Mentorship Certified

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
My research focuses on investigating system biological immune responses in neurodegenerative disease. Using various PET radiotracers, the lab works to detect brain and whole-body inflammation and links these imaging biomarkers to underlying blood and tissue cellular and molecular readouts using appropriate techniques.

Key words
Molecular imaging, neuroimmune interactions, translational research, myeloid cell responses, neurological and neurodegenerative diseases

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Advances the field of NeuroSonics by integrating breakthroughs in neuroscience and ultrasonics to deepen our understanding of brain function and transform the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases.

Key words
Brain, neuroscience, cancer biology, imaging, ultrasound

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Molecular mechanisms regulating photoreceptor gene expression in healthy and diseased retinas

Key words
Gene expression regulation, transcription factors, epigenetic regulators, photoreceptor development and degeneration, mouse models, gene therapy

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
Understanding neuromodulator actions, sleep regulation and sleep, and mechanisms of learning through the spatial and temporal features of biochemical signaling dynamics

Key words
neuromodulator, sleep, dynamics, sensors, actuators, signaling, G protein coupled receptors, imaging, microscopy, learning, plasticity, engineering

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Our current research focuses on delineating the cellular, molecular, and metabolic processes involved in the development of fibrotic disorders such as Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and how these metabolic adaptations may in turn be targeted therapeutically for IPF.

Key words
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), metabolic networks, targetable mechanisms driving fibroblast function and fibrosis

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
We study how dynamic transcriptional and epigenetic states regulate multipotent retinal progenitor cell neurogenesis and cell fate specification. Studies focus on identifying novel genes and processes that bias retinal development, including lncRNAs and DNA methylation status, using a suite of genomic tools. Integration of our studies with human genetics seeks to understand how genetic variants contribute to molecular dysfunction and manifest as inherited retinal disease.

Key words
Retina; development, lncRNA, DNA demethylation, transcription factors

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Disease mechanisms and treatments for inherited childhood neurodegeneration

Key words
Batten Disease, Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, NCL, Lysosomal Storage Disease, pathogenesis, pre-clinical therapies, enzyme replacement, gene therapy

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
We study how different types of neurons encoding somatosensory modalities are assembled into functional circuits in both humans and model organisms.

Key words
pain, circuits, development, optogenetics, imaging, electrophysiology, human

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Research summary
Our research centers around studying how transcription factors regulate genes across tissues and organs in plant systems. We investigate this through two research areas; plant-microbe interactions and duckweed biology. Our goal is to place these transcriptional data within a spatial, cellular, and organismal context to understand how plants respond to environmental stresses.

Key words
plant biology; transcriptomics; spatial biology; imaging; molecular biology

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Understanding extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated signaling during homeostatic and pathologic metabolic regulation

Key words