After receiving her Honors BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Toronto, she completed her PhD in Immunology under the supervision of Dr. Mario Ostrowski, working on Tim-3 regulation of immune responses during HIV infection. In 2015, she joined Dr. Bruce Walker’s lab at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, where she showed that HIV-infected macrophages were resistant to killing by CTL and NK cells. In July of 2021, she moved to UMass Chan Medical School’s Department of Pathology to start the lab, focused on macrophages as hide outs for pathogens and methods used by these cells to evade killer immune responses. She is currently the Co-Leader of the REACH NIH Delaney Collaboratory's HIV Eradication Research Group, which focuses on understanding mechanisms that both macrophages and CD4+ T cells use to evade killer responses.

Contact: kiera.clayton@umassmed.edu 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiera-clayton-00954038/ 

Paula joined the lab in 2022 as a PhD student. After receiving her BSc in Biology from Tufts University, she worked in the lab of Andy Tager at Massachusetts General Hospital studying idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Paula next transitioned to industry and worked in immuno-oncology and targeted oncology at KSQ Therapeutics, before making her way to UMass for her PhD. Her research in the Clayton Lab will focus on identifying and targeting mechanisms of HIV-infected cell resistance to killing by NK cells as part of the Martin Delany REACH Collaboratory. In 2024, she was awarded an NIH F31 Fellowship, focused on macrophage lysosomes that are used to antagonize perforin pore formation. When she’s not in the lab, Paula enjoys skiing, climbing, kiteboarding, and competitive sailing. She also likes spending time with her two cats and doing crossword puzzles.

Contact: paula.grasberger@umassmed.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-grasberger-352b4089/

Nicole is a Research Associate who joined the Clayton lab in March 2025. She recently graduated from UMass Amherst, receiving her BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In her undergraduate career, Nicole worked in Professor Dong Wang’s lab where she studied the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between legumes, specifically Medicago truncatula, and rhizobia. Nicole is interested in pursuing graduate school and furthering her career in the research field. Her work in the Clayton lab focuses on studying the mechanisms in which HIV-infected cells display resistance to killing by NK cells and CTLs. Outside of the lab, Nicole enjoys outdoor activities, board games, watching movies or shows, and spending time with friends and family. 

Contact: nicole.glidden@umassmed.edu 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-glidden-897a08310 

Evelyn joined the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2025 after completing her PhD at UMass Chan. Prior to graduate school, she received her BSc from UC Santa Barbara in Chemistry and Biochemistry. As a graduate student, Evelyn characterized CD4+ T cell function late during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection to investigate mechanisms that cause CD4+ T cell dysfunction in the lungs of chronically infected mice and studied how these mechanisms contribute to the development of disease. Evelyn’s work studying the immune response to Mtb will continue in the Clayton lab where she will characterize cytolytic effector cell interactions with Mtb-infected macrophages and work to elucidate the mechanisms through which NK cells kill infected macrophages. In her free time, Evelyn enjoys reading, practicing yoga, yarn crafts, cooking, baking, trying new recipes, and playing golf and volleyball.

Contact: evelyn.chang@umassmed.edu  

Jane joined the Clayton Lab as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2025 after serving as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Investigator at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Her work there focused on defining immune correlates of protection against dengue virus, where she developed cell-based and flow cytometry assays to characterize functional T cell and antibody responses in vaccine and human challenge models. Jane earned her PhD in Immunology, Pathology, and Infectious Disease from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she studied host–pathogen interactions of the Ebola virus nucleoprotein complex and identified novel host factors regulating viral replication. She earned her BSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. In the Clayton lab, Jane is focusing on defining different methods by which HIV and herpesviruses trigger NK cells. When she’s not in the lab, Jane loves spending time outdoors with her family—including two dogs and a baby—especially by the ocean, curling up with cozy mysteries, experimenting with new dishes, and exploring her new hobby of birdwatching.

Contact: melody.morwitzer@umassmed.edu 

Natalie joined the lab in September 2025 as a Research Associate after graduating from Binghamton University, where she received her BSc in Biological Sciences. During her undergraduate career, Natalie worked in Dr. Laura Cook's lab where she studied the bacterium Group B Streptococcus (GBS), and defended her undergraduate honors thesis investigating the role of a small RNA and peptide duo on metal homeostasis in GBS. Natalie is interested in pursuing graduate school to further her career in the research field. Her work in the Clayton Lab focuses on identifying the mechanisms by which different strains of HIV affect NK cell killing. When she's not in the lab, Natalie enjoys hiking, skiing, reading, trying new baking recipes, and spending time with her family and dog.

Contact: natalie.pushlar@umassmed.edu 

Graduate Students - Those interested in graduate school can apply to the University of Massachusetts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (https://www.umassmed.edu/gsbs/). We are currently accepting rotation students staring in the Fall of 2025, and Winter/Spring of 2026

Postdoctoral Fellows

We are looking for talented and motivated postdocs to pursue projects studying tissue-resident macrophage interactions with NK cell cells, studying the effects of viral and bacterial proteins on NK cell responses, and development of animal models to study human immune responses. Experimental methods related to the projects include HIV infections with primary immune cells, cellular co-culture assays, flow cytometry and FACS analysis, RNA-Seq, CRISPR editing of immune cells, deep sequencing of HIV variants, custom antibody production and purification, and molecular cloning of mutant viruses. The ideal candidate for this position would have a PhD and lab experience in immunology, virology, and biochemistry, and an interest in a career in academia or government. (NIH, CDC, etc), although interest in industry focused careers is also welcome. In addition to laboratory activities, attendance at national/international conferences, contributions towards manuscript preparation and fellowship/grant writing are required. A minimum time commitment of three years is ideal to take full advantage of our training and networking opportunities. If interested, please send a cover letter and CV to Dr. Kiera Clayton at kiera.clayton@umassmed.edu.  

Research Associate in Immunology/Virology

We are currently looking to fill the position of Research Associate I or II, entry level immunologist/virologist positions. Research interests include the characterization of human NK cell responses to HIV-infected, Mtb-infected, and herpesvirus-infected immune cells. Additional interests include creating viral and Mtb mutants and assessing the effects on immune responses to infection. Many of these projects involve collaborations with established labs at various universities and hospitals, including Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, MIT, the Ragon Institute, Boston University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and University of Toronto. Additional networks with startup and mid-level biotech companies are also established. The ideal candidate for this position would have a background in immunology, virology, and biochemistry, an interest in a career in medical sciences, and experience working in a previous laboratory setting. Training provided would prepare the candidate for graduate school, medical school, or a Research Associate position in industry. Experimental day-to-day work will include working with human samples, making HIV, Mtb, and CMV/HHV-6 stocks, performing live infections, flow cytometry, molecular cloning, and microscopy. A minimum time commitment of two years is preferred to take advantage of our extensive training. If interested, please send a cover letter and CV to Dr. Kiera Clayton at kiera.clayton@umassmed.edu.