MEET OUR TEAM

Michael Howitt, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

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Michael is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pathology and Microbiology & Immunology at Stanford University. He is also a member of Stanford’s program in Immunology, Maternal & Child Health Research Institute, Bio-X, and a Faculty Fellow in ChEM-H.

Michael grew up in Davis, CA before attending U.C. Berkeley as an undergraduate. After receiving his B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology, he traveled to India to work as a field research assistant at the Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning. Upon returning to the U.S., he joined the lab of Dr. Manuel Amieva at Stanford University to pursue his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology where he studied the sensory mechanisms that guide bacteria within the mucosal environment of the gastrointestinal tract. After completing graduate school, he moved east to the Harvard School of Public Health and the laboratory of Dr. Wendy Garrett. During this time, Michael became fascinated by tuft cells and the powerful influence of the gut microbiota on the immune system. After his postdoc, Michael returned to Stanford to start his lab studying the microbiome, gut epithelium and mucosal immune system.

Outside of the lab, Michael enjoys traveling, hiking, spending time outdoors, good food and beer, but mostly hanging out with his wife and little kids.

Eli grew up in Orange County and received his B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology from UCI in 2013, where he worked in the lab of Dr. Celia Goulding. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2018 in the lab of Dr. Sarah Fortune, where he studied post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Eli then promptly returned to California to join the Howitt lab in July 2018, where he is studying the influence of protists in the microbiota on intestinal immunity.

In his free time, Eli enjoys drinking beer and scotch, hiking, scuba diving, and hanging out with his tortoise, Shelly Silverstein.

Connie also grew up in Orange County and received her B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from UCLA in 2012, where she conducted research on how eukaryotic parasites invade and survive within host cells in the lab of Dr. Peter Bradley. Subsequently, she moved to the Bay Area and obtained her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2018 with Dr. Manuel Amieva. Her thesis research involved the use of high-resolution microscopy techniques to study how bacteria establish and maintain persistent colonization of mucosal epithelia. Connie then joined the Howitt Lab in March 2019 and is currently investigating how tuft cells modulate mucosal immunity in response to intestinal parasites.

Outside of the lab, Connie enjoys eating, traveling, tennis, and hiking.

Katherine received her B.A. in Biochemistry (and French!) from Washington University in St. Louis in 2019, during which she worked in the lab of Dr. Paul Allen studying the relationship between T cell receptor binding and T follicular helper cell development. Katherine returned to the Bay Area after graduating to pursue her Ph.D. in Immunology at Stanford, only thirty minutes from her childhood home. She has found her new home in the Howitt lab as of January 2020, where she is studying the effects of the microbiome and microbial perturbation on adaptive immunity in the gut.

When she isn’t thinking about science, Katherine likes cooking, yoga, waving at dogs, and taking pictures of her cat, Jiggle Bell.

Gabe received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago in 2020. There, he investigated how the gut microbiome influences susceptibility to lung injury and infection in the lab of Dr. Anne Sperling. While he traded in cold Chicago winters for year-long sun, he is a proud Chicagoan and will endlessly defend the reputation of deep dish-style pizza. In 2021, he joined the Howitt Lab to study the interplay between the intestinal barrier and microbes.

Gabe enjoys photographing Californian beach and forest landscapes, pottery and appreciating poetry outside of the lab. ————-

Miles grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts and got his B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Middlebury College in 2018 where he studied the impact of BPA, a ubiquitous endocrine disruptor, on ovarian health. He then completed two years as a Postbaccalaureate Fellow at the NIH where he studied mosquito immune responses to the malaria parasite. He joined the Howitt Lab in June 2021 and is excited to start exploring how diet and pathogens influence type 2 immunity and epithelial secretions in the gut.

In his free time, Miles enjoys eating Korean BBQ, bothering his kitty, Candace, and hanging out with friends.

Flora grew up in Stow, Massachusetts and earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from Ithaca College in 2018. She subsequently worked for three years as a laboratory technician at Harvard Medical School in the lab of Dr. Ulrich von Andrian investigating vaccine modalities to better elicit adaptive immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract. Having developed an interest in the mucosal immune system, she joined the Howitt lab in June 2022 to pursue her graduate degree and is currently investigating how tuft cell signaling impacts the many tissue resident immune cell populations of the small intestine.

Outside of the lab, Flora enjoys skiing as well as cooking and baking—occasionally to the benefit of her fellow lab members.

Leila grew up in Berkeley and is a second-year undergraduate student at Stanford. She is studying human biology and mathematics, and also enjoys Spanish and creative writing. Leila joined the Howitt Lab in June 2021 and is currently studying how parasites alter the function of gut epithelial cells.

Outside of lab, Leila enjoys rock climbing, playing clarinet, and searching for the best chai latte in the Bay Area.

Claire received her B.S. in Neuroscience and minor in Spanish from the University of Michigan in 2021. While at Michigan, she worked in the Department of Radiology in a CORE imaging facility under Dr. Brian Ross, and later at the VA Hospital in an interdisciplinary immunology lab of Dr. Michal Olszewski where she studied T-cell accumulation in the CNS following fungal pathogen infection. After graduating, Claire moved across the country to her new home in the Howitt lab as of June 2021. She is currently assisting other lab members in their projects before she takes on a project of her own.

In her free time, Claire enjoys hiking, camping, yoga, and playing with her dog, Corona.

Matthew worked in the Howitt Lab as an LSRP1 from 2018 to 2022. He is currently a medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Ada was a high school intern in the Howitt lab during the summer of 2019. She is currently an undergraduate studying Psychobiology/Neuroscience at UCLA.

Jess worked in the Howitt Lab as an LSRP1 from 2018 to 2021. She is currently a research associate at Mitokinin.