Adriana Galvan, PhD
Adriana Galvan, PhD, received her master’s and doctoral degrees in Mexico City (Mexico), and completed postdoctoral research training at Emory University (Atlanta, GA). She joined the faculty of Emory University in 2009 and is currently an Associate Professor of Neurology. She studies the brain regions involved in movement planning and execution known as the basal ganglia, which are strongly affected in Parkinson’s disease. Her work is conducted at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, where she uses functional and anatomical techniques, including electrophysiological recordings, optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques, as well as light and electron microscopy approaches to study motor circuits in primates. Dr. Galvan is also a project leader of Emory’s Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson’s Disease Research and receives independent research funding (R01, R21) from the National Institutes of Health.
Harini Gangadharan, MSc
Having travelled from India to the United States to do my master’s degree, I have enjoyed every step of the way through my learnings of lab functioning and research with varying degrees of failure and successes. My primary area of interest is neurology and oncology research and as a graduate student, I started working in a brain metastatic breast cancer with Dr. Jason Bush to identify potential biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer. My experience in graduate school and research have improved my technical and interpersonal skills. My project involved 2D and 3D cell culture, qPCR, RT-PCR, and cell-based assays, microscopy imaging and data analysis I also had an opportunity to present my research at the CSUBiotech at Santa Clara, CA and at CCRS at Fresno which gave me a chance to connect with the scientific community and I won the best poster presentation award. My potential goal is to contribute my experiences to the scientific community and continue fighting towards illnesses.
Viviana Gradinaru, PhD
Viviana Gradinaru, PhD, is Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering at Caltech. Her research group has developed optogenetic, tissue clearing, and gene delivery methods for accessing function and anatomy in the vertebrate nervous system and is now applying them to study circuitry underlying neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Combining neuroscience, protein engineering, and data science, her laboratory has produced microbial opsins that are tolerated by mammalian cells and viral capsids capable of crossing the blood-–brain barrier in adult mammals, which could enable high-precision, minimally-invasive repair of diseased nervous systems. Dr. Gradinaru has received, amongst many honors, the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and outstanding young investigator awards from both the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and the Society for Neuroscience. Alumni from the Gradinaru laboratory went on to successful careers in academia and industry.
Kallol Gupta, PhD
Kallol’s PhD was from Indian Institute of Science, where his goal was to uncover the molecular diversity present in the venoms of marine cone snails and understand how it impairs the functions of key ion channels and transporters. Kallol’s post-doctoral work, in Carol Robinson’s lab (Oxford university), led to a transformative advancement that enabled top-down mass spectrometric (MS) analysis of membrane protein-lipid complexes. During this period, he was a Fellow of 1851 Royal Commission, UK. Subsequently, he ‘crossed the pond’ and started his lab at Yale School of Medicine in Fall’2018. Combining MS with orthogonal approaches, Kallol’s lab is focused on developing platforms that enable quantitative analysis of macromolecular protein-lipid complexes directly from the cellular environment.
Glenda Halliday, PhD
Glenda is a NHMRC Senior Leadership Fellow at the Brain and Mind Centre and Professor of Neuroscience in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney. Her research on central autonomic systems, Parkinson’s disease, alcohol toxicity, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementias and motor neurodegenerative diseases is well recognised, acknowledged by NHMRC High Achiever (2013) and Elizabeth Blackburn Clinical awards (2015 &2020), election to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2015), the 2017 David Marsden Lecture Award from the International Parkinson Society and the 2016 Cozzarelli Prize from the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Tom Hnasko, PhD
Tom Hnasko, PhD, earned a BS in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in neurobiology and behavior from the University of Washington. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2012 he joined the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego, where he is currently Associate Professor. His lab uses mouse genetics and, molecular and physiological tools to study mesolimbic and basal ganglia neural circuits that guide volitional behavior. A major focus is the study of diverse cell types and circuits in the ventral midbrain, including the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, with a special focus on neurotransmitter co-release and on how changes in these circuits contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases including addiction and Parkinson’s disease.
