MEMBERS
WE LOVE WHAT WE DO!
Etienne Caron, PhD
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR | ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Dr. Caron is a Canadian scientist with a background in Biotechnology and Systems Immunology. He received his PhD from the University of Montreal under the guidance of Drs. Claude Perreault and Pierre Thibault, and completed his education at ETH-Zürich in Switzerland under the guidance of Dr. Ruedi Aebersold. Dr. Caron is known for his international leadership and expertise in immunopeptidomics for the global analysis of MHC-associated peptides using mass spectrometry technologies. His scientific program has the potential to revolutionize the research on vaccine design, cancer immunotherapy, infectious and autoimmune diseases, including treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and aging.
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In 2023, Dr. Caron was recruited by the Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology (YCIO) and the Department of Immunobiology. He is also currently a member of the Yale Center for Infection and Immunity (CII), and the Yale Center for Systems and Engineering Immunology (CSEI).
Valeria de Azcoitia, PhD
Lab Manager
(Kevan Herold, MD)
Dr. Valeria de Azcoitia is a dedicated biomedical researcher with a background in molecular biology and extensive experience in hematopoietic stem cell development, functional genomics, and the ethical management of biospecimens. She holds a PhD from Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, Spain, and completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Montreal in Canada. With a robust background as a Senior Project Manager at Azenta Life Sciences, Valeria has managed the sourcing and quality control of human biospecimens for various global pharmaceutical clients. Valeria joined the Yale School of Medicine in September 2024. In her role as lab manager, she supports the members of the Caron Lab in various ways. Valeria is also involved in training PhD students, medical students, MD/PhD students, postdocs, and staff scientists affiliated with Yale School of Medicine in the isolation of immunopeptides, supporting the development of the Yale Center for Immunopeptidomics.
Mohammad Shahbazy, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Moh is passionate about proteomics, bioinformatics, analytical biochemistry, mass spectrometry, and antigen discovery research. He obtained an MSc in analytical chemistry and bioinformatics (machine learning) strategies for biomedical data analysis for early cancer diagnosis to pursue these research interests. Through a postgraduate research program, he received a PhD in the Immunoproteomics Lab led by Prof Anthony (Tony) Purcell at the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University (2023). During his PhD candidature career, he endeavored to develop high-throughput mass spectrometry-based proteomics and immunopeptidomics platforms for quantitative analysis of stability profiles and PTMs in MHC/HLA-bound peptides. He developed immunoinformatics software tools for unsupervised data visualization and clustering analysis of MHC peptides to mine immunopeptidomes and explore antigen landscapes. Moreover, he developed machine learning models to predict peptide immunogenicity profiles and T-cell responses for virus-derived MHC peptides with physicochemical features and thermostability predictors to shortlist potential targets for more efficient T-cell immunotherapies and vaccines. In 2024, Moh joined the Caron Lab to continue his journey in exploring cancer-specific (neo)antigens by integrating immunopeptidomics, quantitative proteomics workflows, multi-omics strategies, and thermal immunopeptidome profiling.
Ruimin Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Ruimin Wang obtained his bachelor's degree in computer science and technology from the University of Science and Technology of China. In July 2024, he received his PhD from Fudan University and Westlake University, conducting multidisciplinary research in computational mass spectrometry. Through collaborations with external biology labs and companies, he improved his skills in analyzing proteomics and metabolomics LC-MS data. Ruimin's research spans from designing novel machine learning algorithms to developing enterprise-grade software. His work covers various aspects, including sample randomization, data compression, quantification, identification, acquisition automation, and quality control. His software platforms have been adopted by leading labs, testing companies, and hospitals across China, supporting the analysis of over 200,000 biological samples. Ruimin joined the Caron Lab in September as a postdoctoral associate, focusing on algorithm development and software design for immunopeptidomics MS data. The goal is to enable biomedical researchers to identify tumor specific antigens with higher sensitivity and accuracy, contributing to the development of more effective cancer immunotherapies.
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MOTIVATED STUDENTS | POSTDOCS
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Motivation letter
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CV
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