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Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, Ph.D.
Dr. Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz grew up in rural Arizona and is a first-generation college student. She earned her bachelor's degree from Colorado Mesa University and her doctorate in Experimental Pathology from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Her postdoctoral fellowship at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute solidified her expertise in infectious diseases and vaccinology.

Joining the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix in 2009, Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz served as the Hematology/Oncology Block/Course Director until 2017. In 2017, she became the Director of the Women’s Health Microbiome Initiative and currently directs the Translational Women’s Health Research Program. She also co-directed the Reproduction, Endocrine, & Behavior Through the Lifespan (REBLS) program from 2021 to 2023. In 2023 she advanced to tenured Professor in the Departments of Basic Medical Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz's research focuses on the microbiome and host-microbe interactions in the female reproductive tract, studying their impact on oncologic, reproductive, and gynecologic health outcomes. In addition, she is passionate about investigating health disparities in underrepresented, understudied and underreported populations in Arizona, specifically Latinas and Native American women. She employs clinical biospecimens, animal models, and pioneered a 3-D human bioreactor system to investigate immunometabolic responses to microbiota throughout the female reproductive tract. Her lab employes cutting edge techniques and integrated multi-omics analyses. Her work has been funded by the NIH and esteemed foundations including the Flinn Foundation, Alternatives Research Development Foundation, Mary Kay Foundation, and the Women Inspiring Science and Health (WISH) through the Banner Health Foundation.

A recognized leader, she has received the Phoenix Business Journal's "40 under 40" award and the American Society of Reproductive Immunology's "J. Christian Herr Award" for outstanding achievements in basic or applied research in reproductive immunology particularly for investigators in technology transfer. Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz is actively involved in FemTech and entrepreneurial endeavors, further advancing innovations in women's health. A committed science communicator, she shares her insights through media engagements, including interviews, documentaries, and podcasts, ensuring her research reaches and benefits a wider audience.

Assistant Research Scientist

Paweł Łaniewski, Ph.D.
Dr. Paweł Łaniewski is an Assistant Research Scientist in our laboratory. He received his Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from the University of Warsaw (Poland). After completing his Ph.D., he held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. He joined Dr. Herbst-Kralovetz's research team at the University of Arizona in 2015 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and has been promoted to an Assistant Research Scientist in 2018. He is a trained bacteriologist with extensive experience in microbiology, molecular biology and mucosal immunology. He has significant experience in culturing fastidious anaerobic microorganisms (including bacterial vaginosis-associated bacteria and vaginal health-associated Lactobacillus spp.), rotating wall vessel bioreactor technology, and studying host-pathogen interactions using in vitro cell culture models. Dr. Łaniewski also has extensive experience in studying mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis and host defense using animal models, including mouse models of viral and bacterial genital infections. Furthermore, he has expertise in translational clinical research in the area of gynecologic oncology. Dr. Łaniewski has a deep interest in studying vaginal microbiota-host interactions and impact of microbial communities on female reproductive health and physiology, particularly gynecologic cancer.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Nicole Jimenez, Ph.D.
​Nicole Jimenez is Postdoctoral fellow in the Herbst-Kralovetz lab. She graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Microbiology. In 2015, she moved to Richmond, Virginia for Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program. In 2021, she defended her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at VCU’s School of Medicine. Her graduate work was with VCU’s Vaginal Microbiome Consortium and centered on vaginal microbiome in pregnancy, preterm birth, obesity, trichomoniasis and bacterial niche adaptation. ​ In addition to Nicole’s scientific work, she is a strong advocate in higher education in regards to implementation of programs around the topic areas of diversity, inclusion and mental well-being. She joined the Herbst-Kralovetz lab in Summer of 2021 and utilizes her passion for advocacy work and science to assist with microbiome research of gynecologic cancers and understudied gynecological conditions with a focus on health disparities within the Latinx and Native American communities.

