AMI S. BHATT, M.D., PH.D.

Professor, Departments of Medicine (Hematology & BMT) and Genetics

 Ami S. Bhatt is a Professor of Medicine & Genetics at Stanford University. She received her MD and PhD (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) at UCSF. There she received the Fineberg Award for Excellence in Teaching and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha.  She completed residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and was a fellow in Hematology/Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Thereafter, she carried out her post-doctoral studies at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Ami’s lab seeks to improve outcomes in patients with hematological malignancies by exhaustively characterizing the dynamics of the microbiome in immunocompromised individuals, and exploring how changes in the microbiome are associated with idiopathic diseases in this population. She loves working with trainees and is excited about the application of new molecular and computational technologies to solve complicated metagenomic puzzles. Learning how to organize piles of shotgun metagenomic sequencing data into orderly lists of genomes and genes of potential clinical/biological importance is her passion. 

In addition to her academic efforts, Ami is committed to improving cancer care, education and research in resource-limited settings. She is the Director of Global Oncology for the Center for Innovation in Global Health at Stanford University and has served as a visiting lecturer at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the University of Botswana. She, along with Franklin Huang, is a co-founder and co-president of the non-profit organization Global Oncology (www.globaonc.org). 

Outside of work, Ami enjoys reading fiction, cooking/baking, dancing, travel, and hiking in the great outdoors. She is a light roast coffee aficionado and is the recipient of many "stool"-centered joke gifts. 

FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN A SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN OUR LAB: We take undergraduate students through the SSRP program: https://biosciences.stanford.edu/prospective/diversity/ssrp/ 

We will consider high school students who are admitted to the Stanford Gene Camp program: http://med.stanford.edu/genecamp.html

FOR STANFORD UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN A RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN OUR LAB: We require a minimum commitment of a full year (including full-time work in the lab for at least one summer). If you are interested, please send your CV/resume to Dr. Bhatt

Clinical Assistant Professors

BIANCA PALUSHAJ, M.D.

Clinical Assistant Professor of Adult Neurology, 2021

Dr. Palushaj focuses on gut-brain communication and the microbiome-immune-brain axis. She is particularly interested in how environmental exposures drive the current Parkinson's disease pandemic, how these exposures converge on the gastrointestinal system, and how the gastrointestinal system can, in turn, confer resilience against them.

In my free time, I enjoy being with my husband, daughter, and dog (particularly exploring the outdoors) and doing anything from running, hiking, rock climbing, camping. To no surprise, I love kombucha, sauerkraut, and a good dill pickle.

Contact: bmoiseff[at]stanford[dot]edu

Graduate Students

SAYDE PERRY

Stanford Graduate Student, 2025

I graduated from Pomona College in 2022 where I studied carbon metabolism in Vibrio cholerae with Jane Liu. While there, I also became fascinated by phage-bacterial arms races. After college, I received a Fulbright Scholarship to work with Martha Clokie at the Becky Mayer Centre for Phage Research to investigate lytic phages that infect and replicate in dormant bacteria. Now, at Stanford, I am co-mentored by Ami Bhatt and Leonor Garcia-Bayona. I am excited to explore what makes highly prevalent mobile genetic elements, including phages and plasmids, so successful in the gut microbiome.  

Outside the lab, I love walking, knitting, being outside, grocery shopping, and sending mail.

Contact: saydep[at]stanford[dot]edu

JANE ANN COOK

Stanford Graduate Student, 2024

I graduated from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland in 2022 with a BA in Biochemistry. My undergraduate thesis research with Dr. Andrei Budanov explored how mutations in the Sestrin proteins allow lung cancer cells to bypass growth inhibition signals. During the summers of 2021 and 2022, I worked in two labs at UT Southwestern, studying the molecular mechanisms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in Dr. Zhao Wang’s lab and related work in metabolism and diabetes in Dr. Phil Scherer’s lab. During and following undergrad, I also worked as a science writer, first as a journalist for my university newspaper and then as lead writer for a bioinformatics company and an AI drug discovery company.

I am excited to be working in the Bhatt Lab to untangle the mysteries of the microbiome using long-read metagenomics and functional validation. I’m curious about host-microbe interactions, and the roles of mobile genetics elements and bacterial epigenetics in bacterial biology. When I’m not in lab, I love exploring the Bay Area, baking, playing tennis, spending time with friends, and curling up with a good coffee and a book. I also enjoy volunteering as a teacher through programs like Stanford Splash.

