Dr. Yilmaz is our principal investigator. She also serves as the Chair of the Oral Health Sciences Department at the Medical University of South Carolina

Bridgette Wellslager is PhD Student who is studying host pathogen interactions in our laboratory as a part of her doctoral studies. Prior to joining the lab, Bridgette performed an epidemiological study examining the changes in the prevalence of influenza vaccinations after the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic from 2008 to 2010 at the University of South Carolina Honors College.

Dr. Nityananda Chowdhury (Nitto) is a post doctoral scientist who joined our lab from Penn State University. Nitto is a bacterial physiology and genomics specialist who also serves as our lab manager.

Dr. Brianyell McDaniel Mims is a post doctoral scientist who joined the Yilmaz laboratory to study the role that oral pathogens play in the onset of cognitive impairments.