Meet the team

Camilla Margaroli Bell, Ph.D.

Dr. Bell received her Master of Science in Immunology and Oncology at the University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland, before earning her Ph.D. in Immunology and Molecular Pathogenesis from Emory University in Atlanta, GA in 2019. She worked in Emory University’s Tirouvanziam Laboratory from 2015-2019 studying how neutrophil plasticity enables the development of pathological microenvironments and its implications for cystic fibrosis. Dr. Bell came to UAB as a postdoctoral trainee in Dr. Amit Gaggar’s lab in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology’s Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology.

Ezgi Sari, MSc. M. Ed.

Ezgi got her bachelor’s degree at the Department of Biology at Istanbul University (IU), and her master’s degree in the molecular mechanism of cigarette smoke-induced lung fibrosis at the Molecular Biology Department of the IU. She got her Master’s of Education at Yildiz Technical University.

For two years, Ezgi worked at Northwell Health’s The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York as a research assistant and conducted research on the role of the long-term inflammation-related RNA-binding protein in lung damage. Currently, Ezgi is a researcher at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and works on the pathobiology of lung diseases. She will be starting her Ph.D. at UAB, GBS – Pathobiology, Pharmacology, & Physiology (P3) theme.

Crystal Lewis

Crystal got her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at Troy University in Dothan, AL. She has been working in research at UAB for 4 years. She is the newest researcher in Dr. Bell’s lab. In her free time, Crystal enjoys reading fiction, acrylic painting, and being a dog mom to her rescue fur baby, Willow.

Delores A. Stacks, Ph.D.

Delores is a UAB thoroughbred as she completed her undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral training on this campus. She currently works in the Bell lab as a lab manager and researcher. When not at work, she participates in a book club, tinkers around with her guitar, and is growing a garden.

Yixel M. Soto-Vazquez

Yixel got her B.A. in Industrial Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. Yixel worked in our lab as a PREP Scholar. She started her Ph.D. at Emory University in Fall 2023.

Jeffrey Yuan

Jeffrey is an undergraduate student assistant on the pre-med track at UAB. He is part of the Early Medical School Acceptance Program and majors in Genetics.