People

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)


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
 

 

Emily Graham (she/her)

[email protected]

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]

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]

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

Miranda Sullivan (she/her)

[email protected]


Education:
B.S. Cell & Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara (2019)

Research interests:
cancer, immunology, genetics

Hobbies: hiking/outdoor activities, art & painting, reading

Samantha Moreno​ (she/her)


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

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

Visiting Scholar

Research Assistant

Post-doc

Staff Scientist

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