Contact: cookja[at]stanford[dot]edu

IMANI ELAINE PORTER

Stanford Graduate Student, 2024

I attended Hampton University from 2019-2023 where I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and minor in Leadership Studies. While there, I did research in the realm of protein crystallography and characterizing protein structure for drug discovery. During undergraduate summer research programs, I worked to cultivate my interest in epigenetics and the external or lifestyle factors that influence gene expression pathways. My experiences led me to join the Genetics department at Stanford in the Summer of 2023 (ADVANCE Summer Institute), and I became intrigued by the implications of gut microbe-host interactions being studied in the Bhatt Lab. 

When I’m not in the lab, I like to do puzzles, watch TV, and play board games with my sister and friends. I also enjoy volunteering my time for community building and mentorship, and I’m beginning to dabble in podcasting.

Contact: iep32501[at]stanford[dot]edu

MATTHEW OWEN GILL

Stanford Graduate Student, 2022

In my free time I love to hike around the beautiful Bay Area, play puzzle & strategy games, watch (only the best) reality TV, and make guacamole. I aspire to once again take the stage in a musical but that day has yet to come.

Contact: mogill[at]stanford[dot]edu

ANGELA SHANG-MEI HICKEY

Stanford Graduate Student, 2022

AARON BEHR

Stanford Graduate Student, 2021

I graduated from Brown University (2015) with a dual degree in Computer Science and Biology. While there, I worked with Sohini Ramachandran to develop new algorithms & software for use in inference of population structure from genomic data. I then spent several years as a software engineer at Oracle, where I worked on the Big Data Discovery team and then on cloud platform development. I’m currently interested in understanding how DNA moves horizontally/vertically through different microbes in different ways and in response to different selective pressures (such as phage, antibiotics, other microbes, and host immune system), and how this affects microbial populations over short (within-host) and long (across-host) evolutionary timescales.

In my free time, I enjoy cooking, crosswords, hiking, backcountry skiing, and being at the ocean with good food

Contact: abehr[at]stanford[dot]edu

MATTHEW P. GRIESHOP

Stanford MD/PhD Student, 2021

MUKUNDH NARESH MURTHY

Stanford Graduate Student, 2026

I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2024 with a degree in Computer Science. As an undergrad, I worked as a visiting researcher in Evan Macosko's lab at the Broad Institute, where I jointly analyzed single-cell transcriptomic and longitudinal clinical phenotype data from decades-old blood collected from participants in the Dunedin cohort (~1000 New Zealanders followed from birth). Prior to that, I interned at drug discovery startups including Cellarity and Octant Biosciences, which sparked a lasting interest in computational approaches to biology. In the Bhatt lab, I'm excited to explore the uncharacterized coding potential and genome plasticity of microbes in the human gut and understand their relation to host-side immune phenotypes.

Outside of lab, I enjoy traveling, hiking, cycling, and reading.

Contatct: mukundh[at]stanford[dot]edu

Medical Fellows

MARK NASEF RAGHEB, M.D., PH.D.

Stanford Medical Fellow, 2021

NATHAN BENJAMIN PINCUS, M.D., PH.D.

Stanford Medical Fellow, 2025

I completed my MD/PhD at Northwestern University in 2022 where I focused on genomic analyses of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. I then came to Stanford for Internal Medicine residency through the Translational Investigator Program and am currently an Infectious Diseases fellow. In 2025 I joined the Bhatt lab for my post-doctoral research. I am particularly interested in using metagenomics to better understand how microbes influence outcomes in immunocompromised patients, especially post-transplant. 

Outside of lab I enjoy hiking local trails with my wife, biking along the bay, and spending time with my two cats.

