Munir Akkaya, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, NIAID, NIH
Dr. Munir Akkaya received his MD degree from Hacettepe University, Turkey in 2007 and D.Phil (PhD) degree from the University of Oxford in 2012. During his undergraduate education, he was awarded with a Scholarship of Honor from Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey and a Merit Scholarship from Hacettepe University. His doctorate education was funded by Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom. His D.Phil thesis, which he prepared under supervision of Dr. A. Neil Barclay, focused on the regulation of immune response through interactions of leukocyte surface molecules. He also explored how ligands of inhibitory receptors are acquired by various pathogens and used for immune evasion. Following his D.Phil education, Dr. Akkaya joined the research group of Dr. Susan K Pierce at NIAID, NIH as a post-doctoral researcher and undertook projects related to B cell biology and immunometabolism. His research at NIH characterized novel mechanisms through which TLR signaling can influence B cell survival and differentiation. Besides his work on B cell biology, he is interested in host-pathogen interactions in the context of Plasmodium infections. In addition to the Milstein Young Investigator Award, Dr. Akkaya is a recipient of ThermoFisher Trainee Achievement award from American Association of Immunologists and Fellows Award for Research Excellence from NIH. He currently works as a research fellow at NIH.
Dr. Rathinam received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Madras Veterinary College, India and PhD from Michigan State University in 2009.
Dr. Sonnenberg completed his doctoral research training at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine in 2011, focusing on mucosal immunology.
