Principal Investigator
Carlo Condello, PhD (he/him)
[email protected]
UCSF profile
Education
Ph.D. Neuroscience, Northwestern University (2011)
Postdoctoral fellows
Chaitali Anand, PhD (she/her)
[email protected]
UCSF profile
Education:
PhD, Translational Neuroscience, Wayne State University, MI, USA (2020)
Research interests: Investigating and modeling neuropathology transmission using biological and computational approaches; assessing tau strain characteristics and pathology transmission fidelity in in vivo models of tauopathies.
Hobbies: Exploring the Bay area in general with my husband and daughter, acrylic painting, running, listening to podcasts, competitive badminton, home organization.
Erika Castillo, PhD (she/her)
[email protected]
UCSF profile
Education:
B.S. Genetics and Biotechnology, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru (2008)
Ph.D. Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Japan (2018)
Research interests: Molecular mechanisms of microglial activation & neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease
Hobbies: Outside the lab, I have a fulfilling personal project @cienciagenerika on social media platforms where I convey easy-to-understand science to the Hispanic community.
Henry Pan, PhD (he/him)
[email protected]
UCSF profile
Education:
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University (2016)
Ph. D. Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin (2022)
Research interests: Transmission of prions across in vivo models using patient samples, fluorescence and cryo-EM characterization of strains, peptide and small molecule design
Hobbies: Long-distance running, hiking, playing the piano, reading, indoor gardening
Hyunjun Yang, PhD (he/him)
Hyunjun.Yang@ucsf.edu
UCSF profile
Education:
B.S. Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison (2012)
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, University of California, Irvine (2019)
Research interests
design, synthesis, and study of chemical tools that enable identification of toxic prion conformations
Hobbies: Golf
Julio Leon, PhD (he/him)
[email protected]
UCSF profile
Education:
PhD. Biomedical Sciences (Neurofunctional Genomics). Kyushu University, Japan (2016)
MSc. Biomedical Sciences (Biochemistry and Cell Signaling). Kyushu University, Japan (2012)
BSc. (Molecular Biology and Genetics). National University of Trujillo, Peru (2007)
Research interests: Integrating single-cell and spatial multiomics to study how changes at the molecular level in individual cells impact brain function during aging and disease.
Hobbies: Diving, snowboarding, playing soccer, learning languages, reading and exploring the world
Graduate Students
Carlota Pereda Serras (she/her)
[email protected]
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics (PSPG)
Education:
B.S. Biology, Physiology, Biotechnology, Brown University (2015)
M.S. Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University in the City of New York (2017)
Research interests: Leveraging large-scale patient data and in vivo models to investigate spatial single-cell vulnerabilities of female APOE4-carriers to Alzheimer’s Disease
Hobbies: Cooking, eating, eating some more (and sometimes spinning).
Emily Graham (she/her)
[email protected]
Graduate Program: Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) / Tetrad
Education:
B.A. Chemistry, Mount Holyoke College (2019)
Research interests: Microglia and their role in neuroinflammation within neurodegenerative disease. Understanding and modulating molecular mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative disease to better target therapeutics.
Hobbies: Skiing, Rock Climbing, Playing Violin & Guitar, Reading, exploring local breweries & playing with my dog.
Ian Steele (he/him)
[email protected]
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics (PSPG)
Education:
B.S. Pharmacology, University of California, Santa Barbara (2017)
Research interests: Leveraging in vivo models and patient samples to study the cellular processes and molecular mechanisms driving selective vulnerability in relation to tau-mediated neurodegeneration
Hobbies: Exploring bay area trails with my dog and wife, hiking/camping/backpacking, snowboarding, consuming craft beer, plant dad to 20+ house plants
Stephanie Huard (she/her)
[email protected]
Graduate Program: Biomedical Sciences (BMS)
Education:
B.S. Biology and Philosophy, California Institute of Technology (2018)
Research interests:
Neuroimmune interactions in the context of protein aggregation, sex-based differences and similarities in microglia, neurodegenerative and neuroprotective roles of microglia
Hobbies: Hiking, cooking, games (of the board and video varieties), cats, advocacy
Research Assistants
Christoffer Caro (he/him)
[email protected]
Education:
BS Biological Sciences, UC Irvine
M.S. Biochemistry, Molecular, and Structural Biology, UCLA
Research interests:
Understanding the role of anionic transporters in contributing to tau fibril formation.
Hobbies: comedy podcasts, movies, and cats (not the musical)
Samantha Moreno (she/her)
[email protected]
Education:
B.S. Psychology, University of California Berkeley (2024)
Research interests:
The morphology of neurodegenerative diseases and their distinct manifestations in individuals.
Hobbies: fitness, bodybuilding, nutrition, motorcycles, track racing, art, hiking
Alumni
Name
Title
Current Placement and Title
Miranda Sullivan
Marie Shi
Brianna Rivera
Christoffer Caro
Weizhou Yue
Annalise Bond
Isabella Buchter
Madhy Garcia
Noah Johnson
Peng "Paul" Yuan
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Research Assistant
Visiting Scholar
Research Assistant
Post-doc
Staff Scientist
University of California, San Francisco, Clinical Research Coordinator
Boston University School of Medicine, MD/PhD Student
Google X, Data Science Research Associate
University of California, Los Angeles, Graduate student
University of Rhode Island, Graduate student
University of California, Santa Barbara, Graduate student
Whitman College, Undergraduate student
University of California, Irvine, Graduate student
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Instructor
Fudan University (Shanghai), Assistant Professor