The Team

Mustafa Özçam, PhD

mozcam@som.umaryland.edu

Mustafa is the principal investigator of the Translational Microbiome & Immune Tolerance Laboratory. He completed his postdoctoral training at UCSF with Dr. Susan Lynch, investigating how the human microbiome contributes to early-life allergic diseases. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, focusing on the functional role of gut microbial secondary metabolites in microbe-host and microbe-microbe interactions. In his free time, Mustafa enjoys road biking, running, watching football (the real one), and trying recipes from world cuisines.

LinkedIn | Google Scholar | ORCID

Arren Liu, PhD

arren.liu@som.umaryland.edu

Arren is a postdoctoral fellow in the Translational Microbiome & Immune Tolerance Laboratory. He received a Ph.D. in Biological Design at Arizona State University, where he worked with Dr. Arul Varman and Dr. David Nielsen on metabolic engineering of microbes to biomanufacture chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. Before joining the Özçam Lab, he completed a postdoc in the Lynch Lab at Johns Hopkins University, where he worked on developing genetic tools for microbiota. Arren is the VP of Engagement for the student and postdoc association for EBRC and is also a part of the Opportunity and Belonging committee for SIMB. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and is looking to explore improv in the near future.

Lina Berhaneyessus 

LBerhaneyessus@som.umaryland.edu

Lina is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), and is the lab manager for the Translational Microbiome & Immune Tolerance Laboratory. At UMD, she studies lymphatic permeability and dynamic changes in junctional proteins using in vitro and ex vivo models under interstitial fluid flow in the Maisel Lab. She previously completed a summer internship at the Institute for Genome Sciences (UM Scholars), where she investigated relationships between neonatal fecal cytokine profiles and intestinal permeability under the mentorship of Dr. Bing Ma. In her free time, Lina enjoys drawing, watching anime, running, and playing soccer.

Alex Huber, PhD

ahuber@som.umaryland.edu

Alex is a postdoctoral fellow in the Özçam Lab. He earned his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where he trained in the Madan Lab and studied the host immune response to Clostridioides difficile infection. His doctoral work characterized inflammatory neutrophil states that drive intestinal epithelial injury using single-cell transcriptomics, spectral flow cytometry, and functional models of host-pathogen interactions. His research focuses on identifying translational biomarkers and therapeutic targets for microbiome-associated inflammatory disease. He also serves as a peer reviewer for immunology journals. Outside the lab, he enjoys Muay Thai, watching movies and television shows, and playing classic video games

Ashley Benton 

AshleyBenton@som.umaryland.edu

Ashley is a first year PhD student in the Molecular Microbiology & Immunology program, joining the lab for her third rotation. She completed BSc in Biotechnology at UMGC, while working as a research assistant in the lab of Bill Jackson where she studied host-pathogen interactions (specifically the autophagy pathway) during SARS-COV-2 infection. She then completed a 1 year post-bacc fellowship at UMSOM focusing on the role of HMGB1 and RAGE during EV-D68 infection. In her free time, she enjoys learning new languages, playing music (can't sight-read anymore, but can still play by ear), gaming, swimming, and movies.

Kylie Wisniewski

kewisni@terpmail.umd.edu

Kylie is a senior at the University of Maryland pursuing a double degree in Microbiology and Dietetics with a Spanish minor. Her research interests include the interactions between the diet and the gut microbiome and the production of secondary metabolites like carotenoids. Outside of classes, she is the VP of UMD's Club Synchronized Skating Team and a figure skating coach. She also enjoys reading, crocheting, and exploring new coffee shops. Kylie joins the Özçam Lab as a SUMMIR program intern to investigate how early life diet affects the developing infant gut microbiome.

Claire Ravel

CERavel@som.umaryland.edu

Claire is a junior at the University of Maryland majoring in Dietetics with a Professional Writing minor. She is interested in how the diet can influence the gut microbiome. At her school, she is the Vice President of the Food Science Club and a student nutritionist with the UMD Dinning Services. Claire also enjoys traveling, camping, reading, and trying new foods. 

Zeytin — Remote Cat

Zeytin (Olive in Turkish) was born in Baltimore but has since lived a truly global life, traveling across multiple states and countries, including Turkey, Portland, San Francisco, and New York. She brings a fiercely independent spirit to the team. If she needs your attention, she’ll make it known; otherwise, good luck getting within a few feet. A proud and accomplished hunter of local rodents, Zeytin would be an ideal lab member—if not for her tendency to get a little too interested in potential in vivo experiments. For everyone’s safety (especially the germ-free mice), she works remotely. In her downtime, Zeytin enjoys long naps and watching birds with an intensity usually reserved for grant deadlines.

Mika — Remote Cat

Mika is a two-year-old feline with a calm yet curious personality. She spends most of her days napping in sun-lit spots, requesting well-timed scratches, and watching the world go by from her favorite window perch. Mika has a strong sense of comfort and equally strong opinions—especially about vacuums, which she considers unnecessary intrusions. A proud San Francisco resident, she shares her apartment with Habibi, another rescued cat from the Page Street in San Francisco, together forming a quirky yet affectionate duo that keeps city life lively and full of personality.

Evelyn — Remote Cat

Evelyn is a Russian Blue mix with a chill but spicy personality. She spends her free time napping in sunbeams, sitting on someone's lap, or making biscuits. She lives with her brother, a samoyed, and her two sisters, a siamese and a long haired tabby. Although she tolerates her siblings, she takes care to assert her dominance with a gentile hiss or swipe. Evelyn is always dressed to impress with her white socks and tie and she is more than happy to work overtime to keep her humans company during long work nights.