IVAYLO (IVO) IVANOV

Professor

Department of Microbiology & Immunology

Columbia University

Ivo obtained a B.Sc. in Biotechnology and M.Sc. in Molecular Biology from Sofia University in his native Bulgaria. He obtained his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. He performed his thesis work on generation of antibody repertoire diversity with Dr. Harry Schroeder, Jr. at UAB. He then joined the laboratory of Dr. Dan Littman at the Skirball Institute at New York University as a Postdoctoral Fellow in mucosal immunology. At NYU Ivo discovered that RORgammat is the master transcritional regulator of Th17 cells and that most intestinal Th17 cells at steady state are induced by the commensal bacteria SFB, which was the first example of a microbiota member that specifically regulates adaptive immunity. He joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Columbia University in 2011.

NAHYUN LEE

Lab Manager

Nahyun obtained her Master’s degree from Gachon University under the guidance of Dr. Hyae Gyeong Cheon. During her Master’s, she studied adipose tissue browning as a potential therapeutic strategy for obesity. She joined the Ivanov Lab in 2025 as our lab manager.

Select Publications:

Lee NH, Choi MJ, Yu HN, Kim JI, and Cheon HK. Adapalene induces adipose browning through the RARβ-p38 MAPK-ATF pathway. 2022. Archives of Pharmacal Research, 45(5): 340–351.

Kim DY, Choi MJ, Go TK, Lee NH, Kim OH, and Cheon HK. Angiotensin AT1 receptor antagonism by losartan stimulates adipocyte browning via induction of apelin. 2020. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 295(44): 14878–14892.

Jeon EJ, Kim DY, Lee NH, Choi HE, and Cheon HK. Telmisartan induces browning of fully differentiated white adipocytes via M2 macrophage polarization. 2019. Scientific Reports, 9: 1–15.

JUNJIE MA

Postdoctoral Scientist

Junjie obtained his Ph.D. from Karolinska Institutet under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Coquet. During his PhD, he studied how infections affect the function of T helper cells in allergy and cancer model. He joined the Ivanov Lab in 2023 to study the phenotype and function of SFB-induced Th17 cells.

Select Publications:

Ma, J., Tibbitt, C. A., Georén, S. K., Christian, M., Murrell, B., Cardell, L. O., Bachert, C., & Coquet, J. M. (2021). Single-cell analysis pinpoints distinct populations of cytotoxic CD4+ T cells and an IL-10+CD109+ TH2 cell population in nasal polyps. Science Immunology, 2021 Aug 13;6(62)

Ma, J., Classon, C. H., Stark, J. M., Li, M., Huang, H.-J., Vrtala, S., Rosshart, S. P., Nylén, S., & Coquet, J. M. (2023). Laboratory mice with a wild microbiota generate strong allergic immune responses. Science Immunology, 2023 Sep 29;8(87)

JIE YIN

Postdoctoral Scientist

Jie obtained his Ph.D. at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China under the guidance of Dr. Qingyi Tong and Dr. Yonghui Zhang. His doctoral studies focused on therapeutic strategies to alleviate acute liver failure through the gut-liver axis. He joined the Ivanov lab in 2024 to study the role of gut immunity in liver and metabolic diseases.

Select Publications:

Yin J, Zhao Z, Huang J, Xiao Y, Rehmutulla M, Zhang B, Zhang Z, Xiang M, Tong Q, Zhang Y. (2023). Single-cell transcriptomics reveals intestinal cell heterogeneity and identifies Ep300 as a potential therapeutic target in mice with acute liver failure.  Cell Discovery, 2023 Jul 25;9(1):77