Cuong (Joseph) Tran is a PhD Candidate studying Infectious Diseases and Immunity at UC Berkeley. Joseph obtained his B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology at UC Irvine. As an undergrad in the Lodoen Lab, Joseph helped characterize the localization of the obligate intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, in the brain to better understand its pathogenesis. Joseph also interned in the Engel Lab at UC San Francisco, where he studied host-pathogen interactions during infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. Now in the Welch Lab, Joseph is applying the techniques he has learned from conducting in vivo experiments in the Lodoen Lab and in vitro experiments in the Engel Lab to study the role of RickA, an effector secreted by the obligate intracellular bacteria, Rickettsia parkeri. His goal is to determine the role of RickA during infection of a cellular host, as well its role in pathogenesis during R. parkeri infection of a mammalian host.