Aakanksha Jain, PhD
Principal Investigator
ajain90@uw.edu
Aakanksha grew up in the beautiful city of Jaipur, India, and earned a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal. She moved to the United States to pursue a PhD in Immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the lab of Dr. Chandrashekhar Pasare, where she studied innate and adaptive immune cross-talk in autoimmunity. Her work described how autoreactive T cells can instruct myeloid cell activation revealing the mechanism that triggers sterile inflammation and autoimmune pathology. She then joined Dr. Clifford Woolf’s lab at Boston Children’s Hospital to understand how immune ligands regulate pain, a key symptom of many inflammatory diseases. Aakanksha started her lab at the University of Washington in July 2025 and she is excited to continue deciphering the neuroimmune cross-talk of pain and inflammation with the support of K99/R00 HEAL Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral-to-Independent Career Transition Award.
Outside the lab, Aakanksha enjoys spending time with her daughter and exploring the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.
Alex Koriath
Research Scientist
akoriath@uw.edu
Alex was born and raised in the PNW and attended the University of Washington where she graduated with a BS and MS in Bioengineering. After a stint in industry, Alex joined the Jain Lab at the end of 2025 bringing her expertise in bioinformatics, single-cell omics and fluorescent microscopy. Currently, Alex is working on mapping the immune transcriptome of human and mouse peripheral nerves. In her free time, Alex enjoys getting out in nature, reading, doing fiber arts and fostering cats. She's also the Co-President of the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild!
Alexis Taber
Graduate Student in MCB
tabera2@uw.edu
Alexis was born at the University of Washington and then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Washington in 2020. She then spent 5 years as a research technician in Dr. Martin Prlic’s lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, where she studied the function and manipulation of memory CD8+ T cells and innate-like T cells across disease contexts. In 2026, Alexis joined the Jain Lab as a graduate student alongside her twin, Vera Tang; here she studies how immune-derived cues alter sensory neuron function in the context of nerve injury and neuropathic pain. Outside of the lab, Alexis enjoys swimming, singing, and sleeping (:
Vera Tang
Graduate Student in Immunology
veratang@uw.edu
Vera graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2022. Following her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research technician in Dr. Mark Anderson’s lab at the University of California, San Francisco where she studied the role of the thymic epithelium in T cell tolerance and organ-specific autoimmunity. In 2026, Vera joined the Jain Lab as a graduate student where she studies how sensory neurons drive tissue immunity in the context of autoimmune diseases. Vera enjoys trying new restaurants and cafes and spending time exploring Seattle with her friends. She has also been reunited with her twin Alexis Taber :)
Cecilia Mustelin
Volunteer Researcher
cm2334@uw.edu
Cecilia grew up in Seattle and graduated from the UW Honors Psychology program in 2022. She spent a few years working in Dr. Tomas Mustelin’s lab at UW studying how interactions between T cells and neutrophils fuel painful autoimmune diseases like RA. Sparked by her growing interest in neuroimmunology, she joined the Jain Lab in 2026 and has been exploring how pain modulates immune interactions in RA. Outside of the lab, Cecilia enjoys spending time in nature, painting, and taking care of her 26 pet frogs.
Wenxi Xiao
Research Scientist
wx52@uw.edu
Wenxi was born and raised in Beijing, China. She earned her PhD in Neurobiology from Duke University in 2025 under the mentorship of Dr. Fan Wang at MIT. Using the mouse whisker system, she investigated how brainstem neurons transform tactile signals into representations of nearby objects. Wenxi joined the Jain Lab in 2026, where she is extending her background in somatosensory processing to translational questions in pain and neuroimmunology. Outside the lab, she enjoys exploring new foods and spending time with her two cats, Garfield and Toasty.
Lab Alumni
Christina Gao
Research Scientist
czgao@uw.edu
Christina graduated with Bachelor’s degrees in Molecular and Cell Biology and Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. In the Jain Lab, she leads the behavioral experiment efforts. Outside the lab, Christina enjoys visiting parks and cooking.