Vella Lab

      
      PAST EVENTS:

      Escape the Room in Center City, Philadelphia (2022)
      Halloween Party CTRB where we dressed as characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2022)
      Sixers Basketball Game, including our friend Emilia Schlaak from Germany (2023)
      Joint Lab Meeting Retreat @ Cira Center with our friends from the Oldridge (CHOP), Huang (Penn), and Herati (NYU) labs (2023)
      Happy Hour for our visiting medical student, Carolina Ferraz from Brazil (2024)
     CTRBaseball game, Philadelphia Phillies (2024)
      Joint Lab Meeting Retreat @ Cira Center had its second go around 'Crossroads of Immunity 2024' with the Stelekati Lab able to join this time (2024)
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                                                                                                                                           GET TO KNOW THE VELLA LAB!
                                                                              We asked our lab members questions in order to learn more about them outside the laboratory:
    
  Question 1: If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be?
        "Prevention and cure of infectious diseases." - Hunter               "All languages."- Dr. Vella              "Space exploration!"- Jonny               "Soccer and basketball."- Kingsley
        
         "Routinely making a sourdough baguette as perfect as Four Worlds Bakery."- Sam                       "Coffee brewing."- Austin

  Question 2: What's one hobby you really enjoy outside of work?
         "I really enjoy volunteering because it allows me to give back to the community and make a positive impact on other people." - Atoishy
         
         "Guitar! Have been playing 7 years and proudly still not an expert." - Tianyu                      "Cooking!"- Dr. Vella                    "Soccer and basketball."- Kingsley

         "Running."- Hunter              "Traveling the world and experiencing new cultures."- Jonny               "Baking bread and then eating the bread."- Sam               "Board games."- Austin                                   
                         
   Question 3: What's your favorite productivity hack or tool?
         "The ***/xyz/highlight system (inquire for more details)." - Dr. Vella.                    "Some tasks are just tough pickle jars that need to be loosened and later revisited."- Sam

         "GPT, for sure!"- Tianyu                     "Sticky-notes are your friend, digital or physical."- Jonny                   "Deleting Instagram."- Austin

   Question 4: If you could create your own holiday what would it be and how would people celebrate it?
        "Day of Meditation. Embark on a mediation boot camp."- Kingsley       "First snow day- whether a dusting or blanket it's always magical, at least from a former Californian"- Sam

         "Pasta Day. People would stay home with family and spend the whole day making fresh pasta and sauces and having a great meal together at the end of it."- Dr. Vella
            
         "World Photography Day. Everyone has the day off to create the most captivating photo, and there's a showcase at the end of the day."- Jonny
  
  Question 5: What's the weirdest food combination you've ever tried and liked?
        "Fries and mayo will always be superior in my book."- Hunter                "Probably potato chips and Nutella."- Atoishy              "Fries in vanilla ice cream."- Jonny

        "Mashed potatoes + peanut butter soup + goat meat."- Kingsley           "Upon reflection, I apparently stay with the classics."- Dr. Vella

        "PBP- Peanut butter pickle sandwich, ideally with grilled sourdough, dark-roasted crunchy peanut butter, with cool crisp bread and buttered pickles. This sandwich is
         deserving of a try. Don't knock it until you try it!"- Sam

 Question 6: What's the best prank you've ever pulled on someone?
       "Pranks have unpredictable consequences. OK to receive them, prefer not to pull them."- Dr. Vella
   
       "Convinced our high school that my friend group started a polo team (fictitious) for a few months with fake score announcements."- Jonny
 
  QQuestion 7: What song best describes your personality or what is your current favorite song and why?
       "Apple by Charli xcx because it is a brat summer."- Hunter              "Songs have meanings?"- Dr. Vella             

       "Down Under by Men at Work because it reminds me of my trip to Australia"- Jonny       

       "Turtleneck Weather- JW Francis. Summer has been great and all but I'm manifesting fall now. Alas, I own no turtlenecks."- Sam
   
  Question 8: What's a recent work accomplishment that made you happy?
        "Presenting at the International AIDS Society 2024 meeting (well, that and graduating)."- Hunter
       
      "Analyzing a scRNAseq dataset."- Kingsley              "I have no independent accomplishments, they are all shared."- Dr. Vella

        "I have been writing a software to free myself from 10 minutes of labor, which apparently took me 10 hours so far. But it was fun!"- Tianyu

         "Receiving a positive lab survey report from the Office of Research Safety."- Jonny

  Question 9: What are your favorite TV shows or movies?
       "The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, One Piece, and The Terminator Series."- Jonny.                 "Taskmaster, Would I Lie to You."- Dr. Vella

        "Dynasty, Suits, SVU, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder."- Hunter             "The Vampire Diaries, Good Girls, Grey's Anatomy."- Atoishy
       
        "1. The Peripheral 2. Person of Interest 3. Oppenheimer."- Kingsley
              
        "Licorice Pizza. I'm just going to pick this one because some of my friends were unreasonably hating on it. Does it have a plot? Kind of. Mostly just vibes, and
         good ones at that."- Sam      
       
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