Our Lab

Ulrike (Uli) Gerdemann, MD

Originally from Germany, Uli has dedicated her career to advancing immunotherapy, focusing on the development of novel T-cell therapeutics through over a decade of training with leaders in the field. A committed physician-scientist, she cares for patients on the stem cell service, blending her clinical expertise with a drive to innovate in cellular therapy.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Uli is a mother of two who enjoys skiing, mountain biking, playing cello and finding moments to unwind with her family.


Caroline keeps the Gerdemann Lab running smoothly as our Lab Manager, lead technician, Biosafety Officer, and social media guru. A McGill University graduate with a Bachelor of Science, she brings incredible organization, creativity, and energy to everything she does. Outside the lab, you’ll find her reading, playing volleyball or ice hockey, jogging, hiking or experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.

Caroline Vioal, Lab Manager

Rebecca Sutherland, MD, Postdoc

Rebecca is a pediatric hematology-oncology fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children's Hospital. Co-mentored by Dr. Francesca Alvarez Calderone, she is focused on developing innovative CAR and TCR therapies for children with cancer.

Katherine Michaelis, MD, PhD, Postdoc

Katy is an Allergy and Immunology fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is interested in using advances in T cell biology to innovate cell therapies for patients with inborn errors of immunity, immune dysregulation, and cancer. She is also an award-winning baker, always providing baked goods for the lab, and enjoys hiking and running.

Ryan Fleming, MS, Computational Biologist

Ryan has been working alongside Uli for over four years. He started as a lab technician, then pursued a master’s degree in computational biology, and returned to the lab post-graduation to tackle correlative biological studies. With exceptional skills both at the bench and on the computational side, Ryan is also an outstanding mentor to new lab members.

Casey Son

Casey is an undergraduate at Wellesley College who joins the Gerdemann Lab during her summer and spring breaks. She’s exploring how CAR T cells behave in the central nervous system, bringing curiosity and enthusiasm to every project she takes on.

Raenne Cruz

Raenne, an undergraduate of Swarthmore College, is our coding wizard with a magic touch for data. She’s busy decoding and analyzing TCR structures across the lab’s projects.

Lab Alumni

Marlana Winschel, PhD Candidate, Marlana was the Gerdemann Lab’s very first and truly exceptional Lab Manager . During her two years with us, she played a key role in getting the lab up and running. She has since begun her PhD in Immunology at the University of Washington, where she’s enjoying life on the West Coast — running, yoga, skiing, hiking, and reading under Seattle’s stunning sunsets. Though she’s now far away in distance, she remains close to our hearts and always visits whenever she’s in town.

Gilian Selig, joined the lab as a bioengineering student at Harvard to pursue her thesis project. Co-mentored by Francesca Alvarez-Calderon, focused on identifying novel TCR targets. She is now pursing her master’s of science by research in surgical sciences at Oxford.

Austin Moore, MD, PhD joined the Gerdemann Lab during his time in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center to explore the field of computational biology, focusing on uncovering mechanisms underlying CAR T cell–associated neurotoxicity. He is now an Infectious Disease fellow, continuing to share his expertise by advising our team on managing infections in patients on the transplant service.

Rachel Hu worked as a summer student from Wellesley College, validating single-gene knockouts to improve CAR-T therapies. She is currently spending a semester in Singapore.

Lab Collaborators

  • Francesca Alvarez Calderon, MD, PhD

    Instructor, Dana-Farber Cancer and Blood Disorder Center

  • Jim Kaminski, PhD

    Computational Biologist, Boston Children’s Hospital

  • Victor Tkachev, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital

  • Leslie Kean, MD, PhD

    Professor of Pediatrics, Dana-Farber/ Boston Children’s Hospital Cancer and Blood Disorder Center