Lab Members
Jason M. Schenkel, M.D., Ph.D., received his Bachelor of Science degree in human communication sciences at Northwestern University outside of Chicago. While there, Dr. Schenkel got his first hands-on experience doing immunology research in Dr. Lena Al-Harthi's Laboratory at Rush University Medical Center, where he examined CD8 T cells in people with HIV. His time there ignited his passion for T cell immunology. Dr. Schenkel then matriculated in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Minnesota. He completed his Ph.D. studies in the laboratory of Dr. David Masopust, studying the location, differentiation and function of resident memory CD8 T cells that develop after acute viral infection. Dr. Schenkel's work demonstrated that resident memory CD8 T cells, after sensing cognate antigen, orchestrated robust and diverse innate and adaptive immune responses that drove a local anti-pathogen state within a tissue.
After completing his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Schenkel completed a residency in clinical pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a clinical fellowship in Transfusion Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Dr. Tyler Jacks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There, Dr. Schenkel was focused on understanding the relationship between T cells in the tumor draining lymph node and tumor microenvironment in a mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma. Dr. Schenkel was able to demonstrate that the tumor draining lymph node contains a functional reservoir of tumor specific CD8 T cells that can be therapeutically harnessed to drive tumor regression.
At MD Anderson, Dr. Schenkel is continuing to study T cells in the context of cancer. He hopes to develop better tools and methodologies to try and understand the natural course of T cell immunity in tumors. Lessons learned will then hopefully be translated to help drive new therapies.
Nikesh Kunder, Ph.D., Research Scientist. Nikesh received his bachelor's degree in biotechnology from the University of Mumbai in 2012, followed by his master's degree in biotechnology in 2014. Dr. Kunder joined the department of Hematopathology at Tata Memorial Hospital where he worked on evaluating diagnostic markers for leukemia and lymphomas as well as trained on the basics of flow cytometry.
Dr. Kunder completed his doctoral degree in cell and molecular biology from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2022 where he worked on understanding post-transcriptional regulation in sensory neurons in Dr. Zachary Campbell’s lab. During his doctoral studies, he identified mRNA targets that were preferentially translated within sensory neurons in response to inflammatory stimuli as well as elucidated the role of RNA-binding proteins in pain. His expertise is RNA biology, and he is interested in mRNA therapeutics.
He joined the Schenkel Lab as a research scientist so that he can explore the field of immunology. His goals are to understand T cell dysfunction and to identify mRNA transcripts or RNA-binding proteins for therapeutic intervention.
Tayleur White, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow. Tayleur received her bachelor’s degree in biology at Norfolk State University in 2016. Following her undergraduate studies, she completed her doctoral degree in immunology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2023 where she worked on CD4 and CD8 T-cell lipid signaling in the context of iPLA2b expression and Type I diabetes development. During her doctoral studies, she identified proinflammatory eicosanoids produced by iPLA2b-expressing T-cells that contributed to Type I Diabetes in NOD mice as well as investigated novel intervention techniques that diminished the productions of such eicosanoids. She is now interested in cancer immunology and the development of future therapeutics. She joined the Schenkel Lab as a postdoctoral trainee to gain more experience and knowledge of the cancer field in combination with her immunology background.
Chi-Lee Charlie Ho, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow. Charlie received his bachelor’s degree in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics from the University of California Los Angeles in 2011. Through 2018 at UCLA, he studied the host-pathogen interactions of bacillus anthracis with Dr. Ken Bradley and of trichomonas vaginalis with Dr. Patricia Johnson.
Dr. Ho obtained his doctoral degree in cancer biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024 under the supervision of Dr. Sandra Ryeom. During his doctoral studies, he identified stool protein biomarkers of gastric cancer which correlate with disease progression and may assist with early detection. He characterized one stool biomarker, ASAH2, as a potential novel therapeutic target against gastric cancer.
Dr. Ho joined the Schenkel Lab as a postdoctoral trainee to understand immunology and identify areas of intersection with cancer biology that may be developed into a cure for cancer.
Anna Meyer, UT Houston/MD Anderson M.D./Ph.D. student. Anna studied Asian studies and biochemistry and cell biology at Rice University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts with a Biosciences Distinction in Research in 2018. Following her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research technician in a natural killer (NK) cell lab where she studied the mechanisms of NK cell cytotoxicity and worked on a method to define the NK cell immunological synapse proteome. Anna matriculated into the UTHealth Houston MSTP program in 2020 and joined the Schenkel Lab after completing her lab tutorial. Here, she will continue pursuing her goal of advancing human health through scientific discovery. She is interested in elucidating how tumor progression systemically affects the white blood cell compartment.
Thierry Iraguha UT Houston/MD Anderson Ph.D. student. Thierry received his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2020 from Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Following his undergraduate studies, he worked as a research assistant at the University of Maryland Baltimore where he assessed CAR T cell functionality prior to infusion in patients. His experience working with CAR T cells ignited his passion for immunology. In 2023, Thierry started his Ph.D. in immunology, and joined the Schenkel Lab for his thesis research. In the Schenkel Lab, Thierry will continue to pursue his goal of developing effective cancer therapies and is interested in investigating the immune cell fate in the tumor microenvironment. Outside the lab, he enjoys working out and playing different sports with his friends.
Meilani Ching, Rice Bioengineering Ph.D. student. Meilani received her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and biochemistry from Northeastern University in 2023. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research associate co-op at Amgen, Dragonfly Therapeutics, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Through these experiences she purified multi-specific antibodies for NK cell based cancer immunotherapies and assessed functionality of conditional degron tag technologies. After graduating, she returned to Dragonfly where she developed an in vitro migration assay and studied the binding and cytotoxicity of multi-specific antibodies. Her experience working with antibody immunotherapies sparked her interest in immunology, which led her to the Schenkel Lab after beginning her Ph.D. in bioengineering at Rice University in 2024. Here, she will gain a deeper understanding of immunology while studying T cell dysfunction in hopes to one day use these insights to improve cancer immunotherapies. Outside the lab, she enjoys cooking, crafting, and spending time with friends.
Natalie Hagan, Research Assistant II. Natalie received her Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Louisiana State University in 2022. During her undergraduate work, she assisted in the research for the N-terminal domain (NTD) of biotin carboxyl carrier protein’s (BCCP) role in the catalytic mechanism of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). As part of the study, she amplified and purified AbCT, BCCP, MCR, MCR-C, MCR-N and SaCT proteins. Natalie also participated in genetic research. Natalie’s interest in immunology brought her to MD Anderson. She joined the Schenkel Lab of cancer immunologists as a research assistant and is eager to excel academically. Natalie’s goal is to make a groundbreaking discovery in the immunology world.
