Associate Professor
Principal Investigator
sloan_devlin@g.harvard.edu
Maribel Okiye, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
maribel_okiye@hms.harvard.edu
Maribel left her home island of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands to pursue her education, receiving a B.S. in Biochemistry & Hispanic Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Following her undergraduate studies, she moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan. There, she studied microbial interactions and metabolic changes in the oral microbiome during disease progression under the guidance of Professor David H. Sherman and Director Ashutosh Tripathi at the Life Sciences Institute. During her graduate studies, Maribel was honored with several awards, including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Grant.
Beyond her academic and professional achievements, Maribel has dedicated herself to advocacy and mentorship, focusing on promoting education equity and increasing the number of underrepresented scholars in STEM fields. She co-founded the academic and career consulting LLC, NextGen Career Café, where she continues to inspire and guide future generations. Maribel is also an avid Olympic lifter, spending much of her free time training and competing.
Yitong (Lexie) Li, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
yitong_li@hms.harvard.edu
Growing up in southeast China, Yitong (Lexie) started her academic journey as an undergraduate at Zhejiang University, China. She transferred to Cornell University, NY, US, in her junior year and earned dual B.S. degrees in food science. She joined Dr. Rui Hai Liu’s Lab at Cornell where she studied the molecular mechanisms of action of natural bioactive compounds for metabolic syndrome prevention and earned her Ph.D. there. Her dedication as a teaching assistant and student mentor was recognized with the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lexie’s academic contributions and leadership have also been honored with many awards, including the Kosi Award, the Institute of Food Technologists Feeding Tomorrow Fellowship, and the Vitasoy & Lo Fellowship.
Outside of the lab, Lexie enjoys board game nights with friends, cooking and exploring new foods, working out, and spending time with her cat.
Po-Hsun Fan, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
po-hsun_fan@hms.harvard.edu
Growing up in Taiwan, Po-Hsun began his academic journey as an undergraduate researcher at National Taiwan University. After earning his B.S. degree in 2016, he fulfilled his one-year military service before joining Dr. Hung-wen (Ben) Liu’s research group at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), where he completed his Ph.D. in 2024. During his doctoral studies, Po-Hsun specialized in natural product biosynthesis and mechanistic enzymology. As a member of the Devlin Lab, Po-Hsun now investigates bacterial enzymology within the gut microbiome, focusing on its impact on human health and disease.
Outside the lab, Po-Hsun enjoys exploring libraries, museums, parks, and Boston’s vibrant restaurant scene with his family.
Jasmine Walsh
Chemical Biology Ph.D. Student
jasminewalsh@g.harvard.edu
After growing up in Southern California, Jasmine got her B.S in biochemistry at Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL. During her time at Oakwood, she did summer research internships at Loma Linda University and Boston University. She then did a post-baccalaureate program in Elizabeth Grice’s lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Her project centered around utilizing antimicrobials produced from the skin microbiome to inhibit the growth of MRSA.
Jasmine enjoys spending time with her friends, traveling, meditating, and taking care of her plants.
Melissa Tran
Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Student
melissatran@g.harvard.edu
Originally from Illinois, Melissa received her B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard College in 2019. As an undergraduate and lab technician, she worked in Dr. Aleksandar Kostic’s lab studying the ability of gut microbes to stimulate pancreatic development and attenuate diabetes symptoms. She is excited to be co-mentored in the Devlin and Huh labs, where she will study the role of gut bacterial metabolites in guiding host immunology and neurobiology.
When not in lab, Melissa enjoys painting, dancing with her troupe, and making and eating soup.
Cecilia Kim
Biological Sciences in Public Health Ph.D. Student
cecilia_kim@g.harvard.edu
After growing up in Vancouver, Canada, Cecilia received her B.A. in Chemistry from Princeton University in 2023. At Princeton, Cecilia worked in Dr. Robert Knowles’ lab, where she studied the use of light-driven reactions in the synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and contra-thermodynamic isomerization of olefins. Cecilia joined the Devlin Lab in 2024, and she is excited to study the effect of gut bacterial metabolites in mediating microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions.
Outside the lab, Cecilia enjoys reading, taekwondo, and exploring Boston’s bookstores and restaurants with her friends.
Junehee Park
Visiting Ph.D. student from Seoul National University
junehee_park@hms.harvard.edu
Growing up in South Korea, Junehee earned her B.S. in Food Science & Biotechnology from Seoul National University in 2023. Currently, she is in her MS/Ph.D integrated course at Seoul National University studying host-microbe-nutrient interactions. Junehee joined the Devlin lab as a visiting graduate student in 2025, where she will be studying the role of gut bacterial metabolites mediating the host immune system.
Outside of the lab, Junehee enjoys cooking, visiting museums, and exploring different parts of Boston.
