Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Theodoros Kelesidis is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Kelesidis earned an MD at University of Athens in 2004, a Ph.D in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at UCLA in 2013 and a Msc in Translational Research at UCLA in 2016. He completed clinical training in Infectious Diseases at UCLA in 2013. His research focuses on the crosstalk between oxidative stress, inflammation and aberrant host responses that drive end organ disease in infectious diseases, with the goal of developing novel treatment strategies. He is recipient of several teaching awards and scholarships. Beyond his passion for medicine and science, Dr. Kelesidis enjoys spending time with his beautiful family (wife, kids, and several pets).
Sandro obtained a Bachelor`s degree in Biotechnology and a Master’s degree in Experimental and Applied Biology in Italy. After his graduation, Sandro trained in the UK at the University of Bristol, and he moved to Manchester where he obtained a PhD in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Pathology. Afterwards, he was recruited at Imperial College London where he focused his research in Pulmonary Artery Hypertension. Sandro joined UCLA in 2020 and since then he has been focusing his studies on SARS-CoV-2.
Maria received her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, master’s degree in Toxicology and PhD in Molecular Virology from the University of Thessaly in Larissa, Greece. Her focus at the lab is pathogenesis of viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2. When she is not in the lab, she enjoys ballet and traveling.
Hariclea joined the Kelesidis lab while still an undergraduate student at UCLA, where she majored in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. She completed her Masters degree at UCSF, and she will be moving to the University of Chicago in fall 2022 to pursue a PhD in Computational Immunology. She is interested in the intersection of immunology/biology and computer science and she is excited to explore the field utilizing the tools she has learned in the wet lab. Other interests include swimming, hiking, and cooking.
Madhav graduated from UC Davis in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and in the near future he will be applying to PhD programs. It has always been his desire to create an impact and help push the boundaries of knowledge and it is why he has been drawn to the idea of research. His interests include spending time with friends on the weekends playing poker and basketball.
Cristelle has been in the Kelesidis lab since her sophomore year. At UCLA, she studied Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and minored in Global Health, fueling her interest in human disease and disease-related states. This upcoming fall she will attend the University of Southern California to pursue a PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, watching sports, and shopping.
Michael is a third year undergraduate student at UCLA majoring in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and minoring in Global Health. He has been in the Kelesidis lab since his first year. He is looking to pursue an MD with to advance the medicinal world through his practice, clinical research, and community health work. Alongside the Kelesidis Lab, Michael is also involved in APHC, ARC, THINQ, The American Red Cross, and the LA Program where he works with high schoolers, undergraduate students, and patients. In his free time, he loves spontaneous adventures, the beach, Spikeball, exercising, and photography.
Roy is a fourth year undergraduate student at UCLA. He is interested in being able to address and contribute to solving various medical problems in the world, and he is looking to continue such efforts as he pursues a medical degree. In his free time, he likes playing tennis, basketball, and running.
Tyler is a fourth year biology major at UCLA. As an Arkansas native with a love for science, he grew up interested in the natural world around him and the way it works. Since the start of the pandemic, one of his interests has been SARS-COV-2, given its genomic and mechanistic complexity. He joined Dr. Kelesidis’s lab to learn more about it, as well as the way therapeutic agents are planned and designed. Outside of school and research, he enjoys playing tennis, a childhood sport of his which he grew up competing in, as a means of reconnecting with friends and family. He also enjoys teaching science to high school students through one of his clubs and assisting with heart screenings for sudden cardiac arrest in another. In the future, he hopes to be a doctor who, through seeing patients and conducting his own research, helps improve the lives of people suffering from allergies and eczema, which he grew up with and continues to manage daily. In the short term, he is thrilled to apply what he has learned in his undergraduate courses through the projects in Dr. Kelesidis’s lab and make contributions to the field of research.
Wenli Mu, PhD
Eleni Ritou, PhD
Shubhendu Sen Roy, PhD
Athanasios Kossyvakis, PhD
Diana Huynh
Sangeun Park
Huy Cong Xuan Nguyen
Philip Hamid
Rachel Heymans
Yuyan Zhang
Maeliss Gelas
Neil Maithel
Vahe Yacoubian
Alexei Christodoulides
Tanveer Salim
Hariclia Vasilopoulos
Jordan Parker
Miranda Soumakis
Sebastian Gomez
Grace Sosa
