Lab Members

Fumi earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Tokyo and then moved to the United States to pursue his PhD at the University of Southern California (USC) where he started his work on the virus restriction factor APOBEC family proteins. He conducted his postdoctoral research jointly in Hong Zhou lab at UCLA and Xiaojiang Chen lab at USC, where he developed skills in cryo-electron microscopy. He joined Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in September 2025 and started an independent research group. 

ORCID link

Anna earned her BS in Medicinal Chemistry from Moscow State University and a Ph.D. in Structural Biology from the University of Southern California, where she studied G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) using lipidic cubic phase crystallography with synchrotron and XFEL sources. As a membrane protein crystallographer, she has studied GPCR–ligand complexes of MT1, CysLT2, V1b, CRTH2, and A2A. During her postdoctoral training with Tamir Gonen at UCLA, she contributed to adapting micro-electron diffraction (MicroED) for membrane proteins, and in Patrick O’Neill’s lab, she worked on developing genetically-encoded photocontrolled GPCR tools for neuroscience. Her research addresses fundamental questions of how molecular structure translates into biological function. 

See Anna's work on:

• ORCID 
• Google Scholar

Marco earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania before joining Northwestern. He is currently an MD/PhD student with interests in virology and infectious diseases across both research and clinical settings. Prior to Northwestern, Marco studied motility mechanisms and lipoprotein production in the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii. He has also conducted research in COVID-19 vaccine development and health policy. Marco is originally from Southern California, and enjoys spending time with family, baking and exploring Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Originally from Southeastern Connecticut, Theo is a PhD student in the 2025 Driskill Graduate Program (DGP) cohort. He graduated with a BS in Biochemistry from Simmons University in 2025, having worked on fruit fly behavior in the Johnson Lab since 2021. His primary research interests in the Ito Lab center on how HIV accessory proteins interact with host factors to contribute to pathogenesis. Outside of the lab, Theo enjoys playing basketball as well as cooking for friends and family.

Michal graduated with a dual BS in Microbiology & Immunology and Public Health from the University of Miami in May 2026. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, he wanted to gain practical skills in biological research before applying for his PhD graduate study. His interests lie primarily in virology and immunology. In the Ito Lab, He hopes to better understand how HIV antagonizes host cells and what potential avenues exist for novel therapeutics. Outside of the lab, he likes to swim, read sci-fi, and attend concerts with his friends.

From the Chicago Area, Christian is an undergraduate student at Northwestern University, planning to major in Biological Sciences. He is a first-generation college student with an interest in microbiology and virology. Currently, he is conducting research in Ito lab to understand how HIV accessory proteins interact with host factors to promote pathogenesis.