Meet our lab!

We're always looking for more people to join our lab.
Interested undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows should contact us to learn more.

We have an open postdoc position - click here for more info and to apply!

Scroll down to learn more about what we each do!

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Mike Betts
betts [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Mike earned his PhD in 1998 from the University of North Carolina in Dr. Jeffrey Frelinger’s lab working on human T cell responses to HIV. He continued this work during his postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Rick Koup at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and then at the NIH Vaccine Research Center. In 2005 he started his lab at the University of Pennsylvania, where he continues to research the immune response to HIV and other viral infections in humans, most recently working on COVID-19. He maintains active collaborations in Latin America, Europe, and Africa, where he is involved in both immunology research studies and training of new investigators.​ He enjoys working in his garden, watching Star Wars, & playing fooseball.

"Le Boss"

Jay Gardner
stewartg [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Jay assisted in starting the lab in 2005 when Mike started out at UPenn and worked as lab manager until he retired in 2022. He now works as Mike's administrative assistant, keeping his schedule organized and all of us sane.

He is very well rounded, having a BA in Biology, M. Div. in Theology, and PhD in Ministry.

"The Dad of the Floor"

Jake Hamilton
jacob.hamilton [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Jake Joined the lab in 2020 as a research technician, and transitioned into being our lab manager in 2022. His main project involves exploring phenotypic characteristics of natural killer cells in patients that have type 1 diabetes.

He graduated from Penn State in 2016 with a BS in biology. His undergraduate research involved exploring the the role environment plays in the development of spatial memory in common side-blotched lizards. He then went on to earn an MS in Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics at Drexel, investigating the role of Chtf18, the DNA replication protein, in sister chromatid cohesion and post-replicative genome maintenance in mice. Outside of lab, he enjoys baking, sewing, and volunteering at a summer camp.

"Star Baker"

Maria Betina Pampena
maria.pampena [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Betu is a senior research investigator who joined the lab in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow. She is involved in many projects that focus on understanding viral immunity in humans and nonhuman primates in the setting of HIV/SIV infection with the goal of developing immunological strategies to boost immune viral control. Additionally, she participates in several other collaborations that include analyzing post vaccination T cell responses, phenotyping of immune cells in the context of a rare inflammatory condition such as Castleman Disease; and the study of NK cells in the human endometrium. She specializes in conventional and spectral flow cytometry.

Since she first started being part of Betts Lab, she has authored/co-authored 13 papers and presented data in 8 conferences.

Betu graduated from the University of Buenos Aires in 2011 with a BS & MS in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, exploring cytogenics in a mouse model of breast cancer. From there, she went on to earn her PhD in Cancer Immunotherapy in 2018. Out of lab, she enjoys salsa dancing, fashion, and adding miles onto her Strava (via biking & running).

"The Flow Queen"

Gregory Golden
Gregory.Golden1 [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Greg is a postdoctoral researcher who joined the lab in 2021 and is interested in T cell immunology in the context of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). He utilizes high parameter flow cytometry and single cell technologies to study autoimmune T cell phenotypes and responses in T1D and pre-T1D donors.

He has been selected for an oral presentation at 2 conferences and presented posters at 5 others.

Greg graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a BS in Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics. While there, he studied the biochemical and structural properties of archael surface layer proteins. He then went on to obtain his PhD in Biochemical Sciences at UCSD in 2020 where he investigated the interactions between the extracellular matrix, bacterial pathogens, the vasculature, and the immune system. Outside of lab, he loves skiing, disc golf, and his puppy.

"The Golden One"

Vincent Wu
wuv [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Vincent joined the lab in 2018 as a PhD student in the CAMB program, and has since successfully defended and transitioned into a postdoc position in the lab. He is interested in HIV integration in tissue compartments as well as using single-cell technologies to help identify/phenotype HIV-infected cells during ART. His interests also include bioinformatics research in increasing the "-omics" approach to HIV immunology - bringing RNAseq, ATACseq, and CITEseq analyses to our lab interests at bulk or single-cell resolutions.

