Current Members
Mary Philip, MD PhD
Dr. Mary Philip grew up in Chicago and received her BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and her MD and PhD in cancer biology from the University of Chicago. She completed her residency at the University of Chicago and her Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington in Seattle. She then worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to decipher the epigenetic regulation of tumor-specific T cell dysfunction before moving to Nashville. She enjoys running with dogs Bo and Luna, reading, tennis, making music, cooking, and gardening.
mary.philip@vumc.org
Jess Roetman
Graduate Student, Cancer Biology
Jess hails from the wind-swept plains of northwest Iowa and attended Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for her bachelor’s degree in biology. She developed an interest in cancer biology after doing ovarian cancer research as an undergraduate. When there are no pipettes in hand, Jess enjoys playing saxophone, reading, getting together with friends for game night, and playing with cats Teddy and Michelle.
jessica.j.roetman@vanderbilt.edu, @jjroetman
Carlos R. Detrés-Román
Graduate Student, Cancer Biology
Carlos was born and raised in the beautiful tropical island Puerto Rico. He graduated from University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla with a B.S. in Biology. There he worked in Dr. Jose Planas’s lab to study carotenoid pigment production by H. borinquense and an uncharacterized halobacteria from the Guanica saltern in Puerto Rico. Carlos came to Vanderbilt for the first time in 2017 for a summer internship in Dr. Tim Cover’s lab where he worked on defining amino acids required for oligomerization of the H. pylori VacA toxin. Carlos is interested in immunology, especially cancer immunology. Carlos is fluent in Spanish and English. In his free time, he likes to read about personal development, exercise, enjoy nature, and share with family and friends. In addition, he is actively involved in Vanderbilt’s SACNAS chapter and in the IMSD program.
carlos.r.detres.roman.1@vanderbilt.edu
Megan Erwin
Graduate Student, Molecular Pathology & Immunology
megan.m.erwin@vanderbilt.edu
Michael Rudloff
MTSP Graduate Student, Molecular Pathology & Immunology
Michael grew up in the historic city of Williamsburg, Virginia and first dabbled in research at James Madison University where he analyzed the structure and function of mutated proteins implicated in human disease. After earning a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Biochemistry from JMU, Michael moved to the busy D.C. suburbs where he dove into the world of cancer research and immunotherapy at the National Institutes of Health as a postbaccalaureate research fellow. After two years experiencing the thrills of both working in a translational research lab and commuting the D.C. beltway, Michael matriculated to the Medical Scientist Training Program at Vanderbilt and to the lab of Dr. Mary Philip. In the future, Michael hopes to work in clinic to treat patients with cancer and operate a research lab to learn more about how we can harness our immune system to treat disease. When not in lab, Michael enjoys hiking, swimming, and strolls around the neighborhood with his wife, Allie, and dogs, Ryan and Boomer.
michael.w.rudloff@vanderbilt.edu
Natalie Favret
Graduate Student, Molecular Pathology & Immunology
Natalie is from Annapolis, Maryland and went to Wesleyan University for her bachelor's in Molecular Biology and Neuroscience. After working at a multiple sclerosis research center in NYC for two years, she developed an interest in immunology and studying mechanisms of immune dysfunction. In her free time she enjoys eating at expensive restaurants, reading, going for runs, and sleeping.
natalie.favret@vanderbilt.edu
Kristen Murray
Research Assistant I
kristen.murray@vumc.org
Will Murray
Undergraduate Student
will.murray@vanderbilt.edu
Urmika Nandwani
Undergraduate Student
urmika.nandwani@vanderbilt.edu
Lab Alumni
Gulnara Anzarova, Research Assistant I - Now Law Student
Taylor Bryson, Research Assistant I
Adnan Askari, Undergraduate Student - Now Research Associate at Generate
Sreekar Miriyala, Undergraduate Student
Minna Apostolova, Undergraduate Student - Now Graduate Student at UCSF
Sriya Jonnakuti, Undergraduate Student
Eben N, Nashville High School Student - Now Undergraduate at UPenn