Meet the team

Aimee Payne, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator
asp2261[at]cumc.columbia.edu
Aimee trained at Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Pennsylvania. She served as a professor at Penn for 17 years before moving in 2023 to become the Chair of Dermatology at Columbia University. Outside of work, you can find her partaking in the NYC food scene, walking her dog Winston, and doing Sunday morning bootcamp with Karen Katz at 102nd and Riverside.

Eun Jung Choi, MS
Lab Manager
ejc2214[at]cumc.columbia.edu
Eun has been the manager of the Payne lab since it started in 2006 and is still heading up the Payne Lab at Columbia University. In her spare time she likes to check out parks and rooftop sights across NYC, and has been disciplining herself to train at F45 in the mornings.

Emma Goodman
PhD Graduate Student
emmagood[at]pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Emma is completing her Immunology PhD at Penn, focused on canine comparative T cell biology. She received her BA from Wellesley College in 2017, where she first became interested in scientific research. Emma is passionate about animal health and is interested in refining animal models of disease to benefit both human and animal patients. Outside of the lab, Emma enjoys baking, exploring Philly, and spending time with her dog and husband Erik.

Gexin Zhao, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
gz2393[at]cumc.columbia.edu
Gexin joined the lab in 2024 after receiving her PhD from Sun Yat-sen University. Her doctoral research focused on the isolation and characterization of potent monoclonal antibodies against Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) and the development of anti-EBV mRNA vaccines for anti-tumor immunity. At Columbia she is focusing on the development of novel precision cellular therapies for immunity and elucidating CAAR T cell biology. In her spare time, she likes climbing and finding nice places to eat (there are a lot of them in NYC!)

Andrew Overmiller, PhD
Associate Research Scientist
ao2987[at]cumc.columbia.edu
Andrew received his PhD in Genetics, Genomics, and Cancer Biology from Jefferson University in the laboratory of Mỹ Mahoney working on non-adhesion roles of the desmosomal cadherin desmoglein 2 in keratinocytes and carcinogenesis, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH in the laboratory of Maria Morasso identifying the cellular networks regulating oral epithelial regeneration after wounding.

Chuda Rujitharanawong, MD
Postdoctoral Fellow
cr3482[at]cumc.columbia.edu
Chuda is a dermatologist affiliated with the Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. She is involved in academic research, medical teaching, and dermatology clinical care, with particular focus on immune-mediated skin diseases including pemphigus and pemphigoid. She is pursuing a one-year clinical research fellowship at Columbia University starting in 2025. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring different foods and desserts to discover new flavors and dining experiences – a great way to relax and unwind, connect with others, and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

Farzan Solimani, MD
Associate Research Scientist
Farzan comes from Parma, Italy and is joining the Payne lab in 2025. He graduated in medicine from the University of Parma and later moved to Germany, where he trained as a dermatologist in Marburg at the Philipps University of Marburg and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. He has developed a keen interest in the pathogenic mechanisms of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with a focus on T-cell immunology. Outside the lab, Farzan can be found at the playground playing with his daughter, cooking Italian recipes, listening to jazz and experimental music, visiting museums, and generally feeding his curiosity.

Hisashi Nomura, MD, PhD
Associate Research Scientist
Hisashi obtained his MD and completed Dermatology residency at Keio University. He also obtained PhD from Keio University under the mentorship of Prof. Masayuki Amagai. His doctoral research highlighted the critical role of the IgM to IgG class switch in the development of pemphigus phenotype in AK23 knock-in mice. Hisashi will be joining the Payne lab in 2025 to work on next-generation cell therapies for autoimmunity. One of Hisashi’s hobbies is walking – so far almost 100,000 kilometers walked between home, lab, and around town. He also likes dining out and listening to American pop music.

Silvio Manfredo Vieira, PhD
Data Analyst
smv2150<at>cumc.columbia.edu
Silvio received his PhD at the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard and Yale, where he discovered that gut bacteria translocate to distal tissues and induce autoantibodies typical of lupus and autoimmune hepatitis, indicating a critical role for intestinal microbes in initiating or perpetuating local or systemic autoimmunity. Silvio joined the Payne Lab to direct translational research and quality assurance programs necessary to move novel cell therapies through early phase clinical trials under an academic-industry alliance and helped design the translational studies to understand the in vivo mechanisms of DSG3-CAART from clinical trial samples. On weekends, Silvio likes to play drums, cook, go biking and spend time with his son and wife.
ALUMNI (Current Position)
Takeru Funakoshi, MD, PhD (Associate Professor of Dermatology, Keio University, Japan)
Luisa Lunardon, MD (Dermatology, Milan)
Arielle Nagler, MD (Associate Professor of Dermatology, New York University)
Michael Jeffrey Tejada Cho, PhD (Senior Manager, Glaxo Smith-Kline)
Eric Mukherjee, MD, PhD (Dermatology instructor, Vanderbilt University)
Nina Ran, MD, MS (Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital)
Carolyn Kushner, MD (Dermatology, NJ)
Napatra Tovanabutra, MD (Assistant Professor, Chiang Mai University, Thailand)
Jinmin Lee, PhD (Associate Director, Preclinical Research, Cabaletta Bio)
Daniel Lundgren (Biotechnology/Finance)
Baomei Wang, MD, PhD (Director, Legend Biotechnology)
Ellyssa Sherman (Ohio State University MD-PhD Program)
Christina Bax, MD (Dermatology chief resident, Stanford University)
Christoph Ellebrecht, MD (tenure-track Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania)
Patricia Tsao, MD, PhD (Chief Operating Officer and Scientific Director, CytoEX)
Sangwook Oh, PhD (Assistant Professor, Hallym University, Korea)
Casey Lee, PhD (MS7, Penn MSTP)
Damian Maseda, PhD (Scientific Director, Immune Health, Penn)
Xuming Mao, MD, PhD (Human Immunology Core, Penn)