Primary Investigator
Amelia K. Pinto, PhD
Amelia is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Amelia received her B.Sc. at Portsmouth University in Portsmouth England. She advanced her education with a Ph.D. from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, and completed a Postdoctoral at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the past 18 years, she has studied the host immune response to viral infection and vaccination, investigating both viral and host factors that influence the development of a protective immune response using multiple viral families. Her past experiences with emerging infections and current studies on coronaviruses are evident in publications and awards to her laboratory. Her work can be viewed in journals such as PLOS Pathogens, Frontiers in Immunology, Vaccines, JoVE, Nature Communications, and Nature Medicine, among others. Amelia also holds positions in the American Society of Virology, American Association of Immunologists, and the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
Social Media: Can Place Links Here
Ph.D. Candidates
E. Taylor Stone
Taylor earned her BA in biology from Hendrix College where she studied microbial diversity in hot water springs in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Moran. Upon receiving her degree, she joined the Pinto lab in April 2018 where she currently studies the use of virus-encoded innate immunomodulatory proteins in mitigating severe dengue disease. She is interested in studying the role of type I interferon signaling in the development of viral sepsis. Outside of the lab, Taylor enjoys weightlifting, horseback riding, and hiking.
Elizabeth Geerling
Lizzie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and a chemistry minor from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL in 2017. She joined Amelia's lab in the spring of 2018. She currently studies how obesity-induced chronic inflammation alters immune responses to viral pathogens and the implications this has on vaccine efficacy. Her studies have also highlighted sex as a factor that impacts this phenomenon. She is currently focused on elucidating mechanisms to explain the interplay between obesity-induced chronic inflammation and sex as they impact adaptive immune responses. In her free time, Lizzie enjoys tending to her many house plants while making fiber art crafts and succulent arrangements for the small business she owns, Saint Louis Succulents.
Truly awesome undergraduates and lab personnel
Valeria Murphy
Maria Mai
Christina Pham
Andreu Gazquez
Primary Investigator
Amelia K. Pinto, PhD
Amelia is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Amelia received her B.Sc. at Portsmouth University in Portsmouth England. She advanced her education with a Ph.D. from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, and completed a Postdoctoral at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the past 18 years, she has studied the host immune response to viral infection and vaccination, investigating both viral and host factors that influence the development of a protective immune response using multiple viral families. Her past experiences with emerging infections and current studies on coronaviruses are evident in publications and awards to her laboratory. Her work can be viewed in journals such as PLOS Pathogens, Frontiers in Immunology, Vaccines, JoVE, Nature Communications, and Nature Medicine, among others. Amelia also holds positions in the American Society of Virology, American Association of Immunologists, and the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
Social Media: Can Place Links Here
Ph.D. Candidates
E. Taylor Stone
Taylor earned her BA in biology from Hendrix College where she studied microbial diversity in hot water springs in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Moran. Upon receiving her degree, she joined the Pinto lab in April 2018 where she currently studies the use of virus-encoded innate immunomodulatory proteins in mitigating severe dengue disease. She is interested in studying the role of type I interferon signaling in the development of viral sepsis. Outside of the lab, Taylor enjoys weightlifting, horseback riding, and hiking.
Elizabeth Geerling
Lizzie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and a chemistry minor from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL in 2017. She joined Amelia's lab in the spring of 2018. She currently studies how obesity-induced chronic inflammation alters immune responses to viral pathogens and the implications this has on vaccine efficacy. Her studies have also highlighted sex as a factor that impacts this phenomenon. She is currently focused on elucidating mechanisms to explain the interplay between obesity-induced chronic inflammation and sex as they impact adaptive immune responses. In her free time, Lizzie enjoys tending to her many house plants while making fiber art crafts and succulent arrangements for the small business she owns, Saint Louis Succulents.
Mariah Hassert
Mariah studies the cellular immune response to emerging viral pathogens. She is working to understand the impact of flavivirus T cell cross-reactivity on the response to virus-specific and cross-reactive epitopes, and the implications of this on the outcomes of infection for both the virus and host in animal models of heterologous infection. This has included studies defining the immune correlates of protection for multiple viruses, rational vaccine design, the development of small animal models of infection, and studies in viral evolution.
When not in the lab Mariah enjoys playing volleyball, kickboxing, hiking, playing with my dog, and cooking.