General

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
My research investigates how circular RNAs, genetic regulators, and microglial responses influence neuronal health in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. I combine human genetics and gene expression data with CRISPR-based approaches, RNA sequencing, and advanced imaging in human iPSC-derived neurons and microglia to connect disease-associated molecular changes with cellular mechanisms. My work also integrates deep learning for image analysis and large language model (LLM) agent workflows for biological data integration and candidate prioritization to guide experimental testing.

Key words
Neurodegeneration; Circular RNA; Neuroinflammation; Human iPSC models; Functional genomics; Artificial intelligence

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Navigating ethical, professional, and social issues that arise in researh and medical settings.

Key words
biases; bioethics; integrity; professionalism; program evaluation; research ethics; responsible conduct of research; whistleblowing

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Cell-matrix interactions, extracellular matrix and development, vascular development and disease

Key words
extracellular matrix, vascular biology, development, physiology, proteomics

Program affiliation
General

Research summary

Key words

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Molecular and cell biology of ion pumps and transporters in plasma membrane; cell polarity

Key words
cell membrane, development, Na K-ATPase, excitable tissue, cell volume

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Lymphoid tissue dynamics and antigen-presentation during infection, cancer and autoimmunity

Key words
imaging, inflammation, pathogenesis, mathematical modeling, multi-photon microscopy

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Dr. Minaya’s research lies at the intersection of stem cell modeling and genomics, elucidating molecular mechanisms of tauopathies, including frontotemporal dementia with tau pathology (FTD-tau) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). He engineers CRISPR-modified iPSCs from ancestrally diverse donors to model pathogenic MAPT mutations, integrating these with postmortem human brain transcriptomics and animal models.

Key words
Tauopathies; Stem Cell Modeling; Functional Genomics

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Human genetic kidney disease: Insights through mouse models

Key words
cell adhesion, extracellular matrix, integrin biology, kidney, actin cytoskeleton

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
RNA-binding proteins in mRNA stability and cancer biology

Key words
signal transduction, inflammation, RNA9

Program affiliation
General

Research summary

Key words
bioethics, research ethics, genetics, neuroimaging, social science, qualitative