Current CFRI-Funded Cystic Fibrosis Researchers
2025 – 2027
Elizabeth Nash Memorial Fellowship Program
Paul Bollyky, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Samuel Rodriguez-Perez, PhD, MS, Postdoctoral Fellow
Stanford University
Development of a Phage-Based Gene Delivery Platform for Restoring Wild-Type CFTR Expression in the Human Lung Epithelia
Sriram Vaidyanathan, PhD, Principal Investigator
Brodie Ranzau, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Gene Insertion of a Gain of Function Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) Variant to Improve CFTR-Mediated Ion Transport
Katrine Whiteson, PhD, Principal Investigator
Sage Dunham, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
University of California Irvine
Overcoming Evolved Bacteriophage Resistance Via Next-Generation Directed Evolution
New Horizons Program
Ashley Cooney, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Iowa
Permanent Gene Repair by AAV-mediated Base Editing in CF Pigs
Ruobing Wang, MD, Principal Investigator
Boston Children’s Hospital
Studying Pulmonary Ionocyte Differentiation and Function Using Stem Cell Derived Airways
Daniel Wolter, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Washington
Role of Bacterial Metabolism in Promoting Antibiotic-Tolerant Staphylococcus Aureus CF Infections
2024 – 2026
Elizabeth Nash Memorial Fellowship Program
Steven Jonas, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Ruby Sims, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
University of California Los Angeles
Designing a cystic fibrosis gene therapy nanocarrier platform to target and modify airway stem cell-derived ionocytes
Ron Kopito, PhD, Principal Investigator
Celeste Riepe, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Stanford University
Pharmacogenomic discovery of therapeutic targets for corrector-resistant cystic fibrosis
New Horizons Program
Daria Van Tyne, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Pittsburgh
Optimization of activity and improved delivery of bacteriophages targeting Burkholderia spp
Feng Yuan, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dissecting Pulmonary ionocyte subtypes and their functional roles in cystic fibrosis
2023 – 2025
Elizabeth Nash Memorial Fellowship Program
Matthew Porteus, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator
Anais Amaya Colina, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Stanford University
A Hybrid Gene Correction Strategy for Cystic Fibrosis
New Horizons Program
Nadia Ameen, MD, Principal Investigator
Yale University School of Medicine
Elucidating the ion transport functions of CFTR High Expresser Cells (CHEs) and its relevance to intestinal disease in Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
Benjamin Chan, PhD, Principal Investigator
Yale University School of Medicine
Optimization of Phage Therapy to Reduce Pseudomonas-Induced Inflammation in Cystic Fibrosis
Katrine Whiteson, PhD, Principal Investigator
University of California Irvine
Targeting recalcitrant CF pathogens with phages, antibiotics, and small molecule adjuvants