Jianmei Wu Leavenworth, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Areas of Interest:
cancer immunotherapy, malignant tumors, glioma
Dr. Leavenworth joined UAB Neurosurgery as an Assistant Professor on Oct. 1, 2016. Previously, Dr. Leavenworth was at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University. Her main research interest is to understand the mechanisms of self-tolerance, focusing on molecular and cellular elements that regulate effector and regulatory cell subsets of the immune response. Her long-term goal is to seek effective strategies for cancer immunotherapy using mouse models and specimens from patients with malignant tumors, including gliomas. Dr. Leavenworth completed medical school at Nantong University (NTU) School of Medicine, Nantong, Jiangsu, China. She then finished her PhD training in molecular biology, microbiology and biochemistry with a focus on immunology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She was at Harvard Medical School since 2009 serving as a research fellow (Postdoc) and then as an instructor.
Current Members
Sadashib Ghosh, PhD (Instructor)
In 2015, Sadashib Ghosh graduated from the National Brain Research Centre in India, with a PhD degree in Neuroscience. After a year of postdoctoral training at McGill University in Canada focusing on regulatory T cell research, Sada came to UAB and joined the Department of Neurosurgery for his postdoctoral training in glioblastoma research. He joined the Leavenworth lab in 2020, and is working on projects related to GBM, oncolytic virotherapy and CNS inflammation. He was promoted to instructor in the Leavenworth lab on July 1, 2023.
Jeffrey Grimes, M.S. (Ph.D candidate)
In Summer 2009, Jeff graduated with a Bachelors degree in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from UCF. He then worked for Dr. Dmitry Kolpashchikov as a Research Assistant for several years before deciding to pursue further training, he began his graduate studies by getting a MS in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Following that he worked in industry for several years before deciding to pursue his PhD in the Microbiology theme at UAB. After working with various immunologists, Jeff joined the lab of Dr. Leavenworth where he studies the role of CD4 T-cell subsets in the regulation of glioma progression.
Michael Franks, M.S. (Ph.D student)
In 2017, Michael Franks graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Science from UAB. He then continued at UAB to obtain an MS degree in Biotechnology in 2018. After working as a research technician in several labs at UAB, he was admitted into the UAB GBS to pursue his PhD degree in Cancer Biology. Michael joined the Leavenworth lab in 2021 and is starting to explore the role of NK cells in cancer.
Monica Moran (PhD student)
In 2018, Monica graduated with a Bachelor degree in Biology from Berea College. Previously, she participated in the Aspirnaut, a K-20 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) pipeline program for diversity at Vanderbilt University. She was admitted into the UAB GBS to pursue her PhD degree in Immunology and joined the Leavenworth lab in February 2022. She is currently awarded with the Tanner Foundation pre-doctoral scholarship and studying the immune regulation in CNS autoinflammatory diseases, MS and murine EAE.
Stephen Opoku (Graduate Student)
In 2020, Stephen obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Technology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. He then worked as a Teaching and Research Assistant in KNUST and KCCR for two years. He studied the immuno-epidemiology of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19 and hookworm infection as well as predictive biomarkers for pregnancy related complications such as preeclampsia. In August 2022, he started his PhD studies in the GBS Immunology program at UAB. Stephen joined The Leavenworth Lab in 2023, and is currently investigating how the nervous system and specific immune cell subsets can be used to hijack breast cancer growth.
Reid Dotson, MS (PhD student)
In 2020, Reid graduated with a Bachelor degree in Biology and Chemistry (minor) from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He then obtained a Master of Science degree in Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science at UAB, before he was admitted into the UAB GBS GGB program in 2022 to pursue his PhD degree. He joined the Leavenworth lab in May 2023 and is currently exploring the impact of oncolytic virotherapy in GBM tumor microenvironment.
Austin Blanton (Medical student)
In 2022, Austin graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (pre-med track) from Auburn University before he was admitted into the UAB Heersink School of Medicine to pursue his MD. He joined the Leavenworth lab in 2023 and is investigating how a specific antibody type regulates the CNS demyelination in conjugation with his Physician Scientist Summer Research Fellowship.
Andie Gamble (Undergraduate)
Andie is currently a UAB undergraduate student on the pre-med track and she is majoring in neuroscience and cancer biology. She joined the Leavenworth lab in 2023 and is investigating the GBM tumor microenvironment in response to oncolytic virus treatment.
Daniel Lyn (Student)
In Fall 2022, Daniel Lynn transferred to UAB from Jefferson State Community College. He is currently a senior in the undergraduate Cancer Biology program as well as a graduate student in the Multidisciplinary Biomedical Sciences program with plans to graduate in Summer/Fall of 2024. After graduation, Daniel plans to attend medical school and pursue the field of dermatology.
Alumni:
Michael Dixon, PhD (2017-2021), Immunology T32 Pre-doctoral fellowship recipient, currently as a senior associate scientist at Amgen
Malik Seals, MS (2020-2022), Fulbright Scholar, Currently MD/PhD student at Oregon Health and Science University
Luo Lin, PhD, Postdoctoral fellow (2018-2020), Currently as an Associate Professor at Nantong University, China
Jie Yin, PhD, Postdoctoral fellow (2016-2017), Currently as an Instructor at Tianjin Medical University, China
Baolong Yan, PhD, Visiting Scientist (2017-2018), Currently as a Lecturer at Wenzhou Medical University, China
Danny Lynn, UAB-CORD Blazing to Biomedical Careers Program (BBC) community college student (2021)
Rashib Samant, high school student (2021)
Wesley Oliver, Undergraduate in Neuroscience (2019-2020), Currently medical student at Howard University
Julia Homola, Undergraduate in Immunology (2019-2021)
Xianzen (Jane) Hu, MS, Researcher V (2018-2019)
Katie Valin, Researcher II (2016-2018)