Mark Howe, PhD
Mark Howe, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. His lab aims to advance an understanding of the neural circuit mechanisms of action, motivation, and learning. His team develops and applies new technical approaches to probe neural circuits with high resolution on multiple spatial and temporal scales and with neurotransmitter and cell-type specificity in behaving animals. A long-term goal is to derive a set of fundamental circuit principles that explain how basal ganglia circuits dynamically modulate behavior and how circuit dysfunction contributes to neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and addiction. Prior work by Dr. Howe has established distinct, behaviorally relevant neuromodulator signals in the striatum on timescales ranging from tens of milliseconds to days, which may contribute to unique aspects of motivation and learning. Future studies will investigate how these signals are dysregulated in disease and how they may be effectively targeted by future therapeutic strategies.
Javier Hoyo Perez, PhD
Dr. Hoyo, is graduated in chemical engineering and chemistry and holds MSC in Molecular Biotechnology and MSC in Chemical Process Engineering. Research lines: i) fabrication of micro-/nano-particles & hydrogels and their functionalization using bioactive agents for medical applications (antimicrobial and antibiofilm); and ii) use of natural polymers in multiple applications such materials functionalization (polymeric, paper and textiles), fluidic paper devices, bioadhesives and bioremediation.
Benjamin Johnson, PhD
Ben Johnson, PhD, is an associate research scientist in the laboratory of Dr. De Camilli at Yale University and project manager for Team De Camilli within the Aligning Sciences Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative. He received his BSc from Skidmore College and his MS and PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Colorado State University. Dr. Johnson’s work focuses on membrane contact site physiology and how disruption of their components and functions contribute to disease.
Ann Kennedy, PhD
Ann Kennedy, PhD, is a theoretical neuroscientist at Scripps Research in San Diego. She is broadly interested in the neural control of complex and naturalistic behavior, and her research has focused on the use of methods from machine learning, dynamical systems, and control theory to characterize the structure of animal behavior and its control by the brain. She completed postdoctoral training with Dr. David Anderson at California Institute of Technology, where she modeled hypothalamic control of social and fear behaviors. Prior to that, she pursued her PhD at Columbia University with Dr. Larry Abbott, where she modelled information representation and learning in cerebellum-like structures.
Zayd Khaliq, PhD
Zayd Khaliq, PhD, is a neuroscientist who studies cellular excitability and synaptic control of neurons in the midbrain dopamine system. His research focuses on dopaminergic neurons and uses a combination of electrophysiology, imaging, and optogenetics to examine how synaptic information is integrated and transmitted to trigger behaviorally -relevant patterns of dopamine release. His studies have contributed to our understanding of how dopamine receptors influence excitability through modulation of intrinsically -expressed ion channel proteins. Dr. Khaliq has contributed to our understanding of diversity among dopamine neuron subpopulations defined by their participation in identified circuits and the expression of biochemical markers. He is also known for his work examining how excitatory, inhibitory, and modulatory receptors contribute to processing within subcellular compartments such as spines, dendrites, and axons, which is critical for dopamine signaling in motor learning circuits.
Oula Khoury, PhD
Oula had obtained her PhD in Molecular Biology: Molecular Medicine and Translational Science from Wake Forest University, in Winston Salem, NC. During her postdoc, she studied the effects of chlorine gas on the biological and chemical functions of human lung organoids. Oula facilitated efficient team communication and interactions in her role as team lead in lung organoid manufacture. Oula will utilize these intellectual skills in her role as project manager
Talia Lerner, PhD
Talia Lerner is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Lerner earned her BS in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience from UCSF under Dr. Anatol Kreitzer, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University under Dr. Karl Deisseroth.
Dana Lewis, PhD
Dr. Dana Lewis is a Program Officer at the Coalition for Aligning Science and Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), a basic science initiative aimed at unraveling the etiology of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Lewis earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the George Washington University in the laboratory of Dr. Zayd Khaliq at the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She completed her postdoctoral work at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Maya Opendak at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. As a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Lewis’ research focused on connecting neurophysiological measurements of mesolimbic circuits with behavior and biomarkers of disease. In addition to her expertise in neurophysiology and systems neuroscience, Dr. Lewis is passionate about facilitating science communication to scientists and nonscientists alike.
