The Team
CJ Anderson, PhD
Principal Investigator
CJ grew up just outside of Chicago, Illinois before getting his B.S. in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following a 2year stint in clinical microbiology, CJ joined Melissa Kendall’s lab at the University of Virginia for his PhD. CJ’s thesis focused on bacterial signal transduction pathways that promote adaptation to host environments. For his postdoctoral training, CJ jumped across the Atlantic and joined the lab of Kodi Ravichandran at the VIB-UGent Inflammation Research Center in Ghent, Belgium where he studied the interactions between dying epithelial cells and intestinal bacteria. CJ joined the University of Edinburgh as a PI in March 2023 with a new lab interested in host-microbe communication during tissue injury and repair. Outside of the lab, CJ still keeps up with American sports (in particular his beloved Chicago Bears) and is desperately trying to improve his culinary skills.
email: cj.anderson at ed.ac.uk
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ORCID-iD 0000-0003-2600-0968
Sam Benson, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Researcher
Researcher
Sam grew up in the Wye valley in south Wales before moving to England to study medicinal and biological chemistry at the university of Nottingham. After completing his MSci degree with Prof. John Moses, Sam Moved to Scotland to take up a PhD position in the lab of Prof Marc Vendrell at the University of Edinburgh. There he developed new tools for the treatment of cancer and antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria using photodynamic therapy. This initiated Sam’s interest in AMR which led him to joining the Anderson Lab in September 2023 to further his experience in microbiology and host-microbe metabolism. Outside of the lab Sam can be regularly found on the beaches of East Lothian trying to convince his Corgi Merlin not to bark at children.
Email: sbenson2 at ed.ac.uk
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ORCID-iD 0009-0009-3136-7917
Mariska S. Simpson, PhD 
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Mariska was born in France, with dual English-Dutch nationality. After moving to the Netherlands and then Wales, she eventually relocated to Northumberland, England. In 2012, Mariska decided to return to The Netherlands and began her undergraduate degree at Maastricht Science Programme (MSP). Upon completion of her bachelor’s, Mariska decided to conduct a research MSc in Molecular and Cellular Life Science (MCLS) at Utrecht University, which included internships in Ineke Braakman’s lab (Utrecht University, NL) and in Wayne Lencer’s lab (Harvard University, USA). With Prof. Ineke Braakman and Dr. Wayne Lencer as promotors, Mariska was able to commence her Utrecht-PhD in September 2018. Her PhD research was conducted in its entirety in the Lencer Lab and focused on the role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-sensors IRE1α and IRE1β in intestinal epithelial cells. Mariska joined the University of Edinburgh as a Post-doctoral Researcher in 2023 and in April 2024, after returning from maternity leave, she joined the Anderson Lab to further her interest in host-microbe communication at mucosal surfaces. Outside the lab, Mariska is a keen rower and enjoys the great outdoors (whatever the weather).
Email: msimpso8 at ed.ac.uk
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ORCID-iD 0000-0002-0133-7209
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Anna Davey
PhD student
Anna completed her undergraduate degree in Physiological science at the University of Dundee, a few hours south from her hometown of Inverness. Following this Anna moved to Edinburgh to undertake a Masters by research at the University of Edinburgh working on optimising the methods of self-sampling for HPV testing with Kate Cuschieri’s team. After a brief stint as a full-time horse rider, Anna’s interest in the clinical side of science led her to a post within NHS Lothian as a respiratory physiology assistant where she stayed for a year. After completing her spirometry qualification, Anna made the decision to re-join the research side of science and applied for the Ker Memorial PhD Studentship in Infectious Diseases. Delighted to be successful in her application, Anna is currently investigating the relationship between host and microbe during tissue injury and repair. In her free time Anna continues to horse ride and is also a competitive pole dancer and teacher.
Email: S1748046 at ed.ac.uk
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ORCID-iD  0009-0002-1464-3229
Priscilla Chin, PhD
Laboratory Technician
Priscilla was raised in Singapore and New Zealand before moving to the UK for her undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Essex. Her research interests led her to pursue an MSc in virology at Imperial College London. She worked briefly at the National Cancer Centre Singapore as a research associate before deciding to pursue a PhD in RNA biology, innate immunity, and virology with Dr Sara Macias at the University of Edinburgh while funded by the Darwin Trust of Edinburgh. As of January 2024, Priscilla decided to expand her interests in microbiology to include bacteria by investigating the effects of cell death metabolites on Salmonella growth with the Anderson lab. Outside of the lab, Priscilla enjoys baking and keeping up with the All Blacks and F1.
Email: pchin at ed.ac.uk
ORCID iD 0009-0008-7500-7254
Sebastian Rogatti Granados
Laboratory Technician
Sebastian graduated from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina with a BSc in Biological Sciences and moved to the UK where he first joined the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Services in Edinburgh at the R&D department. The end of that contract granted him the possibility to join Prof. Mike Murphy’s Mitochondrial Dysfunction at the Mitochondrial Biology Unit in Cambridge, a position where he developed crucial skills that would take him to Dame Fiona Powrie’s group at the Translational Gastroenterology Unit at the University of Oxford. Missing the Scottish capital, he moved to a position at Prof. Chris Ponting’s Human Genetics Unit at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh, before taking a break from academic work and joining the Edinburgh Fertility Clinic for 3 years. Despite the incredibly gratifying job at the clinic, he missed the thrill of scientific research and joined CJ’s team in August 2023.
When not buried deep in lab work, Sebastian revels in his geek interests and tries to stay physically active despite the adverse Scottish weather.
Email: srogatt2 at ed.ac.uk
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ORCID-iD  0000-0002-8438-7999