Lab Team
Erika Darrah, PhD
Principal Investigator
Erika Darrah, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. She received her BS in Biology/Chemistry at Ursinus College in 2002 followed by her Ph.D. in Immunology at Johns Hopkins University in 2010. During her doctoral training, she characterized antigen-specific T cell responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and went on to complete post-doctoral fellowship training in the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins studying autoantibodies in RA. Dr. Darrah joined the faculty in the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins in 2014 and continues to investigate immune mechanisms that drive the development and propagation of systemic autoimmune diseases with a focus on RA.
Eleni Tiniakou, MD
Assistant Professor
Hong Wang, PhD
Research Specialist II
Hong Wang, PhD, B Med. received her medical degree at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. After working at China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing for several years, she obtained her PhD in Human Nutrition at Ohio State University in 2005. Before joining the Darrah lab in 2016, she worked as Postdoctoral Fellow and then as Research Associate in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Her major research interests are molecular biology and translational studies in rheumatoid arthritis.
Ashley Curran
PhD Student
Ashley graduated from Louisiana State University with a BS degree in Biochemistry in 2017. She is now a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Immunology studying the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. She also writes news articles for the Hopkins Rheumatology website and is an editor for JHU ReVision. Outside of the lab you’ll find her reading, traveling, or hunting for new coffee shops.
Jonathan Crawford
PhD Student
Jonathan graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a BS in Biological Engineering. He is currently a third year student in the Graduate Program in Immunology. When he is not in lab, he is usually walking or wrangling his 85 pound Viszla/Doberman mix.
Mekha Thomas
PhD Student
Mekha graduated from University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering in 2018. She is currently a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Immunology and studies the intricate role of PAD4 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. In her free time, she enjoys photography.
Kusuma Ananth
PhD Student
Kusuma is a PhD student in the Graduate Program in Immunology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University with a double major in Cellular Biology & Neuroscience and Spanish. Her main research interest is autoimmunity, and she is currently studying rheumatoid arthritis in the Darrah Lab. In her free time, Kusuma enjoys exploring Baltimore, spending time in nature, and reading.
Former Lab Members
Pooja Naik, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
2015-2019
Current position: Scientist I in Immunology at Novavax
Yaewon Kim
Undergraduate Research Assistant
2017-2020
Arvin Saleh
Undergraduate Research Assistant
2015-2017
Current position: Medical student at Tufts Medical School