People

Marta Maria Gaglia (she/her) – Associate Professor, Institute for Molecular Virology and Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology; Member, Carbone Cancer Center

Marta grew up in Torino, Italy, and lived in Trieste, Italy and London, UK, before moving across the pond to do her graduate studies with Cynthia Kenyon at UCSF and her postdoctoral training with Britt Glaunsinger at UC Berkeley. After ~11 years in California, she moved to Boston to start her own lab at Tufts University School of Medicine in 2014. She and the lab moved to Madison and University of Wisconsin in fall 2022. In her free time, she reads fantasy and mystery novels, plays board games, makes paper flowers, does yoga and goes on snorkeling holidays.

Alessandra Setaro – Graduate student in the Immunology program at Tufts University

Ali grew up in Connecticut and obtained a BA in biology with a minor in public health from Boston University. During college, Ali studied the pathway of maternal serotonin to the embryo and fetus under Dr. Harvey Kliman in the Reproductive and Placental Research Unit. After graduating from college, Ali was a research assistant in Dr. Michael Seaman’s lab in the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, working on clinical trials for HIV/AIDS vaccines and therapies, as well as COVID-19 vaccines. Pursuing an interest in viruses and host pathogen interactions, Ali joined the Gaglia Lab to explore the role of the influenza protein PA-X on the host innate immune response, and moved with Marta to UW. In their free time, Ali enjoys visiting botanical gardens, going to museums, and learning new recipes.

Autumn Sanders – Graduate student in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program at UW-Madison

Autumn grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and attended the University of Minnesota. She majored in microbiology and minored in public health and teaching English as a second language. As an undergraduate, she worked in Dr. Tyler Bold’s lab, studying the pathology of tuberculous meningitis. After she graduated, she worked in Dr. Ryan Langlois’ lab, studying mouse models for testing vaccines and the transmission of viruses between species. In Dr. Marta Gaglia’s lab, she is studying the innate immune response to Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. When she’s not in the lab, she likes to read, do yoga, go thrifting, and try out breweries, coffee shops, and restaurants.

Carson Beach – UW-Madison undergraduate student

Carson is from Wisconsin Dells and is a junior majoring in Global Health with a certificate in Health Policy. He joined the lab as a sophomore and has been working on a project that is focused on PA-X stability. In his free time, he enjoys reading and spending time with his friends, family, and dogs.

Charles Hesser – Postdoctoral researcher

Charles grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended UC San Diego for his BS and MS degrees before moving to UC Berkeley for his doctoral research, where he studied Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus lytic reactivation with Britt Glaunsinger. He then moved to Northwestern University in Chicago for his postdoctoral training with Derek Walsh studying how vaccinia virus counteracts host antiviral responses. In October 2023, he moved to Madison to continue his postdoctoral training in the Gaglia Lab. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, biking, hiking, going to the gym, and reading/watching detective series.

Corinne Thomas – Graduate student in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program at UW-Madison

Corinne grew up in the swamps of Tampa, Florida. She attended the University of South Florida where she majored in Cell & Molecular Biology and minored in Chemistry. After graduating, Corinne completed a post-bacc in Bruce Torbett’s lab at the University of Washington. There, she worked on a lentiviral screen for host interactors with the HIV Gag protein. Currently, she studies the effects of the influenza A protein, PA-X, on host inflammation and immunity. Outside of the lab, Corinne enjoys taking naps, getting food with friends, and reading.

Cynthia Feng – Graduate student in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program at UW-Madison

Cynthia relocated to Madison from Canada, where she grew up in Mississauga and completed her undergrad and Master’s studies at McGill University in Montreal. She spent a few years working in curriculum development for undergraduate science students and in medical communications for healthcare industries before pursuing a PhD in the Gaglia Lab studying influenza virus. Outside of the lab, Cynthia is enjoying exploring her new city through indie bookstores, weekend brunch, hiking trails, and live concerts.

Deepak Kumar – Scientist I

Deepak comes from Rishikesh, a small town located in the foothills of the Himalaya in India. He attended GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar for his BVSc & AH and MS in Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology. He then worked as a faculty in Veterinary Public Health at College of Veterinary Science, Tripura University and Pantnagar University in India. Prior to his PhD, he worked on characterizing antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacterial pathogens. He then moved to Kansas State University (KSU) to pursue his PhD with Dr. Douglas Marthaler studying swine viruses and viral phylogenetics. His PhD research focused on developing recombinant protein based indirect ELISAs and investigating antibody response to Rotavirus A and C in swine. He continued his postdoctoral training at KSU characterizing Japanese encephalitis virus antigens for swine vaccine and reverse genetics system for African swine fever virus. In Gaglia lab, he works with Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV). His hobbies include fishing, playing volleyball and spending time with his kids.

Gracie Haensgen – UW-Madison undergraduate student

Gracie is a senior at UW–Madison pursuing dual degrees in Genetics & Genomics and Life Sciences Communication. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher under Autumn’s mentorship, where she studies Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). After graduation, she plans to pursue a PhD in cancer biology or immunology/cell biology. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, and listening to podcasts.

Guillermo Najarro (he/him) – Postdoctoral researcher

Guillermo was born and raised in California. He is a first-generation Salvadoran college graduate who received his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Merced. Right after college, he pursued and obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Specifically, his PhD work in Dr. Carolina Arias’s group focused on exploring the modulation of the cells’ Unfolded Protein Response in the context of Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Marta Gaglia’s lab, where he continues his training as a virologist. His hobbies include gaming, music, reading, walking, gym, and writing.

Hannah DeRungs – UW-Madison undergraduate student

Hannah is a sophomore majoring in Biochemistry with a certificate in Health & the Humanities at UW-Madison. She is from Minnesota and works as a Certified Nursing Assistant at an Assisted Living and Memory Care facility while she’s at home. In her free time, Hannah enjoys working out, going to her cabin, and finding new places to get bubble tea! She is currently working on a project that studies PA-X protein stability in the Influenza A virus.

Lia Sweeney – UW-Madison undergraduate student

Lia is a senior majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology at UW-Madison. She is originally from Northern California. Lia joined the lab as a sophomore and has since worked with multiple lab members on projects focused on immune system response during KSHV infection.

Machika Kaku – Graduate student in the Immunology program at Tufts University

Machika grew up in Southern California but moved to Pittsburgh in search of better weather in 2013. There, she received a degree in biology from Carnegie Mellon University while finding a passion for researching immunology and proteomics in Jon Minden’s lab. For one summer, she worked at Allergan where she studied the pharmacokinetics of a therapeutic antibody to treat age-related macular degeneration. After graduating, she worked at Immunetrics for 6 months collecting cytokine data from literature to help model the drug kinetics of autoimmune therapeutics. She moved to Boston for a PhD at Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2017. In John Coffin’s lab, she studied the role of HIV genomic integration sites in relation to host cell longevity. She currently resides in the idyllic paradise of Madison where she studies interferon regulation by Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in Marta Gaglia’s lab. She enjoys roaming spacious greenways with her dog, as well as biking, cooking, running, and painting her nails.