Clinical Research Coordinator III

Erika Flores, B.S.
Erika Flores graduated from Arizona State University with B.S. degrees in Health Sciences (Pre-Professional), Biological Sciences (Genetics, Cells, and Developmental Biology), and Psychology. She has two years of research experience from the Psychology Department at Arizona State University and become involved in clinical research in 2019, working on Maternal Fetal Medicine and Vaccine Development studies. Erika joined the University of Arizona as Clinical Research Coordinator II for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in June of 2021. Her research interests include health disparities and social determinants of health—especially amongst those who are underprivileged and underrepresented. Erika hopes to use her Spanish-speaking skill to help drive the goal of diversifying clinical research among women. She hopes to attend medical school soon.

OB/GYN Residents

​Megan Kline, MD

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Graduate students

Emerald Bell, Ph.D.
Emerald Bell  joined the Herbst-Kralovetz lab in 2021. She recently graduated in Summer 2024 with her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, College of Nursing-Tucson. She earned her A.A.S. in Nursing from Gateway Community College in 2010, before pursuing her B.S. in Nursing from Grand Canyon University in 2014. She has worked in healthcare for the past 17 years, with the first five years in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her graduate work is centered on understanding correlations between the microbiome, gynecological diseases, and mental health disorders. She is passionate about combining her experience as a nurse, with her research, to provide a translational approach to women’s health and microbiome research. 

Medical students

Rachel Mendoza, MPH
​Rachel Mendoza is a third-year medical student at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine-Phoenix. She earned her B.S. in Biological Sciences with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Arizona State University in 2017. Following her graduation, she became an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic at Valleywise Health and conducted research regarding prenatal health education for refugee expectant mothers. She then pursued her Master of Public Health at the George Washington University and graduated in 2020. Rachel is interested in reproductive health and health disparities in Arizona and beyond.
Nina Gautam, B.S.
Nina Gautam is a first-year medical student at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine-Phoenix. She earned her B.S. in Human Biology and Society with minors in Global Studies and Environmental Systems and Society from UCLA in 2021. She worked as an undergrad research assistant studying relationships between inflammatory responses and gut microbiome composition, and coordinated a clinical research project on IBD for a startup company. Following graduation, she worked in an internal integrative medicine clinic in Los Angeles. In the Herbst-Kralovetz lab, Nina is interested in investigating hallmarks for specific disease states, in the hopes of being able to clinically apply the findings through preventative screenings in the future.

Post-Baccalaureate students

Vianney Mancilla, B.S.
Vianney Mancilla graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Global Health and a minor in Biological Sciences. Vianney volunteers with the University of Arizona’s Mobile Health Unit to treat and serve under-resourced communities, and Street Medicine Phoenix to provide healthcare and other services to Phoenix’s homeless population. Her ultimate goal is to earn her MD-MPH and become a primary care physician to prevent and treat disease in underserved communities in Arizona. She joined the lab in 2022 and is passionate about women’s health and its intersection with minority populations.
​Asiya Falak, B.S.
Asiya Falak graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University with bachelor’s degrees in computer science and biological sciences. She has a background in population genetics and genomics research. Asiya volunteers as a phlebotomist at a local non-profit clinic serving underrepresented Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities. She also works as a nursing assistant at a hospital in Phoenix. She hopes to be accepted into an MD/PhD program in the future.

LaToya Johnson, B.S.

​LaToya Johnson graduated from New Mexico State University with a B.S. in Kinesiology and minor in Chemistry. She has worked in the healthcare field for 9 years as a certified clinical medical assistant in various specialty clinics.  Her goal is to earn a MD-MPH and become an OB/GYN physician.  LaToya is an ambassador for her tribal community and is passionate about Women's Health; with a focus of promoting HPV awareness to underserved communities. Her interest into research is understanding vaginal microbiome research in relations to gynecologic diseases and health disparities among the Native American women population. She joined the Herbst-Kralovetz lab in 2023 and hopes to matriculate into medical school soon.  

Undergraduate Students

Claire Njokie Njugna
​Claire Njoki Njugna is an undergraduate Summer Flinn Intern in the lab and is studying Biomedical Engineering on the pre-med track at Arizona State University. Claire’s current projects include understanding the effectiveness of biomarkers obtained from vaginal swabs in the diagnosis of adenomyosis, a painful condition where endometrial cells overgrow in the muscle tissue of the uterus. She is also working on a project investigating xenobiotic alterations between patients. Claire hopes to attend medical school in the future and work in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.

