Staff

Kelsey (they/them) grew up in Kansas City, MO, and earned their Bachelors of Science in Animal Science at the University of Missouri. They always had an interest in science and a passion for animal care and welfare, and they have been working in the field since they were an undergrad. Outside of work, Kelsey loves spending time with their partner and friends, caring for their pets and volunteering with SQSH, a local nonprofit dedicated to providing resources and assistance to the queer community in STL and beyond. Kelsey is a huge Halsey fan, a Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast, an amateur fiction writer and an avid crafter.

Ana Kolicheski was born and raised in Curitiba, Brazil, where she got her bachelors in Veterinary Medicine. Her love for science and genetics made her study abroad for her Masters in Animal Breeding and Genetics through the EMABG Master’s scholarship in the Netherlands and Sweden. She completed her PhD training in veterinary pathobiology at the University of Missouri where she analyzed whole genome sequences of dogs and identified disease causing mutations in different breeds. She transitioned to human genetics and studied the genetics of Early Onset Parkinson’s disease and healthy neurological aging during her post doctoral training at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. She is now working to identify genomic mutations that cause rare pediatric immune diseases and assisting on the bioinformatics analysis of the lab’s projects. Kolicheski is a huge heavy metal fan, singer, animal lover, gamer and overall “nerd”.

Jennifer has always resided in the St. Louis, Missouri area. She obtained her B.A. in Mathematics and BS in Biology at Saint Louis University. Jennifer has worked in labs on the Washington University School of Medicine campus since 1996.  Outside of the lab, she enjoys spending time with her husband and twin sons. In addition, Jennifer volunteers as a coach for a local youth team and works with other nonprofit organizations on both the state and national levels.

Kristen McDaniels grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and completed her BS in Biology at Michigan State University. She has had quite a few twists and turns in her career path, beginning with working in the pharmaceutical industry at Pfizer after college, a 15 year Dental Hygiene career, followed by a transition to clinical research at Wash U. Prior to joining the Peds immunology and rheumatology group, Kristen spent 4 years as a CRC with medical oncology, working on many treatment trials for lymphoma patients. Kristen enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with her husband Chas, watching her 14 yr old son Henry play lots of sports, shopping and cooking with her 12 yr old daughter Julia, and spoiling her cockapoo Bo.

Nermina Saucier joined the Cooper lab in the summer of 2010 as a research technician. She received her B.A. and M.S. in Biology from Saint Louis University. Outside of lab, she enjoys rock climbing, camping, hiking and spending time with her husband Jon and daughter Lydia.

Kelsey Toth is a PhD student. She received her undergraduate degree from Washington University and worked as a research assistant for several years before entering the Immunology program. Her current focus in the lab is the role of STAT3 mutations in autoimmunity and inflammatory bowel disease. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, camping, and pointing out cute dogs while walking in Tower Grove Park.

Yongjun grew up in Hebei province, China and obtained his Ph.D. in Plant Genetics and Breeding. He transitioned to biomedical research after joining Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University. He has previously worked at The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Florida, and Saint Louis University. Before joining the Cooper lab, he was a Research Assistant Professor at Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences and The Director of Biomedical and Obesity Research Core at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In his spare time, he enjoys watching TV shows and playing tennis with his teenage son.