People

Carlo Condello, PhD (he/him)

[email protected]

UCSF profile
 

Education
B.A., Biology, St. Mary's University
Ph.D. Neuroscience, Northwestern University

Anna Badner, PhD (she/her)

[email protected]
 

Education:
B.S. Biochemistry, University of Ottawa 
Ph.D. University of Toronto, Institute of Medical Science

Research interests: Translational neuroscience, specifically the application of cell and gene therapies for neurological disease. 

Hobbies: Backpacking, mountaineering, skiing and my dog—Taco.

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.

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.

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 

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

Saheli Singh (she/her)

[email protected]

Graduate Program: Neuroscience 

Education:
B.A. Biology, Lewis and Clark College (2022)

Research interests: Utilizing mouse and zebrafish models to investigate the interplay between astrocytes and microglia in neurodegenerative disease.

Hobbies: Cooking, baking, running, biking, crocheting, and long walks with my dog Russ!

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

Katherine Errington (she/her)

[email protected]

Education:
BSc. Neuroscience, University of Exeter (2026)

Research interests:
Exploring the structure-function relationship of tau strains and their pathological implications in neurodegenerative diseases

Hobbies: hiking around the Bay Area with my dogs, reading, experimenting in the kitchen, ruthlessly critiquing terrible TV shows

Yumary Rubio (she/her)

[email protected]

Education:
B.S. Biology, University of San Francisco (2025)
PSM Biotechnology, University of San Francisco (2026)

Research interests: 
Understanding key cellular pathways to discover targets for potential therapeutic treatments in neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases

Hobbies: Reading, watching soccer, going to concerts, exploring SF parks, and the occasional rock climbing.