He has authored/co-authored on 5 papers and has been selected for oral presentations in 5 conferences.

Vincent completed his Bachelor's degree in 2017 at the University of Washington in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology with a minor in Informatics. His research there focused on the genetic mechanisms to HIV-2 drug resistance for integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI), specifically dolutegravir and cabotegravir. Additionally, his work involved evaluating MK-8591, a novel reverse transcriptase, for in vitro HIV-2 infection by conducting drug susceptibility and cytotoxicity assays. Out of lab, Vincent enjoys drinking bubble tea, hiking, and programming.

"The Coder"

Olivier Hernalsteens
olivier.hernalsteens [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Olivier joined the lab in 2024 as a post-doctoral researcher.

Olivier got his masters at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in molecular virology where his researched focused on the characterization of the intragenic cis-regulatory region of HIV-1 in the laboratory of Carine Van Lint. From there, Olivier went on to do internships at the Université de Lausanne and University College Dublin before returning to the Université Libre de Bruxelles to complete a PhD.

"C8H10N4O2​"

Kyabeth Torres-Rodriguez
kyabeth.torres-rodriguez [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Kyabeth is a PhD candidate in the Cancer Biology program and joined the lab in the summer of 2019 under co-mentorship between Dr. Mike Betts and Dr. John Maris. Her thesis work focuses on the mechanisms by which oncogenes induce immune evasion and T cell dysfunction in cancer.

She has presented posters at 2 conferences.

In 2022, Kyabeth received the Women of Color Award from Penn.

She completed her B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico-Humacao in 2018.

"The Candy Queen"

Jayme Nordin
jnordin [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Jayme joined the lab in 2021 as a Ph.D. candidate in the CAMB-DSRB graduate group and is interested in using single-cell technologies to investigate how the reservoir of HIV-infected cells might be altered over time on ART and adapting these technologies to understand the mechanism of reservoir persistence in SIV infected macaques.

She graduated with her BA in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and Neuroscience from the University of Colorado, at Boulder. After moving to Pennsylvania, she started working on translational gene therapy programs in the Wilson lab (Gene Therapy Program) and then on the translational team at Spark Therapeutics. Her non-clinical work has led to FDA approval of two investigational new drug applications and the start of two clinical trials. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys snowboarding, kayaking, gardening, and throwing pottery.

"Ski Patrol"

Angela Corrigan
angela.corrigan [@] pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Angela joined the lab in 2023 as a Ph.D. candidate in the CAMB-MVP graduate group.

"TBD"

Ethan Burns
ecburns [@] sas.upenn.edu

Ethan joined the lab in the fall of 2021 as an undergraduate studying biology here at Penn. His current project focuses on studying the role of CD200+ T cells in the immune system of healthy adults via flow cytometry and single-cell based technologies. He also works on two collaborations looking at T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza vaccines/infections.

"Global Executive VP of
Undergraduate Affairs"

...and YOU!

Have we peaked your interest? We are always looking for more people interested in joining our lab. Feel free to contact us to learn more!

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Former lab members

​Post-doctoral fellows
Alberto Japp (Captain T Cell at the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine)
Marcus Buggert (Assistant Professor, Karolinska Institutet)
Morgan Reuter-Monslow (Associate Principal Scientist, Merck, Inc.)
George Makedonas (JES Tech, Houston, TX)
Laura McLane (Staff Scientist, University of Rochester)
Lamorris Loftin (Associate Director, Albany Molecular Research, Inc., Raleigh NC)
Leticia Kuri-Cervantes (Associate Director of Translational Science, Interius BioTherapeutics, Inc.)
Nur Rahman (Principal Scientist, Caprion Biosciences, Toronto, CA)


Graduate students
Adam Hersperger
Carolina Pombo
Danielle Haney
Emily Roberts
Irene Bukh
Jamie Knox
Korey Demers
Natalie Hutnick
Son Nguyen


Technicians/research specialists
Alexandra Amick
Diane Carnathan
Gabriela Cosma
Heidi Gunzelman
Sally Yuan

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