PhD Candidate (BMCB)

Serena is a PhD candidate studying the effects of IgG glycosylation on maternal antibody transfer. Before joining the Caddy Lab, she was a lab technician at SUNY Buffalo where she also did her undergraduate studies. Continuing her interests in comparative biology, she is working on our dog and horse cohort, to find out what glycans on IgG dictate maternal antibody transfer into colostrum. Serena optimized a lectin-ELISA which the lab uses to learn more about IgG glycans. She also performs a lot of Western blots, bead-based protein purifications and immunofluorescence staining. She is interested in the role of sialic acid on IgG, and how this sugar fine tunes the transferability and function of IgG in neonates across various species.

Outside of the lab… Serena likes playing the flute and caring for her pets, which are all named after legumes.