributing to antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii
- Recipient of the 2023 Levy CIMAR Undergraduate Summer Internship in Science and Medicine
Jonathan Samuel is a sophomore biochemistry major at Tufts University’s Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences, and was one of just two scholars selected for the 2023 Levy CIMAR Undergraduate Summer Internship in Science and Medicine. Jonathan is interested in the underlying mechanisms in organisms, particularly in translating biological processes to understand illness and prevent disease. He is fascinated, he says, “by the intersection of science and medicine, where people’s lives can be improved.”
Jonathan with his mentor, Levy CIMAR Director Dr. Ralph Isberg (click to enlarge)
This summer, Jonathan joined the lab of Levy CIMAR director Ralph Isberg, PhD, whose work focuses on pneumonic and diarrheal diseases and on identifying approaches that block the development of drug resistance in nosocomial pathogens. Jonathan’s project in the Isberg Lab characterized a factor encoded by Acinetobacter baumannii that likely plays a role in establishing resistance to antibiotic treatment in the hospital setting.
The Isberg Lab has shown that the overexpression of the newly discovered MfsA efflux pump increases the survival of A. baumannii in the presence of the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Performing Minimum Concentration of Inhibition assays (MIC), Jonathan identified the resistance levels to a variety of antibiotics of two different mfsA mutants that overproduce the pump. In addition, he performed a Persister Assay to determine if persistence or tolerance is involved in A. baumannii-enhanced drug survival in the presence of the overproduced pump. In summation, this work involved methods to identify the mechanisms that A. baumannii employs to defend itself from antibiotics.
Following graduation, Jonathan plans to attend medical school to become a physician. In this career, he hopes to acknowledge and work against the disparities in access to healthcare worldwide. “As an aspiring physician and scientist, this summer research experience further solidifies my passion for biomedical research. I aspire to implement my expertise in research and the clinical setting to produce an everlasting effect on families and communities,” he says.
In Jonathan’s free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing soccer, and running.
Meet all of the Levy CIMAR's Featured Trainees:
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Jonathan Samuel, Recipient of the Levy CIMAR Undergraduate Summer Internship in Science and Medicine
Sophomore at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences working with Levy CIMAR investigator Dr. Ralph Isberg on understanding factors contributing to antibiotic resistance in A. baumannii
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Nhi Van, Research Assistant in the laboratory of the Levy CIMAR’s Bree Aldridge, PhD, and a member of the Aldridge Lab’s “DiaMOND” team
Research Assistant in the laboratory of the Levy CIMAR’s Bree Aldridge, PhD, and a member of the Aldridge Lab’s “DiaMOND” team interested in learning to optimize drug combination therapies for tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria.
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Rachel Ende, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar in the lab of CIMAR’s Dr. Joan Mecsas, studying mechanisms of synergistic antibiotic interactions against Klebsiella pneumoniae in the lungs
Postdoctoral Scholar & first-year IRACDA Fellow in the lab of Levy CIMAR’s Dr. Joan Mecsas, studying mechanisms of synergistic antibiotic interactions against Klebsiella pneumoniae in the lungs
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Irene Nagawa, Inaugural Recipient of the Levy CIMAR’s Undergraduate Summer Internship
Senior at UMass Boston majoring in biology and working with the Levy CIMAR’s Aimee Shen, PhD; Inaugural recipient of the Levy CIMAR Undergraduate Summer Internship for Underrepresented Groups in Science and Medicine
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Rebecca Tenner, Inaugural Recipient of the Levy CIMAR’s Undergraduate Summer Internship
Rising Senior at Tufts University’s Undergraduate School of Arts & Sciences working with the Levy CIMAR’s Alysse Wurcel, MD; Inaugural recipient of the Levy CIMAR Undergraduate Summer Internship for Underrepresented Groups in Science and Medicine
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Emma Price, VMD, master’s candidate in Clinical and Translational Science at Tufts University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
2nd year master’s candidate in Clinical and Translational Science at Tufts University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences working with the Levy CIMAR’s Claire Fellman DVM, PhD, and Shira Doron MD, to identify factors driving antimicrobial prescription in hospitalized dogs and cats
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Joshua Khuvis, MD Candidate at Tufts University School of Medicine and Levy CIMAR Student Researcher
MD Candidate at Tufts University School of Medicine and Levy CIMAR Student Researcher working with Dr. Shira Doron on exploring the impact of diagnostic stewardship interventions on Clostridioides difficile test ordering practices and results
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Efrat Hamami, Molecular Microbiology PhD Candidate Working to Identify Vulnerabilities in Drug Resistant A. baumannii Isolates
Molecular Microbiology PhD Candidate Working in the Ralph Isberg Lab to Identify Vulnerabilities in Drug Resistant A. baumannii Isolates
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Kathleen Davis, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar Working on Adapting Drug Combination Testing of Clinical Isolates
Postdoctoral Scholar working to identify antibiotic and small molecule combinations that function against problematic community and hospital-acquired pathogens; Working on adapting drug combination testing of clinical isolates
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Shailab Shrestha, MERGE-ID Ph.D. Candidate and Recipient of the Tufts GSBS Fellowship For International Students
PhD Candidate in Molecular Microbiology, MERGE-ID (Medically-oriented Research in Graduate Education – Infectious Disease) track at Tufts University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Inaugural Recipient, Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Fellowship Supporting International Student Education, 2018
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Courtney Chan, Infection Prevention Coordinator, Medical Scribe, and Researcher
Infection Prevention Coordinator and Infectious Diseases Clinic Medical Scribe at Tufts Medical Center; Research contributor and co-author with the Levy CIMAR’s Drs. Maya Nadimpalli and Shira Doron: “Antibiotic Resistance: A Call to Action to Prevent the Next Epidemic of Inequality,” in Nature Medicine (2021)
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Eve Abraha, Undergraduate Researcher and Co-Teacher
Undergraduate Researcher at Tufts Medical Center working with the Levy CIMAR’s Dr. Shira Doron; Co-teacher in the PARE (Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment) program’s short course, PARE-Seq, under the guidance of the Levy CIMAR’s Drs. Carol Bascom-Slack and Amy Pickering
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Aubrey Specht, DVM Candidate and Award Winner, 2020 Tufts Vet Summer Research Training Program
Second-Year Graduate Student pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) at the Cummings School; Winner, Basic Science Award at the 2020 Tufts Vet Summer Research Training Program
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Iyob Gebremariam, Levy CIMAR Software Developer
Software Developer working with the Levy CIMAR on our Cutter and DiaMOND research and analytics tools; Masters student studying International Business at the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
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Juan A. Hernández-Bird, MERGE-ID PhD Student
2019 American Society of Microbiology (ASM) Capstone Fellowship awardee and PhD Candidate in Molecular Microbiology – MERGE-ID (Medically-oriented Research in Graduate Education - Infectious Disease) track at Tufts University’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
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Scarlet Bliss, Undergraduate Laidlaw Fellow
Laidlaw Scholar working with CIMAR’s Drs. Amy Pickering and Carol Bascom-Slack to incorporate molecular methods into the PARE (Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment) project
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Erica Fuhrmeister, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar and National Science Foundation Fellow
Postdoctoral Fellow, Pickering Lab, Tufts University School of Engineering; Recipient: National Science Foundation Fellowship titled, “Transfer of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes betwee
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Gabriela Andujar Vazquez, MD, Inaugural LEAP Fellow
Attending physician, Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine; Inaugural LEAP Fellow for 2018-2019