Young Lab Members

Current Members

Arabella Young

Arabella grew up in the island state of Tasmania in Australia. She received a Bachelor of Biotechnology, majoring in plant science and biochemistry. She has been involved in research relating to epigenetic regulation in leukemia, radiotherapy response in prostate cancer, and understanding the role of immunosuppressive adenosine in the tumor microenvironment. The focus of her lab is to improve preclinical modeling of immune-mediated disease, with an emphasis on improving treatment options for cancer patients.

Arabella enjoys traveling and exploring national parks, spotting wildlife for husband to photograph, watching British murder mysteries, and singing karaoke with her mates.

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Camille Hansen

Camille is a microbiology graduate from Idaho State University. She previously studied the role of metal micronutrients in regulating the bacterial pathogen, Streptococcus pneumoniae. She is now pursuing a PhD in microbiology and immunology, focusing her research on the prevention of checkpoint inhibitor-induced autoimmune toxicities while preserving optimal tumor control. She also finds joy in mentoring students, encouraging pursuit of higher education, particularly focusing on empowering women.

Beyond her work in the lab, Camille enjoys playing classical piano music, reading timeless literature, and spending time with loved ones.

Sammy Stone

Sammy is a third year MD-PhD student at the University of Utah MSTP. Prior to starting graduate school, she studied chemistry as an undergraduate at Vassar College where she developed a passion for science and interest in translational research. After college, she joined a medicinal chemistry lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where she synthesized novel chemical probes for antibiotics research and analyzed the structural properties of widely used small molecule medications. Her research interests lie at the intersection of pharmacology and immunology. In the Young lab, she is studying the interaction between mental health medications, such as SSRIs, and the efficacy and toxicity of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies for cancer.

Outside of lab, she enjoys hiking, skiing, and camping with her border collie rescues Chia and Finn. She used to be a collegiate swimmer and loves to swim at some of the beautiful alpine lakes in Utah.

Paul Wynn

Paul is a research associate in the Young Lab at Huntsman Cancer Institute. Born and raised in Orem, he attended his local Utah Valley University and graduated with an honors B.S. in biotechnology. During his time at UVU, he interned in the Innovabio lab and was involved in a variety of projects, most notably testing the effects of essential oils on cultured human dermal fibroblasts. Additionally, he completed an independent project exploring potential methods for selective DNA extraction from Staphyloccocus bacterial species.

When Paul has free time, he loves spending time with his wife, Naomi, and his family. His other interests include baseball, soccer, percussion, and the great outdoors.

Bar Devald

Bar received his Bachelor of Science from Florida State University (go Noles!) majoring in both chemical science and food and nutrition science. Bar attended medical school at VCOM-Carolinas and graduated with honors. Following that, Bar completed pediatrics residency at the University of Florida Orlando, at the Arnold Palmer Hospital For Children. Bar is now a second-year pediatric hematology/oncology fellow at the University of Utah at Primary Children's Hospital.

Bar is invested in the fields of pediatric oncology and immunotherapy. During medical school, Bar investigated how simulated microgravity could level the playing field in terms of immune evasion in pancreatic cancer and lymphoma cases. During pediatric residency, Bar contributed to research investigating electroacupuncture as an adjunct therapy for acute pain crisis in patients dealing with sickle cell disease.

Bar's current research interest lies in utilizing the power of metabolomics and big data analysis. Bar is involved in identifying the blood metabolite profiles associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor induced endocrine irAEs and therapeutic response.

Beyond the medical realm, Bar enjoys cooking, eating out, camping, hiking, and spending time with his wife, daughter, and dog.

Nehemiah Spinks

Nehemiah is currently an undergraduate pursuing a bachelor of science degree in biology at the University of Utah. He is interested in research involving cancer and diabetic treatments, as well as antibiotic discovery in microorganisms. In the lab, Nehemiah scans various organ and tissue samples for immune infiltration initiated by cancer immunotherapies. Outside of the lab, he enjoys reading and water skiing.

Luke Boland

Luke is a molecular biology graduate from the University of Michigan. Born and raised in the Boston area, he previously worked in a research lab at Massachusetts General Hospital studying therapeutic resistance of EGFR-mutant lung cancers. He also worked on the Discovery BioInformatics Team at Qiagen where he built automated pipelines to aid in high quality sequencing analysis and processing for clients internal data. As he pursues his PhD, he hopes to focus on investigating biomarkers of immune-related adverse events to immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy via statistical discovery and pre-clinical validation.

In his free time, Luke enjoys traveling and watching sporting events with his family and friends. Other hobbies include skiing, golf and basketball.

Former Members

Morgan Cina

Morgan is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology: biomedical concentration and a minor in neuroscience. During her time there she did research on the effects of a new Staphylococcus aureus antibiotic on a two-component system. At Huntsman Cancer Institute she works as a research associate focusing on the immune-related adverse events of checkpoint inhibitors as a part of cancer immunotherapy.

When she is not in the lab, Morgan enjoys being active outdoors by hiking and snowboarding. She also loves all types of adventures such as travel, skydiving, and rollercoasters.

Jessica Venegas

Jessica is a sophomore attending the University of Utah's Honors College. She is planning on obtaining an Honors bachelor of science with a major in health and kinesiology. Her aspiration is to one day pursue a career in medicine. The research she is currently working on is understanding cytokine responses in cancer patients that develop immunotherapy-related side-effects. The goal is to identify cancer patients that are susceptible to developing toxicities and discovering new treatments that are safer and more effective in immunotherapy.

While she has strong interests inside the lab, she enjoys participating in other hobbies as well. She is a member of the University of Utah Spirit Team and is passionate about representing her university by supporting multiple school events and teams. In addition, she has acquired her Certified Nursing Assistant license, as well as her Medical Assistant license, and utilizes those skills by volunteering at clinics and working with patients.