Research Team

• Aashik Bhalodia

  Aashik Bhalodia studied Molecular and Cellular Biology and Classics at Johns Hopkins University and is interested in the intersection of research and clinical medicine with the intention of attending medical school. He has experience working in research labs as well as hospital and outpatient facilities and approaches learning from an interdisciplinary perspective. Aashik joins the Adamo Lab in June 2022 after a year of research with the team as an undergraduate student. In his spare time, he enjoys following consumer technology, learning about Classical language and history, watching sports, and solving the Rubik’s cube.

  

• Charles Cohen, Ph.D.

  Charles Cohen is an Australian post-doctoral fellow in the Adamo Laboratory, with a background in cardiac cell biology, physiology, and pharmacology. Charles graduated with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) from Monash University (Department of Pharmacology) with First-Class Honors, also receiving the Alan Boura Prize for Pharmacology. Charles subsequently completed a Ph.D in cardiac cell biology at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and LaTrobe University, incorporating high-dimensional flow cytometry, cardiac single-cell RNA sequencing, and confocal microscopy to characterize distinct changes in the cardiac cellular composition in diabetes-induced cardiomyopathy. Now, Charles is investigating the relationship between immune cell activation, myocardial function, and myocardial adaptation to injury – with a particular focus on B-cells.
  
  Charles has a personal connection to cardiac disease. His mother suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest when he was six years-old, and the cause is still unknown. This drives his enthusiasm to learn about the intricacies of heart networks to better understand cardiovascular disease.
  
  Outside of work, Charles enjoys watching and playing various sports, hiking, and fishing.

  

• Jana Lovell, M.D.

  Jana Lovell is a cardiology fellow who joined the Adamo Lab as a post-doctoral fellow. She received her M.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While attending medical school, she participated in the Medical Research Scholars Program at the National Institutes of Health, where she developed an interest in immunology and translational research. She then went on to complete her internal medicine training in the Osler Residency Program at Hopkins. After finishing her first two clinical years of cardiology training at Hopkins, she joined the Adamo Lab as a T32 research fellow to combine her interests in heart failure and immunology. Following her research fellowship, she plans to complete additional training in advanced heart failure and transplant.
  
  Outside of medicine, she enjoys running, hiking, and exploring new restaurants in Baltimore with her friends and dog.

  

• Kevin Bermea, M.D., M.Sc.

  Kevin Bermea is a post-doctoral fellow in the Adamo Lab, with a previous fellowship at Johns Hopkins with Anne Margaret Murphy. He completed his M.D. and a M.Sc. in molecular biology and genetic engineering at the Universidad Autónoma de Nueva León. He worked as a physician in Monterrey, Mexico before moving to the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley to work as a research associate. Among other endeavors, he has worked to discover proteomic biomarkers for cardiac disease, and his work with the Adamo Lab aims to unscramble enigmas involving complex immune processes in the heart. Kevin has authored a book chapter on the implications of interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein in diabetic retinopathy, and his work will be featured in several upcoming publications.
  
  Kevin has strong skills in data analysis with R, enjoys teaching undergraduates and graduate students in the lab, and is always interested in what’s new in microbiology. His son, also named Kevin, is almost two years old and loves playing with cars, showing videos to kittens, and learning new things like his father.

  

• Marcelle Dina Zita, Ph.D.

  Marcelle Dina Zita is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Adamo Lab. Born and raised in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Marcelle moved to the U.S. to pursue a bachelor of science degree at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She then completed a Ph.D in microbiology and immunology under the mentorship of Dr. Karl Boehme at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, investigating mechanisms of reovirus-induced cardiac pathology. In October 2022, Marcelle joined the Adamo Lab. Her work focuses on elucidating inflammatory immune-mediated responses that drive viral-induced pediatric cardiac pathology to aid in the development of novel therapeutics for children suffering from acute myocarditis.
  
  In her leisure time, Marcelle enjoys running, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

  

• Sylvie Rousseau

  Sylvie Rousseau studied Human Biology at Stanford University and worked in international development and global health for several years. She is passionate about improving health outcomes for populations around the world and has special experience in data systems and project reporting as well as communications and workforce training. Sylvie's public health experience includes programs in HIV/AIDS with OVC, human resources for health, and maternal and child health. She has worked with government agencies and nonprofits in Haiti, the Philippines, Uganda, and the United States. With the Adamo Lab since May 2021, Sylvie supports the research activities of her colleagues.

  

Former Lab Members

Fabiana Pani, M.D.

Fabiana Pani is a physician-scientist with a passion for immunology and discovery. Born and raised in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), Fabiana obtained her M.D. and post-graduate training in endocrinology at the Universities of Pisa and Cagliari. During her fellowship, Fabiana developed an interest in autoimmune diseases and endocrinopathies and published several clinical papers. In 2017 Fabiana moved to Johns Hopkins University to add a basic science dimension to her work. In Maryland Fabiana completed a first post-doctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Prof. Patrizio Caturegli where she studied autoimmune thyroiditis. In September 2020 she joined the Adamo Lab to expand her post-doctoral training to B cell biology and apply her knowledge of autoimmune disease to the emerging field of immunotherapy.

As of 2022, Fabiana works as a Practitioner-Specialist Onco-endocrinologist in the Center for the Fight Against Cancer of the Nuclear Medicine and Thyroid-Endocrine Oncology Service at Gustave Roussy University Hospital in Paris, France.