Weger-Lucarelli Laboratory

Parisa earned her B.S. in Medical Laboratory Sciences in Iran before moving to the United States to pursue her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her doctoral research focused on tumor immunology, particularly how tumor-associated macrophages shape the ovarian cancer microenvironment and influence therapeutic response, using patient-derived 3D cancer models.

After completing her Ph.D. in 2025, she joined Virginia Tech as a postdoctoral associate, where she worked on human liver organoids and iPSC-derived cell models for virology research. In August 2026, she joined the Weger-Lucarelli Lab, where her research focuses on developing 3D and iPSC-derived cellular models to study virus–host interactions, antiviral responses, and oncolytic viruses. Outside the lab, Parisa enjoys running, baking, and spending time with family.

Coming soon.

Samar Sayedyahossein is a Research Assistant Professor in the Weger-Lucarelli Lab. Her research focuses on virus–host interactions and the mechanisms through which alphaviruses induce cell death in glioblastoma models. She is particularly interested in understanding the host signaling pathways that modulate viral infection, replication, and tumor cell responses.

Katie joined the VG-HI lab in the fall of 2022, and is a local of Southwest Virginia. She worked as a Biology and Anatomy teacher at Bland County High School for 5 years. During that time, she obtained her M.S. in Microbiology and Cell Science from the University of Florida. She previously obtained her B.S. in Biology from Radford University, where she was a 4 year member of the Radford University Dance Team. Katie is also an instructor/choreographer at Bluefield Dance Theatre where she has taught dance for over 16 years. She also serves as a board member, performer, choreographer, and instructor for Adaire Theatre in Pulaski, VA.

Before joining the Weger-Lucarelli lab, Tyler earned his bachelor’s degree at Virginia Tech and worked in the natural resources field as a technician for various wildlife projects including endangered species conservation, genetic diversity assessments, and long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Tyler went on to receive his master’s degree at Louisiana State University and then worked as a research technician at the USDA Honeybee Breeding and Genomic Facility studying the role nutrition plays in disease outcomes for honeybees. In this current position, Tyler is working to develop Sindbis virus replicons to facilitate gene knockout in cell culture, establish protocols using pseudoviruses to measure neutralizing antibody levels in wildlife samples, and to support various laboratory needs. Outside of research Tyler spends time cooking or baking and enjoys outdoor activities like fishing, bird watching, and bee keeping.

Coming soon.