Contact: npincus[at]stanford[dot]edu

Postdoctoral Fellows

FLORIAN HOFFMANN, PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2025

Hi, I’m Florian and I joined the Bhatt Lab as a postdoc in September 2025. I received my B.Sc. in Biochemistry from University College London (UCL) and then pursued a Ph.D. in Sam Sternberg’s Lab at Columbia University. There, I studied atypical CRISPR-Cas systems that employ repurposed RNA-guided mechanisms for programmable transposition and gene regulation. This interdisciplinary work allowed me to integrate approaches from molecular biology, biochemistry, bacterial genetics, next-generation sequencing, and bioinformatics. In the Bhatt Lab, I am excited to dive deep into the world of bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements, uncover their novel biological mechanisms and investigate their impact on the microbiome and human health. 

Outside the lab, you’ll find me working toward visiting all 63 National Parks (21 so far), hiking, and flying my drone in the most remote places. I also grow a small indoor forest of ~20 Tradescantia varieties, am in the process of re-learning to play tennis, and love experimenting in the kitchen.    

Contact: fhoffmann[at]stanford[dot]edu

HELEN CHOI, PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2025

I majored in Food Science and Biotechnology at Seoul National University and graduated in 2018. I then pursued a master’s degree in Microbiology in Sang Ho Choi’s lab, where I studied food microbiomes in the context of food safety and graduated in 2020. For my PhD, I joined Yeong-Jae Seok’s lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Seoul National University, where I worked on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of a DeoR-type transcriptional regulator in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, one of the major gut microbes in the human intestine, which influences its colonization in our gut. I completed my PhD in 2025 and continued as a short-term postdoctoral fellow in the same lab, focusing on the interplay between lipid metabolism and carbohydrate transport systems in F. prausnitzii to understand how it adapts to the host and evolves as a commensal.

In Fall 2025, I joined Ami’s lab as a postdoctoral fellow to study the genetic determinants that shape gut microbial physiology and evolution, aiming to understand how gut microbes adapt to the host environment and influence human health.

Outside the lab, I enjoy going to the gym, running outdoors, and traveling with friends and family to explore new places.

Contact: helenc5[at]stanford[dot]edu

GARRETT PATRICK, M.D., PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2025

I studied biochemistry at Washington University and graduated in 2015, where I then worked for an additional year studying the development of new antibiotic scaffolds with Tim Wencewicz’s group at Washington University.  I attended Johns Hopkins for my MD/PhD where I completed a PhD in immunology working on the development of IgE responses due to skin inflammation driven by Staphylococcus aureus. I graduated with my MD and PhD in 2022 and then  completed a 1 year internship in internal medicine at Medical College of Wisconsin.  I started my dermatology research track residency at UCSF in 2023 and began my post doc portion of my training in July of 2025.  I currently work jointly between Ami’s lab and Tiffany Scharschmidt’s lab at UCSF, studying the skin microbiome, in particular how strain level genetic variation can impact skin disease. 

Outside of lab I enjoy spending time with my wife and 3 year old Ollie,  working to run every street in the Peninsula after finishing up all of SF, and competing in races from 5k-marathon.

Contact: garrett.patrick[at]ucsf[dot]edu

YUYA KIGUCHI, PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2024

I earned a PhD in bioinformatics in the Masahira Hattori group at the Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan, and spent an early postdoc career at the University of Tokyo (Yutaka Suzuki group). During my research career, I developed the experimental and computational method to identify novel mobile genetic elements, such as bacteriophages and plasmids in the human microbiome, by applying long-read sequencing technology. In the Bhatt Lab, I am working on several exciting projects that uncover the hidden adaptation mechanism of the human commensal bacteria. Personally, I love to play volleyball (in the gym, on the grass, and sand)

Contact: ykiguchi{at}stanford[dot}edu

JORDAN LIN, PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2024

I received a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Toronto, where I worked in the lab of Dr. Alex Ensminger. My doctoral work focused on characterizing genes related to pathogenesis and antibiotic stress tolerance in the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila. In the Bhatt lab, I am interested in combining approaches from molecular biology, microbiology, and genomics to better understand how bacterial genomes are structured and evolve.

In addition to research, I like to spend my time outdoors exploring the natural beauty of California and the west coast.

Contact: jdolin[at]stanford[dot]edu

RACHAEL CHANIN, PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021

OWEN TUCK, PH.D.

Stanford Postdoctoral Fellow, 2026

I'm Owen, a biochemist and structural biologist. After my undergrad at Bowdoin College and a postbac stint as a Fulbright Fellow in Germany, I moved to California to pursue a PhD in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In my doctoral studies with Dr. Jennifer Doudna, I described molecular mechanisms underpinning antiviral immune systems like CRISPR-Cas and Hachiman. Our work uncovered new immune pathways and revealed evolutionary connections between bacterial and eukaryotic immunity.

