Lab Members
Current Members
Jay Zhu
Dr. Jay Zhu is a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He earned his BS from Wuhan University and his PhD from Cornell University, followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He later joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on bacterial communication and host–microbe interactions. Dr. Zhu was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and has received research funding from the NIH and the Gates Foundation. He also serves on the editorial boards of several leading microbiology journals.
Nathaniel Esteves
Postdoc Fellow
Email Nathaniel Esteves
215-573-4105
Dr. Nathaniel Esteves is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where he investigates how motility and microbial interactions shape Vibrio cholerae pathogenesis and gut microbiome dynamics. He earned his B.S. in Microbiology and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Virginia Tech, where his work in Dr. Birgit Scharf’s lab defined key mechanisms of flagellum-dependent bacteriophage Chi infection and contributed to structural studies of phage architecture. His research integrates molecular microbiology, bacterial genetics, and structural virology, resulting in multiple peer-reviewed publications and recognition through competitive fellowships and dissertation awards.
Arkaprabha Banerjee
Postdoc Fellow
Email Arkaprabha Banerjee
215-573-4105
Dr. Banerjee earned a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from reputable institutions in India before moving to the United States for doctoral training in 2017. He completed my Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis under the mentorship of Dr. David Nelson. His doctoral research focused on identifying determinants of virulence and tissue tropism in the obligate intracellular pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis. Dr. Banerjee joined the Zhu lab in the summer of 2023 as a postdoctoral researcher, where his work centers on elucidating the environmental interactions of Vibrio cholerae and understanding how these interactions influence its pathogenic potential.
