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Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Weiguo Cui

Weiguo Cui is originally from China. He was trained as a physician but soon found his passion in science and biomedical research. He came to the US in 2002 through an exchange program for graduate study. After his postdoctoral training in Sue Kaech’s lab at Yale, Weiguo moved to Milwaukee in 2012 and became an independent investigator at the Versiti Blood Research Institute and Medical College of Wisconsin. In 2022, he joined the faculty of the Pathology Department at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.  He studies T cell biology in the context of viral infection, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Weiguo enjoys playing tennis and swimming.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Kexin Gai

Kexi Gai grew up and earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology in China.

Kexin focused on the molecular regulation of CD8 T cells during chronic viral infection. He likes hanging out with his family and watching movies.

 

 

 

Hongshen Niu

Hongshen Niu was born and raised in China, earned his Ph.D. in Basic Medicine in Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. He studied Innate Lymphoid Cells during his Ph.D. Now he focus on the CD4 T cells in chronic infection, studies the exhaustion and differentiation of CD4 T cells, he is also interested in the metabolism adaption of exhausted T cells in chronic infection.

Hongshen likes physical exercise, hanging out with his friends and listening music. He has a teddy dog names Diandian, he loves staying with Diandian.

 

Graduate Students

Christine Nguyen

Christine Nguyen was born in Boston, MA. She has received her B.A. in Chemistry, Biology, Anthropology, and French from Ripon College.  In the Cui Lab, Chrissy is interested in dissecting the mechanism behind CD4 T cell differentiation during viral infection. In her spare time, Chrissy trains mixed martial arts (MMA) and spends time with her two dogs.

 

 

 

 

Jian Shen

Jian Shen earned his Bachelor of Medicine degree at Sun Yat–sen University, China. Jian is interested in studying the transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of CD8 T cell differentiation in chronic infection and also developing novel immunotherapies. He enjoys cooking.

 

 

 

 

Ashley Brown

Ashley Brown is originally from Rochester, MN. She earned bachelor’s degrees in classics and biology and a master’s degree in biology before joining the MSTP at MCW. Ashley is studying mechanisms by which autoimmune CD8 T cells destroy pancreatic cells in type 1 diabetes. She enjoys running, cycling, and pedagogy.

 

 

 

 

Arjun Kharel

Arjun was born and raised in Khaireni, Lumbini Province, Nepal. He received his bachelor’s in science in biology at the University of Evansville, IN in 2020 and immediately joined Weiguo Cui’s laboratory for a doctoral degree.
 
Arjun studies the role of chromatin remodeling complexes in CD8 T cell differentiation during chronic infection and cancer. He likes to play ping pong, try new restaurants, go hiking, and watch soccer.

 

 

 

 

Siying (Wendy) Lin

Siying (Wendy) Lin is from Maryland. She earned bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and psychology at the Catholic University of America before joining the MD/PhD program at MCW. She enjoys running, exercising, hiking, and exploring the outdoors with her buddy, Titan, a Shiba Inu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuqi Zhang

Yuqi Zhang is originally from China. She got her bachelor’s degree in clinical medicine and her master’s degree in physiology in China. She joined the Cui lab in 2020. She is interested in the differentiation of CD8 T cells in chronic infection and cancer. She loves running, cooking, traveling, and organizing stuff in her spare time. She is also a big fan of Japanese anime.

 

 

 

 

 

Ashley Bauer

Ashley Bauer is from Wisconsin Rapids, WI. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical biology with a minor in German from St. Norbert College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Ashley worked as a Protein Engineering Research Associate for a small biotechnology company in Madison, WI for two years prior to pursuing her Ph.D.

Ashley studies the splenic architecture of chronically infected mice and the various cell to cell interactions that may promote low-grade infection as well as those that can be harnessed to inhibit the persistence of chronic infection. Outside of the lab, Ashley enjoys reading, hiking, exploring new restaurants, and spending time with her family and friends. Ashley is stoked to be at Northwestern University but will remain loyal to Wisconsin sports teams. Go Brewers!

 

Ryan Brown

Ryan Brown is originally from Oshkosh, Wi. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Genetics and Genomics with a minor in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison before beginning an MSTP. He enjoys running, lifting, and movies.