In September 2026, I joined the lab as a postdoc. I am jointly supervised by Dr. Bhatt and Dr. KC Huang and I receive support from a Stanford Science Fellowship. As a postdoc, I aim to bridge molecular immunology with microbial ecology, with the ultimate goal of understanding how conflicts within and between microbes generate complexity to shape communities and ecosystems.

Outside of lab, you'll find me reading, backpacking, and bouldering. I also enjoy experimenting with the amazing produce available here in California (ask me about my favorite markets!) and throwing dinner parties for my friends and loved ones.

Contact: owentuck[at]stanford[dot]edu

Rotating Students

CHARU BALAMURUGAN

School of Medicine
University - Student - Graduate, Medicine

I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2025 after double-majoring in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Medicine, Health, & Society. While there, I worked in the lab of Antonis Rokas, studying the evolution of the gliotoxin biosynthetic gene cluster in Aspergillus and Penicillium fungi. In the Bhatt Lab, I am excited to continue exploring my understanding of microbial evolution in the context of gene-environment interactions, specifically as it relates to traits that modulate the host response. In my free time, I enjoy trying various cuisines around the Bay Area, listening to music, and dancing Bharata Natyam!

Contact: charuba[at]stanford[dot]edu

SHAHD TAMER ELNAGGAR

School of Medicine
University - Student - Graduate

I graduated from Barnard College in 2024 with a degree in Computational Biology. As an undergraduate, I worked with Dr. Allison Lopatkin to study costs associated with plasmid acquisition in bacteria. After college, I was a researcher in Dr. Tal Korem’s lab at Columbia University, where I used computational approaches to develop microbiome-based predictive models for diseases including esophageal cancer. In the Bhatt Lab, I’m excited to explore mechanisms of genomic plasticity in bacteria and further investigate the role of mobile genetic elements in enabling the adaptation of microbiomes. Outside of lab, I enjoy discovering new music, reading literary fiction, rock climbing, and swimming

Contact: elnaggar[at]stanford[dot]edu

DANIEL MOON

School of Medicine
University - Student - Graduate

Hello! My name is Daniel and I just finished my undergrad at Columbia studying biochemistry and math. My research interests lie in mobile genetic elements, and particularly how transposons evolve alongside their host organisms. In my free time I love finding new restaurants to try, going to the gym, and playing games (mostly Tetris). I'm really hoping to get into hiking around the Bay so if anybody has any recommended trails let me know!

Contact: ydmoon[at]stanford[dot]edu

DENNIS JAMES ZHANG

School of Medicine
University - Student - Graduate, Medicine

I graduated with a degree in biology from Columbia College in 2024, where I worked in the Sternberg lab to study microbial enzymes that employ RNA-guided mechanisms to synthesize genes and modify genomes. I then completed a Fulbright research fellowship at the University of Copenhagen in 2025, working in the Pinilla-Redondo lab to discover and characterize similar enzymes using approaches that spanned molecular biology to bioinformatics. Now, as a Stanford MD/PhD student working in the Bhatt lab, I am excited to continue exploring the “dark matter” of microbial genomes to uncover surprising biology, dissect microbe–host interactions, and build new biotechnologies.

Outside the lab, I enjoy brewing kombucha, playing guitar, stubbornly trying to learn Danish, and staying active by any means necessary.

Contact: djzhang[at]stanford[dot]edu

Administrative Associate

EVELYN FONSECA

Administrative Associate, 2025

I am an aspiring administrative associate with roots in the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Growing up surrounded by Rio's rich culture, energy, and beautiful landscapes, I developed a natural passion for organization, efficiency, and bringing people together. I take pride in my attention to detail and genuinely enjoy coordinating tasks, supporting teams, and helping others achieve their goals. My diverse background has given me a strong appreciation for connection, collaboration, and hospitality.

Now settled in Mountain View, I'm eager to apply my skills and experiences to create a positive impact in my workplace while sharing the warmth and vibrant spirit of Brazilian culture with my colleagues. Outside of work, I enjoy hiking in California's beautiful mountains, dancing, cooking, playing with my dogs, and staying active through functional fitness.

