LAB MEMBERS
Current lab members
JULIET MORRISON, PHD
Principal Investigator
Juliet Morrison is an Assistant Professor in the Microbiology and Plant Pathology department at UC Riverside. There she researches host-pathogen interactions and teaches on topics pertaining to host responses to human viruses. Her research combines immunological and virological methods with computational analysis to address questions at the host-pathogen interface. After completing her BA in Biology at Bard College, she earned her PhD in Microbiology at Columbia University. After graduate school, she completed postdoctoral fellowships at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and University of Washington.
Since 2018, the Morrison lab has been investigating host responses to important viral pathogens. Her goal is to translate her findings into host-targeted virus therapeutics.
Juliet is from the beautiful island of Jamaica, and speaks English and Jamaican Patois. Her hobbies are urban farming and travel.
email: juliet.morrison@ucr.edu
twitter: @JumoDr
JAMES STUMPFF
Graduate student
James Stumpff is a student in the PhD program for Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Riverside. After graduating with a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Cal State San Marcos, he worked as a Diagnostic Systems Engineer at Hologic Inc. Afterwards he started his PhD in 2018 and entered Dr. Morrison’s lab in the department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology where his work focuses on host responses to influenza infections. His work incorporates immunological and virological techniques to understand host-cellular responses and dynamics during and after influenza to potentially find therapeutic targets.
email: jstum001@ucr.edu
ROKSANA SHIRAZI
Graduate Student
Roksana started her undergraduate degree at Irvine Valley College and graduated from UCLA with a BS in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics. During her time at UCLA, Roksana worked in Dr. Sherie L. Morrison’s, Dr. Thomas Graeber’s, and Dr. Kris Reddi's laboratories. After graduation, she worked as a Staff Research Associate II in Dr. Robert L. Modlin laboratory for three years. Now, Roksana is a PhD student in the Morrison lab. She looks forward to facing new challenges to achieve her goal of becoming a PhD scientist. Her work at the Morrison lab focuses on studying the mechanisms leading to macrophage differentiation related to mitochondria, which have the potential to lead to novel therapies for controlling inflammatory diseases.
Roksana enjoys playing jigsaw puzzles and hiking in nature. Also, she loves to spend time in her garden: "I get such a thrill out of watching my plants grow, especially when I have planted them as a tiny seed". Roksana speaks Farsi and English.
email: rshir009@ucr.edu