Logan Welsh

​Logan Welsh is an undergraduate intern majoring in biology and minoring in gender, women, and sexuality studies on the pre-med track at the University of Washington. Logan’s current project includes determining the effectiveness of using biomarkers as a diagnostic for adenomyosis, a painful benign gynecological condition that affects many women. She joined the lab in Summer of 2024 and plans to attend medical school in the future.

Natasha Aitchison

Natasha Aitchison is an undergraduate biomedical sciences student at the University of Bath. As part of her degree, she is partaking in a year-long professional placement in the Herbst-Kralovetz laboratory. Natasha is currently working on analysis of metabolomic data to investigate diagnostic methods for endometriosis and adenomyosis. After graduating with her B.Sc. degree in 2026, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D.

Anita Garwolinska

Anita Garwolinska is a student at the University of Bath, majoring in B.Sc. in biomedical sciences. Anita is currently attending a year-long internship in the Herbst-Kralovetz laboratory, where she is working on projects which focus on identifying biomarkers for endometrial cancer using different sampling techniques. Anita is set to graduate in 2026 and hopes to pursue a PhD soon after.

Lab Alumni

Visiting Scientist
Masahiro Ito, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor at Kitasato University (Japan)​

​Post-doctoral Researchers
Jason Maarsingh, Ph.D - Castle Biosciences Inc.
Zehra Esra Ilhan, Ph.D. - INRA French National Institute for Agricultural Research (France)
Andrea Throop, Ph.D. - Technical Director at LabCorp​

Clinical Research Coordinators
Elisa Martinez, MBA, CCRC - HonorHealth
Alice Treuth, B.A. - Medical student at Emory University
Regina Montero, MSN, RN, CNOR - Retired

OB/GYN Residents
​Alicia Muhleisen, MD
​​Rebecca Ludwig, MD
​Gabriella Smith, MD
Lelan McCann, MD
Addison Alley, MD
​Taylor Norton, MD

Medical Students
Victoria Yarbrough, MD
​Alison Goulder, MD
Rachel Mendoza, MPH, MD
Jacob Shaner, MD

Graduate Students
Jameson Gardner, Ph.D. - Graduate student at Brigham Young University Law School
Anna Tuzimek, M.S.
Wioletta Piotrowska, M.S.
​Sylvie Doerflinger, M.S., Ph.D.

Technicians
Darwin Tsinajinnie, B.S.
Sean Winkle, B.S.

University of Bath Placement/Exchange Program
Holly Chatenoud (2023-2024)
Hannah Harris ( 2023-2024) ​
Phoebe Crossley (2022-2023) - Ph.D. student at University of Glasgow (UK)
Georgia Lorentzen (2021-2022) - Ph.D. student at Imperial College (UK)
Ross McKenzie (2020-2021)
​Mary Salliss (2019-2020) - Ph.D. student at Newcastle University (UK)
Kimberley Owen (2018-2019) - MRes student at Imperial College London (UK)
Ellen Wilkinson (2017-2018)
James Baker (2016-2017) - ​Postdoc Fellow at University of Manchester (UK)

Undergraduates
Gurbeen Diadala, B.S. (2023-2024), Hajer Rahee, B.S. (2022-2023), Eiven Mugo, B.S. (2023), Michelle Aminov, B.S. (2022-2023), Michael Khnanisho, B.S. (2019-2022), Camryn Garza, B.S. (2019-2021), Sylvia Karjala, B.S. (2019-2020), Tess Alexander, B.S. (2017-2019), Natalie Thomas, B.S. (2018-2019), Sara Stowers, B.S. (2016-2018), Dani Krasinski, B.S. (2016-2018), Ryan Smith, B.S. (2015-2017), Greg Frasco, B.S. (2016-2017), Natalie Van Ert, B.S. (2016-2017), Adriana Gomez, B.S. (2015-2016), Geoff Hire, B.S. (2015-2016)

High School Summer Interns
​​Elena D'Avanzo (2019), Cynthia Ianova (2018), Anamika Basu (2017), Jasmin Menjivar (2016)