NSF COMPASS Center

#NSFCOMPASS #MeharryMedicalCollege #empowerthrust #publichealth

Fun fact: Outside the lab and leadership roles, he practices yogic mindfulness–merging ancient wisdom with science to promote well-being. 🧘‍♂️🧠

At COMPASS, he’s helping lead the charge toward data-driven pandemic prediction and transformative research that makes a global impact.

“Scientific innovation flourishes when we bridge disciplines, foster collaboration, and harness data-driven insights.”

Dr. Shanker’s research focuses on lymphocyte crosstalk, and he’s passionate about blending immunotherapy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and data science to serve public health.

🔬 Meet Dr. Anil Shanker–COMPASS co-investigator, Senior VP for Research and Innovation at @meharrymed.bsky.social, and a tenured professor in multiple biomedical sciences.

Fun fact: Patty’s from Nebraska and lives for great popcorn. 🍿

#COMPASSCenter #SciSky #EmpowerThrust #ScienceCommunication #VoiceMatters #TheatreAndSTEM #VirginiaTech

At COMPASS, Patty helps support strong, clear, and human-centered communication–because good science needs strong relationships.

“We support COMPASS personnel in making personal, responsive, trustworthy connections with communities to strengthen our research by strengthening our relationships.”

She’s also the Founding Director of the Center for Communicating Science, and her work helps researchers grow their storytelling, listening, and collaborative skills so they can connect deeply with the communities they serve.

🎤 Meet Patty Raun, COMPASS Co-Investigator, Empower thrust member, and Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts at @virginiatech.bsky.social

“We’re using machine learning to better predict how long viruses survive in different environments—and how best to disinfect them.”

Fun fact: Linsey does the Murph CrossFit workout almost every year. 💥💪

#COMPASSCenter #PersistThrust #AirborneViruses #EnvironmentalScience #NSFCOMPASS #VirginiaTech

She studies how infectious diseases spread through the air–and at COMPASS, she's helping lead research on how long viruses survive in air, on surfaces, and in water. The team is using machine learning to make those predictions smarter and more useful for the future.

Meet Dr. Linsey Marr, COMPASS Co-Principal Investigator, Persist thrust co-lead, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at @virginiatech.bsky.social @vtengineering.bsky.social

📖 Fun fact: He wrote a novel while in college–but hasn’t published it (yet).

#NSFCOMPASS #MolecularVirology #ZoonoticDiseases #VirusResearch #VaccineDevelopment #VeterinaryMedicine #VirginiaTech #COMPASSCenter #ScienceLeadership

At COMPASS, he works in both the Jump and Replicate thrusts, studying how hepatitis E virus infects cells using 3D tissue culture systems to unlock those answers.

“I study how hepatitis E virus enters and replicates in target cells using 3-D culture systems.”

🧬Meet Dr. X.J. Meng—virologist, professor, and COMPASS co-investigator.

He’s a University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology at Virginia Tech and studies how viruses leap across species and how we can stop them with vaccines.

And fun fact? Lisa claims she makes the world’s best banana bread. 🍌👑

#COMPASSCenter #SciSky #EmpowerThrust #PublicHealth #EthicalResearch #BananaBreadChampion #WomenInScience #VirginiaTech

“The COMPASS Center wisely brings together a team of multidisciplinary scientists and humanists to strengthen our ability to predict the next pandemic, mitigating the harm that will undoubtedly come. As an infectious disease epidemiologist and bioethicist, working with this group is a dream.”

She’s also Interim Senior Associate VP for Research and Innovation and Director of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance at Virginia Tech. At COMPASS, she brings her infectious disease and ethics expertise to help the center stay people-centered and forward-thinking.

🧠 Meet Dr. Lisa M. Lee–epidemiologist, bioethicist, and co-lead of the Empower thrust at COMPASS!

Say hey to:
🔬 Lindsay Harvey (Michigan)
🧠 Sanjana Gummalla (VT)
🧬 Tiki Kazeem (Yale)
🧠 Nikhitha Khasnavis (VT)
💃 Sarayu Pulipati (VT)

Here’s to a summer of learning, collaborating, and pushing science forward!

#NSFCOMPASS #UndergradResearch #ScienceSquad #PandemicPrediction #STEM

These five powerhouse students– from @umich.edu, Yale, and @virginiatech.bsky.social –are diving into work that supports the future of pandemic prediction + prevention. From bioinformatics to machine learning to virology, they’re bringing the energy and the brainpower. 🔬💻🧬

Big welcome to our first-ever NSF COMPASS Summer Undergrad Research cohort!

#COMPASSCenter #NSFCOMPASS #VirusResearch #DrugDiscovery #HarryPotterFanClub #CeZAP #ReplicateThrust

“I’m excited to work with the COMPASS team to identify real-world solutions for viral threats using science that bridges disciplines and advances therapeutic discovery.”

Fun fact: She’s a Gryffindor through and through and a huge Harry Potter fan! ⚡🦁

Her lab studies viruses like Rift Valley fever and encephalitic alphaviruses. At COMPASS, she’s part of the Replicate thrust, helping test FDA-approved drugs on organoid models to see if they could be repurposed for emerging viral infections.

🧪Say hi to Dr. Kylene Kehn-Hall–COMPASS Co-Investigator, Director of CeZAP, and Professor at Virginia Tech!

#NSFCOMPASS #HealthDataScience #MachineLearning #VirusSurvival #PublicHealthResearch #UMichigan #PERSISTthrust

“I love being able to contribute to work that addresses a specific and important scientific problem while developing methods for doing science better.”

Fun fact: He’s crossed the U.S.-Canada border on foot while running the Detroit Free Press Marathon. More than once. 🏃‍♂️🗺️

James is a data scientist, statistician, and health researcher focused on using machine learning to improve public health. At COMPASS, he works in the PERSIST thrust, creating AI tools that pull together research on how long viruses stick around–especially after we try to disinfect them.

🧠Meet Dr. James Henderson, Assistant Research Scientist at the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan!