Research
We are interested in how neural circuits form and how they can be made vulnerable to disease or become modified to generate symptoms. To do this the lab incorporates a multidisciplinary approach to study the generation and function of neural circuits in mouse models relevant to human disease. Our recent work has focused on three main areas. The first employs microscopy and super-resolution strategies to examine cellular mechanisms driving synapse formation and regulating synapse composition. The second relates these cellular phenomena to cell function and behavior; and the third strategy examines coordinated actions between nervous and immune systems. These approaches are currently being employed in order to identify rules and patterns important for establishing corticostriatal circuits relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders and to test how the same circuits expressing gene mutations relevant to Parkinson’s disease respond differently to stressful experiences and may even generate an environment more supportive for tumor growth and metastasis.
Publications
Meet the Team
Abhishek Sahasrabudhe
Postdoctoral Fellow
Christopher Guevara
PhD Student
Ajay Tupil
Associate Researcher
Ayan Hussein
PhD Student
Pamela Del Valle
PhD Student
Alexander Tielemans
Master's Student
Swati Gupta
Postdoctoral Fellow
Kyomi Blake
Undergraduate
Fatema Begum
Undergraduate
Oneli Ranasinghe
Undergraduate
Kumayl Alloo
High School Senior
Emily Dodd
High School Senior
Kelly Turner
Undergraduate
LAB ALUMNI (Current Position)
Bridget Matikainen-Ankney, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow, Washington University)
Nebojsa Kezunovic, PhD (Medical Science Liason, Amgen)
Cynthia Mercedes, MS (Clinical Research Assoc, Mount Sinai)
Lauren Friedman, PhD (Director, Scientific Affairs, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Association)
Chenel Morrison, BS (Medical Student, Cornell-Weill)
Frances Williams, MPH (Graduate Research Asst, Columbia)
Ellen Hoffman, MD, PhD, (Asst Professor, Yale Child Study Center)
Bryan Sepulveda, MS, PhD (Director, Medical Affairs & Scientific Comm, Audentes Therapeutics)
Kuangfu Hsiao, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow, Rockefeller Univ)
Caitlin Trasande, PhD (Scientific Director, Sr Program Manager, Sloan-Kettering)
Ioana Carcea, MD, PhD (Asst Professor, Rutgers University, Brain Health Institute)
Pamela Shah/Mukhatiyar, BS, MD (Asst Professor, Pediatrics, Rutgers NJ Medical School)
Eva Chmielnicki, PhD (Director of Business Development, Bristol Meyers Squibb)
Tonya Anderson, PhD (Medical Science Consultant & Patient Advocate/Liason)
C. David Mintz, MD, PhD (Assoc Professor, Johns Hopkins)
Iddil Bekirov, PhD (Program Manager, OTDC, NIMH)
Tracey Dickson, PhD (Assoc. Dean, College of Health and Medicine, Univ of Tasmania, Australia)
Wandong Zhang, PhD (Senior Scientist, BioMarin Pharmaceutical)
