JACKSON LAB
LAB MEMBERS
Principal investigator
Ruaidhrí Jackson, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Immunology
Ruaidhrí Jackson is an assistant professor in the Department of Immunology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jackson received a Ph.D. in Immunology at the National University of Ireland Maynooth under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Moynagh studying the role of E3 ubiquitin ligases in Toll-like receptor signalling. He then conducted his Post Doctoral Fellowship in Dr. Richard Flavell's Lab at Yale University investigating non-canonical translation events, mechanosensation and, enteric neuroinflammation in the context of mucosal immunity. Dr. Jackson is currently a Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator and NIH New Innovator Award recipient.
Post Docs
Harry Kane, Ph.D.
Gene Lay Institute Post-Doc Fellow
Postdoctoral fellow
Harry completed his Ph.D. in immunology at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, under the supervision of Dr. Lydia Lynch. During his Ph.D., Harry moved to Boston, where he studied at Brigham and Women's Hospital as a J1 research scholar. Harry's PhD research focused on iNKT cell biology and scRNA-Seq analysis. His postdoctoral project in Dr. Ruaidhri Jackson's lab focuses on bioinformatic analysis of non-canonical transcriptional regulation in innate immunity. Outside of the lab Harry enjoys kayak polo, video games, and spending time with his wife Genna.
Dr. Yisi Lu, Ph.D.
Gene Lay Institute and CCFA Post-Doc Fellow
Postdoctoral fellow
yisi_lu@hms.harvard.edu
Yisi received her PhD from Yale Immunobiology under the mentorship of Dr. Joe Craft. Currently, she is interested in neuroimmune interaction in the gut. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, nature, bird watching and has a sweet tooth.
Dr. Coco Duizer, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow
Coco completed his Ph.D. research under the mentorship of Dr. Marcel de Zoete and Prof. Rob Willems at UMC Utrecht, Netherlands. His work centered on the role of microbiota-derived metabolites in the development of colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, with a particular focus on Fusobacterium nucleatum and its metabolite, ADP-heptose. Currently, Coco's research explores the pulmonary nervous system, aiming to elucidate its role in the neuro-immune axis within the lung and trachea. Additionally, he works on the involvement of the enteric nervous system in mediating systemic immunity during infection. In his free time, Coco enjoys playing soccer and running and unwinding with friends over board games.
Grad Students
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Master's Student
Lab Managment
Quentin Richardson, B.Sc.
Ph.D. student - Biological and Biomedical Science Program
quentinrichardson@g.harvard.edu
Quentin graduated from Georgia State University, where he worked with Dr. Richard Dix on the immunopathogenesis of AIDS-related cytomegalovirus retinitis. He then joined Dr. Darren Higgins's lab in the Microbiology Department at Harvard Medical School. As a research assistant in the Higgins lab, he studied the pathogenesis of Listeria monocytogenes. As a BBS graduate student in Dr. Ruaidhri Jackson's lab, he is broadly interested in the crosstalk between enteric neurons and other cell types of the gastrointestinal tract and determining how this crosstalk modulates mucosal immunity.
Olivia Venezia, B.Sc.
Ph.D. student - Immunology Program
Olivia earned her B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst before working as a research technician at Massachusetts General Hospital studying CD4+ T cell tolerance through the production of MHC-II tetramers. She is now a student in the Immunology Ph.D. program at Harvard University. Olivia is broadly interested in mucosal immunology and the discovery of non-canonical open reading frames that may be important for modulating inflammation.
Caroline Pierotti, B.A.
Ph.D. student - Program in Neuroscience
caroline_pierotti@fas.harvard.edu
Caroline graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Neuroscience where she studied the effects of moderate early adverse experience on adult cocaine-induced impulsivity in the lab of Dr. Tracie Paine. Following undergrad, she worked as a post-baccalaureate researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Alexander Chesler at the National Institutes of Health studying the oral somatosensation of carbonation via in vivo calcium imaging of the geniculate and trigeminal ganglia. Captivated by cross-system interactions, Caroline is now a student in Harvard’s Program in Neuroscience and is interested in the role that peripheral neurons play in the mucosal immunology of the female reproductive tract. In her free time she enjoys crafting, finding good food in Boston, and making sourdough creations.
Ademi Zhakyp, B.A.
Ph.D. student - Immunology Program
Ademi received her B.Sc. in Biological Sciences at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. During her undergraduate years, she gained research experience in cancer immunology and T regulatory cell biology. She is now a Ph.D. student in the Immunology Program at Harvard Medical School. She combined her previous research experience with current interests to study the role of the enteric nervous system in colorectal cancer immunosurveillance. Outside of the lab, Ademi enjoys running, karaoke, and going to coffee shops.
Hannah Davis, B.A.
Ph.D. student - Biological and Biomedical Science Program
Hannah is a graduate student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard. She earned her B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Washington University in St. Louis in 2024. She studied clonal hematopoiesis and fusion-driven leukemias as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Dr. Grant Challen. After graduation, she joined the startup company Pairidex where she created gene fusion detection assays to monitor disease in leukemia patients. In the Jackson lab, she is interested in the mechanism of chimeric RNA formation and the role of chimeric RNAs in development. Outside of lab, she enjoys painting, fashion, and going to indie music concerts.
Joia Capocchi, B.Sc.
Herchel Smith Fellow & NSF Fellow
Ph.D. student - Program in Neuroscience
Joia is a graduate student in Harvard’s Program in Neuroscience. She studies chimeric RNA in the brain and the role of chimeric biology in neuroimmunity. Before Harvard, Joia was much like a chimeric transcript herself, baffling others with strange origins and behaviors. She earned her B.S. in Neurobiology from UC Irvine, studying microbial ecology in the labs of Dr. Jennifer Martiny and Dr. Katrine Whiteson. As an RA in the lab of Dr. Mathew Blurton-Jones, Joia also studied microglia in neurodegeneration via human stem cell transplant in murine models (preparing for a promising future in human-mouse-hybrid-Frankenstein reanimation). Outside of the lab, Joia can often be found in a small sailboat about to capsize into the Charles River or trying to explain to non-New-Mexicans what Zozobra is.
Lucy (Yuxin) Bai, B.M.
M.Sc. student - Medical Sciences of Immunology
Lucy earned her B.M. in forensic sciences in 2025 from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tongji Medical College, Wuhan, China. In Dr. Chaohong Liu’s Lab, she studied the effects of cytoskeleton deficiency on B-cell signaling in primary immunodeficient patients. She is now a second-year master’s student in the Immunology program at Harvard, where she joined Jackson Lab. She is interested in mucosal immunity in the gut and mammary gland under different disease contexts. Outside the lab, Lucy loves volleyball, horror films, and dogs.
Maryam Arab, MD
Lab Managing Director
maryam_arab@hms.harvard.edu
Maryam completed her MD in Iran and, after 5 years of working as a clinician in the emergency department and manager in the hospital,l moved to the US. Before joining Dr. Ruaidhri Jackson's Lab, she worked as a lead research technologist in Dr. Clifford Woolf’s lab in the neurobiology department of Boston Children's Hospital. Her focus there was working on an analgesic drug development as a part of the in vivo team. Maryam is skilled in surgeries in model organisms, and she is interested in neuroimmune interactions in IBD. Outside of the lab, Maryam is a big fan of travel and history. UNESCO world heritage sites and nature are both in her travel lists.