Faculty and Staff

Clea Sarnquist, DrPH, MPH

Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics- Infectious Diseases

Dr. Sarnquist focuses on applied teaching and research on the development, implementation and evaluation of interventions to decrease gender-based violence and prevent HIV infection, especially among adolescents and children. She is particularly interested in rights-based approaches that tackle the comlex interplay of factors that lead to poor health for many children and families. All of her work is applied, with direct links to health practice and policy, and usually performed in conjunction with non-governmental organization and government partners. She works both globally and in the U.S., with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Read More.

Rosita Thiessen, CCRP

Clinical Research Manager, Pediatrics- Infectious Diseases

Rosita joined the Maldonado lab in 2021. She serves as the research manager for the Maldonado lab, including the Respiratory Virus Transmission Network research. Her previous work at the Stanford Stroke Center included administrative and regulatory support for the neurocritical care research projects. She is a certified Clinical Research Coordinator with extensive clinical research experience. She has collaborated on various NIH sponsored research studies as well as Industry sponsored clinical trials. 

Grace Kyin-Ye Tam

Clinical Research Coordinator II, Pediatrics- Infectious Diseases

Grace graduated from Stanford University in 2017 with a BS in Biology. As an undergraduate, in the Department of Psychiatry, she studied the effects of posture on resting-state brain networks with fMRI and worked on a novel NIRS-based neurocognitive intervention in children with ADHD. Grace then further explored the intersection of neuroimaging and genetics in neurodegenerative disorders in the Department of Neurology. Grace now works on studying household transmission and long-term effects of COVID-19 here in the Maldonado Lab. She hopes that the culmination of her experiences will serve her well in her aspirations to pursue medicine in the future. In her free time, Grace enjoys baking sweets, indoor cycling, and playing badminton!

Alondra Aguilar

Clinical Research Coordinator, Pediatrics- Infectious Diseases

Originally from Napa, CA, Alondra is excited to be back in the bay area after taking some time to eat lots of NY pizza and major in Medical Humanities at Columbia University. As a clinical research coordinator in the Maldonado Lab she is excited to combine her background as a pre-med student with her experiences in public health, especially those related to Covid-19, such as volunteering at testing and vaccination sites and interning as a CDC scholar at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her Mexican heritage and bilingual skills also motivate Alondra to find better ways to involve and advocate for underrepresented groups in clinical research. Some of Alondra’s favorite things are finding new running routes around Stanford, making art for friends, and having lunch + boba with the team.

Emma Stainton

Clinical Research Coordinator, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases

Leanne X. Chun

Clinical Research Coordinator, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases

Samantha Ferguson

Clinical Research Coordinator, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases

Originally from Miami, FL, Sam comes to the Maldonado lab from New York City. She graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Biological Sciences, where she participated in infectious disease research as a Science Research Fellow. She’s passionate about remedying health disparities that exist within the U.S. healthcare system and hopes to use her passions in the medical field. Outside of the lab Sam is an avid lover of coffee, podcasts, and hot yoga

Sara H. Goodman, MPH, PhD

Research Epidemiologist, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases

Originally from suburban Detroit, MI, Sara first found public health as an education volunteer in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso from 2011-2013. She then decided to pursue a Master's in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, with a Graduate Certificate in Global Health. After working at the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, Sara earned her PhD in Public Health: Disease Prevention, at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) studying Hepatitis C. She also served as a graduate student supervisor for the UCI COVID-19 chatline.  In her free time, she enjoys playing with her cat Freya, cooking, and fiber arts.

Frank Zhou

Life Sciences Research Professional, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases

Frank graduated from UCLA with a BS in Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology. As an undergrad, he had the opportunity to help with analyzing the neural development of the brain of Drosophila melanogaster and became oddly good at dissecting the brains out of fruit flies. Frank hopes to end up either in the pancreatic cancer research field to develop a method for early diagnosis or start an aquaponics farm in NorCal. Outside of the lab, Frank enjoys bad jokes, finding food places, and talking about bees and other animal oddities.

Sherry Carrington

Laboratory Manager,  Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases

Sherry is Dr. Maldonado’s laboratory manager. The lab has been working toward the goals of polio eradication and better understanding the current COVID-19 pandemic worldwide by looking at the transmission and genomics of the viruses. Sherry wishes to work toward disease prevention and eradication on a global scale, so all children born onto our beautiful planet may grow up healthy and disease-free.  

Jonathan Altamirano, MS

Senior Research Data Analyst, Pediatrics- Infectious Diseases

Jonathan received his B.A. in Human Biology and M.S. in Biology from Stanford University. He is originally from Houston, TX and is a native Spanish speaker.  His interest in medicine, public health, and global child health comes from living in Nicaragua as a child and both seeing and experiencing the effects of tropical vector-borne diseases. He supports and manages research projects in both the Global Child Health program, as well as the Stanford Medicine Office of Faculty Development and Diversity. He hopes to go to medical school, and continue to work in global child health as an MD. He is the recipient of the 2017 Stanford Pediatrics Rising Star Award. Read more about Jonathan in this 2018 profile on the Scope Blog.