Team

Shijie (SJ) Cao

Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics at University of Washington

Postdoc, Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago

Ph.D., Bioengineering, University of Washington

B.S.Pharm., Pharmacy, Fudan University

Pronouns: he/him/his

Contact: sjcao@uw.edu; Box #357610 

Office: Health Science Building, Room H272F 

Brad Cleveland

Lab Manager & Research Scientist

Biography:

Brad has been involved in academic research for approximately 20 years and brings with him broad scientific knowledge and work experience in virology, immunology, vaccinology, and molecular biology.  After graduating from the University of Washington in 2001 with a degree in biochemistry (B.Sc.), he joined the lab of Dr. Shiu-Lok Hu at the University of Washington.  In Dr. Hu’s lab, he worked on developing an effective HIV-1 vaccine and better non-human primate models for AIDS.  Traveling, exploring the outdoors, and experiencing and learning about other world cultures are leisure-time activities which Brad enjoys.  

Contact: cleveb@uw.edu

Lindsey Williams

Ph.D. Student, PSTP fellow, mim_c trainee, Department of Pharmaceutics

Biography:

Lindsey is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Pharmaceutics. She graduated from UW in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, then moved on to a postbac at the Seattle VA Medical Center. There, she employed a human iPSC-derived blood-brain barrier (BBB) model to study mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease-related BBB dysfunction. Her experience cultivated strong interests in neuroimmune interactions and developing novel therapeutic strategies to treat neurological diseases. Currently, her project focuses on 1) developing a nanoplatform for the controlled delivery of immunoregulatory gut microbiome-derived metabolites, and 2) exploring the therapeutic potential of this platform in the context of multiple sclerosis.

Contact: lmw99@uw.edu 

Katie Martinez

PharmD student, School of Pharmacy

Biography:

Katie is a third-year PharmD candidate at the University of Washington (UW) School of Pharmacy. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the UW and worked in information technology for three years. After her bachelors, she transitioned into research and studied cervicovaginal immune mediators in the UW SLU OBGYN Department. She has a clinical background in inpatient pharmacy, specialty medication management, clinical trials and regulatory affairs. Interests include pharmacovigilance, patient advocacy, and interprofessional medical communication.  

Contact: kamart@uw.edu 

Charlie Leng

Undergraduate researcher, Biochemistry

Biography:

Charlie is a senior undergraduate student at UW majoring in biochemistry. Passionate about many areas of STEM, he enjoys studying mathematics and learning Japanese in his spare time. He looks forward to broadening his horizons in biochemistry and learning from the experience of the other members of the Cao Lab.

Contact: qrt314@uw.edu 

Sudheshna Thirunahari

Undergraduate researcher, Biochemistry

Biography:

Sudheshna is a junior at the University of Washington pursuing a degree in biochemistry with a minor in data science. She joined the Cao lab because she is interested in the topics of pathophysiology and immunotherapies and how they appear in the healthcare field. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in medicine. Her hobbies include being a dance captain of UW Junoon, exploring the city with friends, and getting boba (specifically at Sunright Tea Studio) 

Contact: sudheshna.t24@gmail.com