James Maas, MD, PhD
Jim is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. He got his MD PhD at Washington University in St. Louis, where he did research in the laboratory of Louis Muglia studying the role of calcium-sensitive adenylyl cyclases in regulating sensitivity to alcohol. After completing his Neurology residency at UCSF and additional training in Movement Disorders, he joined the laboratory of Robert Edwards, where he has been studying the molecular mechanisms regulating neurotransmitter release, with special interest in dopamine release.
Peter Magill, PhD
Peter J. Magill, DPhil, is Professor of Neurobiology, an MRC Investigator, and Interim Director of the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford. Peter’s Dr. Magill’s core research interests are movement control and neurodegenerative disorders. He has spent his research career elucidating the operational principles of the basal ganglia and partner brain networks, with a focus on defining the cell and circuit substrates of perturbed brain activity and behavior in Parkinsonism. Dr. Magill and his team have particular expertise in the use of whole-animal models (rodents). In vivo electrophysiological recording techniques, ex vivo quantitative anatomical methods, and the use of genetics-based approaches for the monitoring and manipulation of specified cell types are all central to Peter’s research strategy. Dr. Magill has been an MRC Programme Leader since 2009. He is the recipient of an Investigator Award from The Wellcome Trust and is also a founding Investigator at the Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre.
Sarkis Mazmanian
Sarkis Mazmanian, Ph.D. is the Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at Caltech, in Pasadena CA. His laboratory pioneered the concept that studying the gut microbiome may lead to novel concepts in drug development for certain immunologic and neurological diseases, work that has resulted in several ongoing clinical trials. Dr. Mazmanian has enjoyed numerous honors including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award. Most importantly, He has trained many students and fellows who have gone on to successful independent careers in science, medicine and industry.
Konstantinos (Dinos) Meletis, PhD
Konstantinos Meletis, PhD, is a Professor of Systems Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet. He is an expert in the study circuit organization and the role of neuron subtypes in motivated behaviors. His laboratory has developed and applied a number of methods to map circuit organization and function, ranging from advanced molecular methods to determine gene expression patterns in cells and tissue at large scale and genetically modified rabies virus to define cell-type specific connectivity, to in vivo imaging and optogenetic approaches to define the role of neurons in aversion and motivation. During his PhD studies at Karolinska Institutet, Dr. Meletis developed methods to lineage trace stem and progenitor cells in the adult nervous system and studied their response to injury. In his postdoctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he studied the function of neuron subtypes in psychiatric disorders using mouse models and optogenetics.
Cláudia Mendes, PhD
Cláudia is a Project Manager at the Cragg Group based in the University of Oxford. During her doctoral studies, supervised by Christen Mirth and Élio Sucena at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência in Portugal, Cláudia explored how growth and differentiation during ovary development are modified by larval nutrition in the fruit fly. She later moved to the UK to conduct her first postdoctoral research project with Alistair McGregor and Daniela Nunes in Oxford Brookes University, where she investigated the genetic mechanisms underlying variation in the size and shape of the external male genitalia between two closely related fly species. Cláudia then became interested in how tissues and organs lose the ability to control their growth, which is one of the hallmarks of tumour initiation and progression. She conducted her second and final postdoctoral research project in the Wilson Group at the University of Oxford. She is now keen to have a successful career in project management.
Nicola Mercuri, MD, PhD
Nicola Mercuri, MD, graduated in Rome in 1979 and, was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Plank Institute of Munich (DE) in 1982. He was a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA) in 1985/86. He is Director of the School of Neurology at the Tor Vergata University, Director of the Neurological Clinic in the University Hospital, and Director of the Basic Research Institute in Neuroscience at the IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia in Rome, Italy. His research has been mainly devoted to understanding the effects of dopamine and dopaminergic drugs in the brain. His laboratory has a particular interest in studying neuronal electrophysiology and pharmacology,receptor- and voltage-operated ionic conductances, mechanisms of synaptic transmission, and actions of psychoactive drugs and neurohormones. He has clinical experience in movement and other neurological disorders.
