Our Team

Emily Landy is a Postdoc Associate working on the engineering of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells to enhance suppression of graft-versus-host disease. She recently got her PhD in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh. She hopes to use the knowledge gained in her PhD career focused on cytotoxic cells to help create the ultimate engineered iNKT cell therapy. In her free time, she likes to play with her two cats, garden, cook/bake, mountain bike and spend time with her family.

Kelsey Busken is a pediatric hematology and oncology clinical fellow. She is preparing a clinical trial to test the safety and feasibility of using the adoptive transfer of ex-vivo expanded iNKTs for the prevention of GVHD. She is also working on mouse CAR-iNKTs in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. Kelsey is a proud St. Louis native and huge Cardinals fan! She completed her MD at University of Missouri Columbia Medical School. Kelsey came back to St. Louis to complete her pediatric residency at St. Louis Children’s Hospital/WashU and stayed for her fellowship. After fellowship, she plans to focus on hematologic and solid tumor malignancies with an emphasis on clinical trial development. In her free time, Kelsey enjoys playing with her three dogs, going to brunch, trivia, game nights, feeding into her Disney and Harry Potter obsessions, baking and finding new TV shows to watch.

Sam recently graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in Chemistry focusing on Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery. His scientific interests are to better understand the chemical inner workings of biological processes to help make discoveries that will ultimately promote human health. Outside of work, he enjoys learning and speaking French, travelling, cooking, and being outdoors.

Maria Mai recently graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Public Health. Her hometown is Lake of the Ozarks (what the TV show, Ozark, is based off) and she is interested in the fields of immunology and virology. When not in the lab, she enjoys painting, drawing and teaching English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) at Christian Friends of New Americans Peace Center.

Arnav is an undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis studying linguistics on the pre-med track. He is on the executive board of the Congress of the South 40, Washington University’s residential housing association, and is a member of GlobeMed. Arnav hopes to go to medical school and is interested in the field of public health. For fun, he likes to go on hikes, be out in nature and read books.

Joanne is an undergraduate student at Washington University studying computer science on the pre-med track. On campus, she is a part of Armour fashion magazine, the Prison Education Project, and Leaders in Interpersonal Violence Education. She hopes to eventually work as a doctor but also work to improve equity in healthcare access as well. In her free time, she enjoys trying new food places, painting, and going to small concerts.