Ken Lau, PhD
Technical Marketing Manager

Ken received his PhD from the University of Florida while focusing on the interaction between gut bacteria, Th17 cells, and Type 1 Diabetes onset. After graduating, Ken joined BioLegend as a Technical Marketing Scientist, helping with customer inquiries and designing unique scientific content for the website and literature. He enjoys gaming, the gym, and managing his aquarium. His favorite movies include Sin City, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the Dark Knight.

Kellie Johnson
Lead Technical Service Scientist

Kellie received her BS degree in Biology, with a concentration in Botany and a minor in Chemistry from San Francisco State University. Upon graduation, she entered the World of Biotech in the SF Bay Area, and worked in many areas of research, ranging from cardiovascular system work to mammalian gene function (utilizing knockout mice) and antibody-mediated drug design. After leaving the bench, she moved into technical support, helping customers for over 10 years and now aiding the BioLegend team. Outside of work, she is an avid sports fan and loves Bay area football, baseball, and basketball teams. She also enjoys cooking, fermenting her own hard cider, and gardening. She is also mildly obsessed with the Rolling Stones…having seen them in concert more than 40 times!

Kelsey Swartz, PhD
Technical Marketing Scientist

Kelsey received her PhD from Northwestern University where she studied non-canonical roles for cell cycle regulators in erythroid cell development. After living in three Midwestern states (Nebraska, Illinois, and Wisconsin), she left winter behind and moved to San Diego joining BioLegend as a technical service scientist. She enjoys trying new foods, reading, watching sports, and board games.

Ekaterina Zvezdova, PhD
Technical Service Scientist II

Ekaterina received her PhD from N.N. Blokhin National Cancer Research Center (Moscow, Russia) where she studied the mechanisms regulating the negative selection of T cells in the thymus. After her PhD, Ekaterina decided to move across the Atlantic Ocean to continue doing research. During her postdoctoral training at National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, Ekaterina studied the role of the newly identified proteins in T cell and B cell biology. Then she moved to the Big Apple for a postdoctoral training at Columbia University Medical Center, where she studied hematopoietic stem cell development with a focus on myeloid cell and dendritic cell biology. Later, she decided to move to sunny California and joined BioLegend as a Technical Service Scientist. Ekaterina enjoys traveling, hiking, performance art, photography and workouts in the gym.

Christopher Dougher, PhD
Technical Service Scientist

Christopher Dougher is a native of Buffalo, NY. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Premedical Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD in Immunology from the University at Buffalo. His research utilized a circulatory ST6Gal-1 over expression-model to study changes to marrow subsets under conditions of hematopoietic demand. In particular, Chris is interested in the functional interplay between intrinsically and extrinsically produced enzyme among these cell populations. In his free time, Chris enjoys hiking, traveling, and restoring vintage sports cars with his father.

Sean Cosgriff
Technical Service Specialist II

Sean received his BS degree in Biochemistry from Franklin & Marshall College, where he studied the Wnt Pathway and its role in colorectal cancer. Following graduation, he worked at a clinical research organization, helping to develop flow cytometry assays for a variety of pharmaceutical clients. These studies generally centered on immune checkpoint therapies and early phase cancer vaccine clinical trials. In addition, he helped implement a PMT harmonization project that helped resolve dim populations and correlate data across the globe. After living in both New York and New Jersey, Sean is excited to enjoy the California weather and pursue his hobbies which include running, gardening, and gaming.

Samantha Stanley, PhD
Technical Service Scientist

Sam received her BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston while working as a math tutor and an undergraduate researcher. After graduation, she continued working in the same lab as a PhD student where she studied potential urinary biomarkers of kidney disease related to lupus, and investigated various proteomic detection techniques and how they can be applied in diagnostic tools. Sam enjoys hiking, playing video games, and exploring new local breweries, so she’s very excited to be here in San Diego!

Sam Li, PhD
Technical Writer II

Sam grew up in Olathe, Kansas and got his undergraduate degree in microbiology at the University of Kansas. He went on to get his PhD at the University of Colorado in Denver, researching immune responses to HIV. In his post-doctoral tenure, Sam researched the gut microbiome’s impact on HIV transmission, and served as the Scientific Liaison for ClinImmune Flow Cytometry Lab in Colorado. In his free time, Sam enjoys rock climbing, outdoor activities, and bingeing Netflix.

Dzung Nguyen, PhD
Director, Marketing

Dzung received his PhD from John Hopkins University studying the role of lipid rafts in the biology of HIV. He did post-doctoral studies at the National Institute on Aging and at UCSD, investigating the role of cholesterol in chemokine receptor function and the immunology of sialic acids. Dzung started at BioLegend in the role of Technical Service Scientist and is now Director of Technical Marketing.He enjoys playing guitar, writing music, making movies, and Clash of Clans. His favorite movie line is from the Fellowship of the Ring, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”