250814-pr-homepage

Jamie Blum

Assistant Professor

Jamie earned her PhD in molecular nutrition at Cornell University, where she completed projects related to nutrient partitioning in skeletal muscle stem cells. Next, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemical engineering at Stanford University. During her postdoc, she became interested in immune recognition of dietary molecules. Her postdoctoral research was the first untargeted analysis of dietary antigens recognized by regulatory T cells following a homeostatic feeding. Jamie moved to the Salk Institute to launch the Blum lab in September 2025. The lab is working to understand factors that lead some foods to be recognized with tolerance and others with food allergy.

Henry-Le

Henry Le

Staff Scientist

Henry is a chemical biologist specializing in biochemical and omics-based strategies to uncover biological phenomena. He earned his PhD at Cornell University with Frank Schroeder, where he discovered nematode-specific glycosides and glycolipids and developed LC–MS methods to characterize reactive and ephemeral metabolites. For his postdoctoral work in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell with Liz Johnson, he identified novel microbiome-derived lipids, mapped their biosynthetic pathways, and defined their roles in host–microbe interactions. Henry then spent four years at Hexagon Bio, where he engineered fungi to produce therapeutic cancer-fighting metabolites, established nanopore sequencing, and led company-wide proteomic efforts to determine mechanism of action. He now joins the Blum Lab at the Salk Institute, where he applies his expertise in lipid biology, nutritional chemistry, and multi-omics to investigate how regulatory T cells establish tolerance to common antigens and prevent allergic disease.
Shelby-De-Leon

Shelby De Leon

Lab Administrator

Shelby is a research administrative professional with over seven years of experience supporting academic and federal institutions. Her background spans Caltech’s Medical and Electrical Engineering Departments, where she managed multimillion-dollar budgets, coordinated national symposia, and oversaw operations for high-profile research projects such as the Space Solar Power Project. Shelby combines her expertise in project management, communications, and information systems with a strong commitment to advancing research excellence and educational innovation in complex, interdisciplinary environments.
Tracy-Chou

Tracy Chou

Postdoctoral Fellow

Tsui-Wen (Tracy) Chou recently earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Rutgers University. Her doctoral research focused on how maternal Zika virus infection alters fetal brain development, integrating in vivo models with immunological assays and RNA sequencing. More broadly, her work has centered on neuroinflammation, neurodevelopment, and cellular signaling. Tracy is particularly interested in T cell immunology in non-lymphoid tissues and in understanding how host-antigen interactions shape immune responses. She also enjoys connecting with fellow scientists to exchange ideas and share research perspectives.

Sophia-Warlof

Sophia Warlof

Rotation Student

Sophia is a PhD student in the Bioengineering department at UC San Diego. Her research interests focus on immune tolerance to food antigens and the mechanisms by which antigens are delivered and processed in the gut to shape immune responses. Outside of the lab, she enjoys discovering new coffee shops, thrifting, and going to rock concerts.
Blair-Chang

Blair Chang

Rotating student

Blair is a PhD student in the Biological Sciences program at UCSD. Her work focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying immune signaling, with previous experience investigating Ras-MAPK signaling in T cells and viral entry pathways in HBV and HIV-1 infection. Before joining UCSD, she earned her M.S. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Michigan and B.S. from National Taiwan University. Beyond her research, she enjoys baking, exploring the ocean through scuba diving, and spending time with her cat.