Our Team
The Penn Virome Characterization Center team is organized into specialized cores including Administrative, Biospecimen Collection, Biospecimen Analysis, Data Analysis & Submission, and Ethical, Legal & Social Implications (ELSI) cores.
Leadership and Administrative Core
Ron Collman, MD
Contact Principal Investigator and Administrative Core Co-Leader
Frederic Bushman, PhD
Multi-Principal Investigator and Administrative Core Co-Leader
Andrew D. Marques, PhD
Penn-VCC Project Manager
Biospecimen Collection Core
Ron Collman, MD
Core Leader
Babette Zemel, PhD
Core Co-Leader and Site PI for CHOP
Alain Benitez, MD
Core Investigator focused on pediatric specimen collection
James “Jim” Lewis, MD
Core Investigator managing gut microbiome cohorts and dietary intervention
Flavia Teles, DDS
Core Investigator overseeing oral and dental repositories
Andrew Haas, MD, PhD
Co-Investigator and Director of Bronchoscopy
Ayannah Fitzgerald
Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator and Adult Study Coordinator
Emma Cook
Adult Clinical Research Coordinator
Valeria Lopez-Gil
Pediatric Clinical Research Coordinator at CHOP
Modupe “Dupe” Coker, DDS
Assistant Dean and dental translational program lead
Cecilia Horchos, DScD
Periodontics resident assisting with oral and dental studies
Biospecimen Analysis Core
Rick Bushman, PhD
Core Co-Leader
Ahmed Moustafa, PhD
Core Co-Leader overseeing metagenomic sequencing
Gary Wu, MD
Core Investigator providing GI-related expertise
Jevon Graham-Wooten
Specimen coordinator
Anjana Yadav, PhD
Research Specialist supporting repository processing and virome preparations
Jiayi Duan
PhD candidate and lead researcher for Viral Particle Enrichment optimization
Natalie Hagen
PhD candidate focused on prophage induction and sequence analysis
Young Hwang, PhD
Researcher supporting viral purification and mock community development
Karissa Lim
Research Technician performing laboratory-wide virome preparations
Aunie Fitts
Research Technician performing laboratory-wide virome preparations
Stephanie Higgins
Lab Manager in the Moustafa lab at the PennCHOP Microbiome Program
Arie Dash
Technician in the Moustafa lab
Data Analysis and Submission Core
Kyle Bittinger, PhD
Core Co-Leader at CHOP
Hongzhe Li, PhD
Core Co-Leader focused on statistical methods for virome data
Naomi Wilson
Bioinformatics Lead for data deposition and quality control
Julia Malnak
PhD candidate studying viral protein structure
Kerim Heber
PhD candidate studying Diversity-Generating Retroelements
Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Core
Steve Joffe, MD, MPH
Core Director
Holly Fernandez Lynch, JD
Core Co-Director
Justin Clapp, PhD
Co-Investigator
Katie Gleason, MPH
ELSI Project Manager
Emily Walters
ELSI Coordinator
Jenna White
ELSI interviewer