Anna-Grace Lilly is a rising junior majoring in Medicine, Health and Society, with minors in French and Anthropology. She also has a sweet tooth - so much so that she is also working at Jeni’s Ice Cream! Please say hi if you see her about the lab.
Summer Monroig is a Research Assistant I for the VVC. She received her B.S. in Biology, with a minor in Chemistry, from Austin Peay State University December 2020. She is a member of the iCore team where her role is protein purification. Her previous experience as an RA was in purification of alcohols and the synthesis of biosurfactants.
Rachael Wolters is a former graduate student in the department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at Vanderbilt, mentored by Dr. James E. Crowe, Jr. She obtained her B.S. in Animal Science from The University of Tennessee at Martin, where she conducted analytical chemistry research evaluating river water for fertilizer residue. Rachael went on to earn her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, in Knoxville Tennessee. Rachael graduated with her doctorate in 2024
During that time, she studied mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and traveled to South Africa to the University of Pretoria to investigate epidemiologic patterns of AMR in dairy cattle. She was a member of the Cornell Veterinary Leadership Program in 2018 where she studied mechanisms of Zika virus replication. She is interested in emerging zoonotic infectious diseases, and animal models.
Heather is originally from Lindenhurst, Illinois – about halfway between Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI. She graduated from University of Wisconsin Parkside, where she earned her Bachelors degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. She started her research career at Vanderbilt in 2009 as a research assistant in the Center for Structural Biology Megalab. In 2015, Heather joined the laboratory of Prof. Jens Meiler as laboratory manager then Manager of Research Programs. She contributed to research projects on the structural characterization of HoxA11 and structure determination of DsbB using paramagnetic restraints. She joined the Crowe Lab in April 2021 as Sr. Program Manager
Although research was the foundation of her training, she took an interest in the administrative side of research. To improve her skill set, Heather regularly attends conferences offered by both NCURA and SRAi where she has received certificates in Fundamentals of Sponsored Project Administration, Departmental Research Administration, Leadership, Financial Management, Research Integrity, and Research Law. She holds a PMP certification and is a current Project Management Institute (PMI) and Society of Research Administrators International (SRAi) member. Heather was named an SRAi 'Future of the Field' honoree in 2022.
Courtney Sanders is a senior undergraduate majoring in Economics with a minor in philosophy. He has a love for learning that spans from the humanities on into the hard sciences. In his free time he can be found watching his favorite shows and sampling teas across Nashville.
Taylor received his B.S. in Biology, focusing in molecular and cell biology, with a minor in Microbiology from Clemson University in the Spring of 2019. During his undergrad Taylor worked with designing therapeutic applications of CRISPR-Cas gene editing tools for metabolic liver disorders. Previously at VUMC, Taylor investigated T cell dysfunction and exhaustion within tumor microenvironments, particular within hepatocellular carcinomas. As a part of the Crowe lab, Taylor works towards assisting staff scientists with their current projects.
Dorothy Low is currently an undergraduate student in the class of 2024 at Vanderbilt University majoring in Biology, considering the pre-med track. She is also involved in the UNICEF and Red Cross Club on campus. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, and exploring new foods and restaurants in Nashville!
Ahmet is a computational scientist holding a Ph.D. in Mathematical Engineering. His current area of focus involves the application of machine learning (ML) methods to biomedical datasets. Ahmet has experience using various statistical techniques such as Bayesian Inference, Ensemble Learning, SVD, Low-Rank representation, and various classification techniques using qualitatively and categorically imbalanced and dynamic datasets.
Ahmet will be applying his expertise to help us: 1) distinguish healthy from unhealthy B cell repertoires; 2) predict liabilities in antibody sequences; and 3) mine antibody sequences from publicly available patent databases.
Tracy graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kent State University, where she earned her Bachelors in Biology and Pre-Medicine degree in 2004. She began her research career at Vanderbilt in 2005, using a combination of in vitro and in vivo experimental approaches to study the DNA damage response protein BID and the p63/p73 family of transcription factors, under the direction of Dr. Sandra Zinkel and Dr. Jennifer Pietenpol. In 2008, Tracy transitioned her research career to the Vanderbilt Antibody and Protein Resource Core to lead mouse monoclonal antibody discovery activities. During this time Tracy returned to school to supplement her scientific training with a business degree, graduating with honors from Lipscomb University in 2012 with a Master’s of Accountancy degree. In addition, Tracy served on the Board of Directors as Treasurer for the Southeastern Association of Shared Resources from 2012 to 2017.
During her ten years in VAPR she was a key leader in a facility transformation from being focused exclusively on traditional hybridoma technology to a multifunctional lab with a uniquely modernized and largely automated hybridoma workflow, antibody engineering, recombinant protein engineering and production, protein interaction analyses, and a host of other related services, as well as targeting cost-efficiencies and harnessing risk management. She went on to expand her scientific skill set in 2019, joining Dr. Richard O'Neal in developing immune cell-based therapies that provide durable or curative treatments for disease, specifically CAR T-cell therapy. With her free time she has been the lead accountant for a construction corporation here in Nashville for over four years now.
Dealing with an ever-evolving work environment continues to draw equally on her skill sets as both a scientist and businessperson. She has brought both of those strengths to the Vaccine Center, where she continues to contribute to antibody discovery as a consultative scientist and lead financial operations as a senior financial analyst. She will focus her efforts on building custom financial reports for the faculty members in the VVC in addition to developing LEAN principles for our group. Tracy will be involved with the pre/post award & annual budget process.