Staff

ARIEL GULASCH

Lab Manager, 2023

Hello, I am the Bhatt Lab Manager! Before joining the Bhatt Lab, I completed my undergraduate work at San Jose State University in 2017 where I earned a BS in biology with a concentration in microbiology and a minor in chemistry. After graduation, I came to work at Stanford University and then transitioned to Stanford School of Medicine's Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology in 2019. I am inspired by the Bhatt Lab's culture and research into the microbiome and joined as lab manager in 2023. Studying the gut microbiome is an exciting area of research with the potential to revolutionize our understanding of health and disease. I can't wait to make contributions to this growing field!

In my free time, I enjoy playing RPGs and other games with my husband and friends, scuba diving in chilly kelp forests with my sister, and re-reading Terry Pratchett novels with my foster kitties.

Contact: arielgu[at]stanford[dot]edu

Bhatt Lab Alumni

TESSA ANDERMANN, M.D., M.PH.

Infectious Disease Medical Fellow

Current Position: Associate Professor (with tenure), UNC Chapel Hill

THORA BERNDT DE COTERA

Administrative Associate

SIERRA MORGAN BOWDEN

Stanford Graduate Student, 2024

ERIN BROOKS, M.S.

Lab Manager / Life Science Research Professional

HALEY CARLSON

Undergraduate Stanford Summer Research Program Fellow, 2018

Current Institution: St. Louis University

PAULINA CHAMELY

Stanford Undergraduate Student, Class of 2018

Current Institution: Weill Cornell

MEENA CHAKRABORTY, M.S.

Stanford Graduate Student, 2025

CARRIE JIAYI CHEN

Stanford Undergraduate, 2024

BORYANA DOYLE, MD, MS

Stanford Medical and Masters Student, Berg Scholars Program

Current position: Internal Medicine Resident, Stanbury Physician Scientist Program, MGH.

MATTHEW DURRANT

Stanford Graduate Student, 2021

Current Position: Senior Scientist, Arc Institute

MAI DVORAK

Stanford Graduate Student, 2025

NORA ENRIGHT

Stanford Graduate Student, 2024

SHANNON FALCONER, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

 Current Position: Co-founder and CEO, Biocraft Pet Nutrition

BRAYON FREMIN

Stanford Graduate Student, 2021

Current Position: Bioinformatics Project Scientist at the Joint Genome Institute

GABRIELLA GREEN

Clinical Research Coordinator

ALVIN HAN

Stanford Graduate Student, 2023

Current Position: Post-doctoral fellow, European Molecular Biology Laboratory

MIKA JAGANNATHAN

Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program participant 2025

AANCHAL JAIN

Administrative Associate

NAVAMI JAIN

Stanford Undergraduate, 2023

SANDRA TIAN-JIAO KONG

Stanford Undergraduate, 2021

ANN LIN

Stanford Graduate Student, 2024

Current Position: Graduate student at Stanford

DYLAN MAGHINI, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Current Position: Post-doctoral fellow, Stanford University and the University of the Witwatersrand

VERONICA MANZO

Stanford Medical Student, 2018

Current Institution: UCSF

ARAVIND NATARAJAN, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

RYAN PARK

Stanford Undergraduate, 2023

YISHAY PINTO, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

HILA SBERRO, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Current Position: Scientist, biomX

DANICA SCHMIDTKE, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

CHRIS SEVERYN, M.D., PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Current Position: Medical Director, Allogene

BEN SIRANOSIAN

Stanford Graduate Student, 2021

Current Position: AI Scientist, Pattern Biosciences

SUMMER VANCE

Lab Manager/Life Science Research Assistant

ILSE VANDERZEE

PATRICK WEST, PH.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Current Position: Scientist, Oxford Nanopore Technologies

EUNICE YANG

Stanford Undergraduate, 2022

SOUMAYA ZLITNI, PH.D. 

Postdoctoral fellow

Current Position: Assistant Professor, UCSF

If you are interested in philanthropically supporting the work of The Bhatt Lab, please contact:

Evelyn Klass-Rodewald
Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts
Stanford Medicine, Medical Center Development
evelyn.rodewald@stanford.edu

Page updated on August 2026