Aimee Payne,
​MD, PhD
​Principal Investigator

Aimee trained at Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Pennsylvania before settling down in Philly, which has been her home since 2001. When she’s not in 1009 BRB, you can find her partaking in the Philly food scene, going to the off leash park with her dog Winston, and watching reality TV (shhh.)
Email:
aimee.payne<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Eun Jung Choi, MS
Lab Manager

Eun has been the manager of the Payne lab since it started in 2006. In her spare time she likes to play tennis. Fun fact: she’s the guardian of the secret recipe for the wings with Yum Yum sauce at Sto’s Bar and Old City Beer Garden.
Email:
ejchoi<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Xuming Mao, ​
​MD, PhD
​Senior Research Investigator

​Xuming joined the lab in 2007, after receiving his MD at Peking Union Medical Center and his PhD from UT–San Antonio, where he studied adiponectin receptor signaling. Xuming’s expertise is in the cell biologic effects of pemphigus autoantibodies on desmosomes and animal models for disease. On Saturday mornings, you'll find him on the basketball court.
​Email:
maox<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Sangwook Oh, PhD
Senior Research Investigator

​Sangwook completed his PhD in the lab of Prof. Rho Hyun Seong in 2016 (Seoul National University). His doctoral work examined T cell development and function using various mouse models.  Sangwook joined the Payne lab in 2017 to explore applications of CAART technology beyond pemphigus vulgaris.
Email:
swoh<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Silvio Manfredo Vieira, PhD
Assistant Director, Correlative and Translational Studies

Damian Maseda, PhD
​Senior Research Investigator

Silvio received his PhD at the School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard and Yale, where he discovered that gut bacteria translocate to distal tissues and induce autoantibodies typical of lupus and autoimmune hepatitis, indicating a critical role for intestinal microbes in initiating or perpetuating local or systemic autoimmunity. Silvio joined the Payne Lab to direct translational research necessary to move novel cell therapies developed in the lab into early phase clinical trials under an academic-industry alliance. On weekends, Silvio likes to play drums, cook, go biking and spend time with his son and wife.  
Email:
silvio.manfredo-vieira<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Damian was born in Spain, where he graduated from Universidad de Malaga, and later obtained his PhD in Immunology in Germany (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg). Over the last 10 years, he has focused on immune regulation and acquired immune responses. He is especially interested in the role of T and B cells at epithelial interfaces during inflammation. In his free time, Damian practices Aikido and does fun stuff with his family, trying not to mix those two activities.
Email:
damian.maseda<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Patricia Tsao, MD, PhD
​Senior Research Investigator

Burcin Altun, PhD
​Senior Research Investigator

Patricia received her MD at Beijing Medical School, Beijing University and her PhD at Drexel University.  Previously, she directed the operations of the Human Immunology Core and worked with mouse models for autoimmunity and translational research in lupus and Castleman’s disease.  Here in the Payne lab, Patricia is interested in developing cutting-edge technologies for interrogating disease mechanisms and identifying novel strategies for treatment.  Outside of lab, Patricia makes cookies and is always looking for distinct cookie recipes for Christmas.
Email:
tsaop<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Burcin graduated from the University of Istanbul and completed her PhD in a combined program in Italy (ICGEB) and the UK (Open University). As a postdoc in the Tsourkas lab in Penn Engineering,  she developed novel bispecific antibody and protein-labeling technologies for targeted therapy and personalized medicine.  She joined the Payne lab to continue her work developing translational immunotherapies to improve patient health. In her free time, Burcin likes to spend time with her family - including a daughter (Homo sapiens) and son (Canis lupus familiaris) - at playgrounds and dog parks.
Email:
altunb<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Casey Lee
​MD-PhD Graduate Student

Emma Goodman
PhD Graduate Student

Gurtej Kahlon
​Postbac Student

Casey is an MD/PhD student at Penn who received his BS/MS from Yale University in 2017. During his time in New Haven, he studied immune tolerance checkpoints and autoantibody binding in neurologic autoimmune diseases. Driven by his passion in understanding pathogenic antibodies and their origins, he hopes to explore the mechanisms of cell therapy in antibody-mediated autoimmune disease. In his free time or when procrastinating, Casey enjoys baking and playing video games. He wears pink on Wednesdays, because “on Wednesdays, we wear pink.”
Email:
Casey.Lee<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Emma is an Immunology graduate student at Penn. She received her BA from Wellesley College in 2017, where she first became interested in scientific research. Emma is passionate about animal health and is interested in refining animal models of disease to benefit both human and animal patients. Emma is excited to be a member of the Payne Lab, studying canine comparative T cell biology. Outside of the lab, Emma enjoys baking, exploring Philly, and spending time with her dog and cat.
Email:
emmagood<at>pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Gurtej Kahlon graduated with a B.S. from the University of California, Davis in Biological Sciences with minors in human physiology and political science. He is currently completing the pre-health post-bacc program at Penn while working at the Payne lab and serving as the coach of the undergraduate mock trial team.
Email:
gskahlon<at>sas.upenn.edu

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Rotating students (2021-2022)

Henry Utset (MD/PhD, Immunology)

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Lab Alumni (Current Position)

Takeru Funakoshi, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Dermatology, Keio University, Japan)
Luisa Lunardon, MD (Dermatology, Milan)
Arielle Nagler, MD (Assistant Professor of Dermatology, New York University)
Sara Berg, MD (Dermatology faculty, Lahey Hospital-Beth Israel)
Courtney Rubin, MD (Dermatology, California)
Michael Jeffrey Tejada Cho, PhD (Oncology Analytics, Glaxo Smith-Kline)
Eric Mukherjee, MD, PhD (Dermatology resident, Vanderbilt University)
Nina Ran, MD, MS (Dermatology faculty, Brigham and Women's Hospital)
Adam Alghalith (UCLA/Caltech MSTP)
Carolyn Kushner, MD (Dermatology resident, New York University)
Napatra Tovanabutra, MD (Assistant Professor, Chiang Mai University, Thailand)
​Jinmin Lee, PhD (Associate Principal Scientist, Cabaletta Bio)
Daniel Lundgren (Biotechnology/Finance)
Baomei Wang, MD, PhD (Principal Scientific Researcher, Genentech)
Ellyssa Sherman (Ohio State University MD-PhD Program)
Christina Bax, MD (Dermatology resident, Stanford University)
Britt Levy, DVM (veterinary practice)
Christoph Ellebrecht, MD (tenure-track Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania)

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