Mauricio Oliveira is interested in understanding the molecular mechanism that underlie protein synthesis-dependent memory formation. Specifically, his work focuses on understanding how GADD34, a scaffold protein involved in eIF2a dephosphorylation, participated in early events of memory processes, and how it could be involved in age-dependent cognitive decline and dementia. Mauricio earned his PhD from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro on translation initiation dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease to study whether pharmacological intervention to restore protein synthesis could rescue synaptic plasticity and memory of AD models.

Muhaned Mohamed is an MD/PhD student in the department of Neuroscience. He is interested in understanding how translational dysfunction leads to neurological disorders. His current projects include understanding how mutations in the EEF1A2 gene found in patients result in autism, epilepsy and intellectual disability. Muhaned graduated from York College with B.S. in Chemistry and Psychology, where he studied the influence of postsynaptic ganglion cells in the development of the bipolar cells of the retina. Afterwards he worked in the Naora lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center studying the role of homeobox gene DLX4 in Philadelphia chromosome negative myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Prerana Shrestha is studying the role of translation in specific cell types in amygdala for fear related memory processes. She is currently developing a novel chemogenetic approach to inducibly block de novo protein synthesis in a cell autonomous manner. Prerana received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the Rockefeller University in the laboratory of Dr. Nathaniel Heintz. For her dissertation, Prerana developed several bacTRAP transgenic mouse lines to characterize molecularly distinct cortical pyramidal cell types, and focused on layer 2/3 pyramidal cell population in the prefrontal cortex that moderate stress induced depression related behavior. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry, Magna cum laude, from Bates College, Maine. Prerana received the NARSAD Young investigator award in 2017.

Ela is a junior laboratory associate and Klann Lab’s manager. She recently graduated from Brandeis University, having received a  B.S in Neuroscience with minors in Computer Science and Philosophy.

Jessica Alapin is currently studying the role of translation in the consolidation of auditory threat memory using optogenetic tools that block ElF4E-dependent translation. Jessica received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Haifa, Israel, at the laboratory of Prof. Raphael Lamprecht. During her Ph.D., Jessica used optogenetics to study the role of EphB2 receptor in lateral amygdala in the formation of fear memory in mice. Thus far, the research findings are very enlightening, as she found that EphB2 is involved in various forms of learning. For example, she found that activating EphB2, by optogenetics, leads to enhanced memory, and that EphB2 is involved in memory impairment in aged mice.

Drew Adler is an MD/PhD student in the department of neuroscience with interests in neuro-glia interaction, neuroimmunology, and immunometabolism. His work generally focuses on non-cell-autonomous phenomena and cell-cell communication in the brain during activity and after acute injury. He is co-mentored by Wenbiao Gan and his current project examines the influence of microglia translation on astrocytic and neuronal metabolic homeostasis during activity and ischemia. Drew earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University where he studied blood-brain barrier breakdown in a gut-toxin based multiple sclerosis model under the supervision of Tim Vartanian. Afterwards he moved to Seija Lehnards’ lab at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin to study non-coding RNAs as triggers for neuro-inflammation.

Harrison Evans studies how neuronal translation is impaired in neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Harrison received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at The University of Queensland in the laboratory of Prof. Jürgen Götz, where his work demonstrated that protein synthesis was impaired by the microtubule associated protein tau, one of the key pathogenic proteins in FTD. Harrison’s current work examines how ribosomes, the cellular machines responsible for protein synthesis, are altered in FTD, and whether tau-induced impairments in translation can block the formation of new long-term memories. In his free time, Harrison is also an avid photographer and scuba diver.

Vaish is interested in translation control in the context of the autism spectrum disorder, Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). FXS is caused by loss of a particular protein, Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Amongst many other functions, one of the main cellular functions of FMRP appears to be in translational regulation, and it is thought that the misregulation caused by loss of FMRP leads to the various memory formation issues in FXS patients. Particularly, Vaish looks at how the loss of FMRP alters translation speed and status in FXS patients by studying patient-derived iPSCs differentiated to neurons. Previously, Vaish did her postdoc in the lab of Dr. Colleen McClung at the University of Pittsburgh, where she looked at the role of non-coding RNAs in the striatum in Schizophrenic patients and patients with Bipolar disorders, to explore their role in regulating the circadian rhythm in the brain. Vaish obtained her PhD in Biochemistry at the lab of Prof. Norbert Polacek, from the University of Bern, Switzerland, where she worked on the expansion segments of eukaryotic ribosomes to understand their difference from prokaryotic ribosomes, and also their role in specialized translation. She graduated from University of Glasgow, Scotland with MRes Biomedical Sciences, where she worked with Prof. Hugh Nimmo and Dr. Andrew Hamilton in projects on cellular and molecular functions of viral and plant RNAs. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her toddler daughter and going on walks and hikes, dancing and listening to music.

Nishika is a student at NYU majoring in neural science and minoring in philosophy. Her research interests include the biological mechanisms of memory consolidation and Alzheimer’s disease. She is especially interested in the intersection between the study of the brain and our understanding of what it means to be human (such as the origin of consciousness and the implications of memory for the construction of one’s identity).

Emily Lu is an undergraduate junior at NYU majoring in Neural Science. She is interested in how an understanding of biology can be used to treat mental disorders.

Astra Yu is an undergraduate at NYU majoring in Neural Science. She is interested in the molecular mechanisms of memory and their breakdown in neurodegenerative diseases.

Carson is an NYU student planning on majoring in neuroscience and minoring in Spanish. Her research interests include neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer’s disease, and memory development.

Ilene is a sophomore majoring in Psychology. She is interested in the cellular and molecular basis of neurodegenerative diseases.