People
Fiachra Humphries, PhD
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Division of Innate Immunity
Research Associate
Matthew Finnegan
Matthew is a graduate of Clark University where he studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He joined the Humphries lab in September 2022 and is currently working on novel regulators of pyroptosis. Matthew is an expert in animal husbandry and management and a passionate teacher in the lab.
Graduate student
Sara Cahill
Sara studied biology with a focus on biochemistry at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA before joining the UMass Chan GSBS PhD program. During her undergrad, she did research in Dr. Ann Sheehy’s lab focusing on the activity of an innate HIV restriction factor. Sara’s thesis research in the Humphries lab is focused on the role of a novel group of innate checkpoint proteins in regulating viral infection.
Graduate student
Shriram Ramani
Shriram is the first graduate student to join the Humphries lab. He studied Biotechnology at Anna University, India, before completing his Master’s degree at the University of Chicago, Illinois. Before joining UMass Chan, he worked as a research technician in the lab of Dr. Emily Cheng at Sloan Kettering. He is now pursuing a thesis project on determining methods of reprogramming tumor-associated macrophages for cancer treatment. Shriram has technical expertise in a range of molecular and biochemical methods.
Graduate student
Laurel Stine
Laurel studied Biology at Colgate University, Hamilton NY. During her undergrad, she studied germline development in C. elegans and completed her senior research project in genetics at the Singapore Genome Institute. Before joining UMass Chan, she was a senior associate scientist at Bristol-Myers Squibb in the early discovery immunology department for several years. Laurel’s research is focused on developing nanobodies and small molecule inhibitors targeting different components of the inflammasome.
Alumni
Asha Daryanani
Asha is pursuing her graduate research in the RNA Therapeutics Institute.
Kavya Sri Racherla
Kavya is pursuing her graduate research in the Fitzgerald Lab in the Department of Medicine.
2023 rotation students:
Katherine Murphy
Katherine is now pursuing her thesis work in the Ruscetti Lab in the Cancer and Molecular Biology Department.
Wei Zhan
Wei is now pursuing her thesis work in the Gao Lab in the Horae Gene Therapy Center.
Xinyue Wang
Xinyue is now pursuing her thesis work in the Behar lab in the Microbiology and Physiological Systems Department.
2023 summer interns:
Neve McGuicken
Neve was a visiting undergraduate intern from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She is currently investigating new biologics that target the inflammasome.
Sandy Fontes
Sandy was a graduating senior at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley. She worked as an intern in the lab before beginning her bachelor’s degree in Biology at Quinsigamond Community College. Sandy is interested in pursuing a career in academic research in the field of innate immunity.
Join our lab
The Humphries Lab is currently recruiting a post-doctoral fellow. If you are interested in joining our lab, please send a cover letter, CV, and contact information for three references to Dr. Fiachra Humphries.