Current Lab Members

Head of Anguera Lab & Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences

Monsterrat C. Anguera, Ph.D

Montserrat Anguera, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Epigenetics in the department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine. She is a co-director for the RNA Institute, a member of the Epigenetics Institute, the Institute for Immunology, the Center for Women’s Health & Reproductive Research, and the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Penn. She also serves on the executive committees for various graduate groups and training grant programs across Penn

Professor Anguera received her B.A. from UCSD in Chemistry and her Ph.D. from Cornell University in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology. Her postgraduate studies were completed at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University, where she developed the interest in X-Chromosome Inactivation. Her laboratory studies epigenetic gene regulation that underlies sex differences in development and disease. Her current research investigates how gene expression from the X-chromosome is regulated in the immune system, and how these mechanisms become altered in diseases exhibiting a sex-bias, such as autoimmunity. Her lab discovered a novel and dynamic mechanism of X-Chromosome Inactivation maintenance specific to female lymphocyte activation, and how perturbations in these pathways contribute to the autoimmune disorder lupus.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Katherine Forsyth, Ph.D

Katherine completed her PhD in Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2019. She conducted her thesis research in the lab of Dr. Laurence (“Ike”) Eisenlohr, focusing on non-canonical MHCII-restricted antigen processing and presentation to CD4+ T cells during orthopoxvirus and influenza infection. Currently she is researching how dynamic XCI maintenance is regulated in T cells in health and during viral infection. Outside of the lab she enjoys trying new recipes, working in her community garden plot, and reading a good book while snuggling with her cat Theo. Follow her for hot takes on flow cytometry and more at @thatsdrpox2you!

Instructor of Medicine / Postdoctoral Fellow

Nikhil Jiwrajka, MD, MS

Nikhil Jiwrajka is a physician scientist in the Division of Rheumatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He completed medical school at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his residency and rheumatology fellowship training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also completed his Masters in Translational Research. His clinical practice focuses on the care of patients with systemic autoimmune diseases, many of which exhibit female-biased disease incidence, including systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), inflammatory myositis, polymyalgia rheumatica, and rheumatoid arthritis. He has a particular interest in the pathogenesis of fibrosing autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis, myositis-associated interstitial lung disease, and interstitial lung disease with autoimmune features. His current work in the Anguera laboratory focuses on translational studies in patients with systemic sclerosis and on mouse models of systemic autoimmunity and fibrosis. When he is not in the lab or clinic, Nikhil can be found spoiling his Shih-Tzu pup, Boh, with plenty of treats and toys!

Graduate Student

Claudia Lovell, BA

Claudia is an MD/PhD student in the Genetics and Epigenetics graduate group. She grew up in the Bay Area of California where she got her bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley in 2014. After graduating, she moved to New York City where she worked as a technician in Dr. Eva Hernando’s lab at NYU studying the role of DNA methylation in melanoma metastasis. She began the MSTP at Penn in 2018. In her free time she enjoys hosting and attending dinner parties with friends, biking around Philadelphia, and following her cat Cindy Lou around the house. Her greatest accomplishment during her tenure in the Anguera lab thus far has been watching every film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in release order with her co-grad student, Natalie.

Graduate Student

Natalie Toothacre, BS

Natalie is a PhD student in the Genetics and Epigenetics graduate group at Penn. She was born and raised in San Diego, CA and graduated from UC San Diego in 2018 with a degree in General Biology. During her undergraduate career she worked with Dr. Charles C. King to study the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into glucose-responsive insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells. In her free time Natalie likes to knit, watch movies, try new restaurants, and travel.

Research Specialist & Lab Manager

Zowie Searcy, BS

Zowie is the research specialist and lab manager for the Anguera Lab. She grew up in the Cleveland area and graduated from Gettysburg College in 2021 with a bachelor degree in Biology. As an undergraduate, she investigated prey decisions in fringe-lipped bats. After graduation, she worked as an English teacher in South Korea for a year. Zowie is back in a research lab working to develop the skills, experience, and knowledge in preparation for a graduate career in Biology. When she’s not in the lab, she likes to be active, visit local museums, play Dungeons and Dragons at the local game store, and draw. She took the lead on the design of the lab website and made the graphic that is the front page banner (partially adapted from biorender)!

Nuriban Valero-Pacheco, Ph.D

Research Associate

Nuriban was born and raised in Mexico City. He has an undergraduate degree in biological and pharmaceutical chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) School of Chemistry. He earned his MSc and PhD in Immunology from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico City, where he investigated the human T cell and antibody responses to the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic influenza virus. During his PhD, he was visiting scholar at the Jenner Institute of the University of Oxford, where he worked in the preclinical development of a universal T-cell vaccine against Salmonella. Nuriban's research interest in understanding the cellular and molecular networks that control the immune function of tissue-resident lymphocytes led him to join Aimee Beaulieu's lab at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow. Nuriban's work focused on studying the function of innate and adaptive tissue-resident lymphocytes in the female reproductive tract and the skin, investigating changes during pregnancy and also sex differences following allergic inflammation. Nuriban is continuing to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in lymphocyte function as a research associate in the Anguera lab. Outside the lab, Nuriban enjoys concerts and going to museums. He likes cinema, salsa dancing, and swimming and is a big opera fan.

Emma is a PhD student in the Genetics and Epigenetics program (CAMB) at Penn. She grew up in North Carolina, and received her bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Philosophy from University at North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her undergraduate career, she worked with Dr. Anthony Zannas investigating machine learning methods to study cell morphology changes that occur with cellular senescence. In her free time, Emma likes to crochet, run, and read.