Engineering Resilience

I have an extensive and broad background in the field of cellular biology, neurobiology, and physiology, having worked for over 20 years in laboratories focused on neurobiology and tool development across six different model organisms. I have worked at top institutions such as Harvard Medical School studying visual cortical processing; Massachusetts General Hospital, studying Alzheimer’s and tauopathy propagation; and the Marine Biological Laboratories at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, studying the vocal motor circuit of the Oyster Toad Fish. I completed my graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, where I developed a series of chemi-genetic tools for Drosophila neuroscience applications, which tether small molecules, indicators, and dyes to the extracellular surface of genetically defined neuronal populations. However, it wasn’t until I learned about the extremely resilient tardigrade that I discovered the perfect avenue to address a fundamental question I have had since I was a child: How does one engineer highly resilient cellular and nervous systems?

My current lab work spans three main areas, focusing on Tardigrade Resilience.

1) Identifying key molecular components for the induction of intracellular phase transitions that enhance tardigrade cellular resilience.

2) Identifying, leveraging, and translating the molecular tools employed in the tardigrade nervous system to enhance neuroresilience in other animals.

3) Developing the first whole-animal tardigrade connectome, assessing connectivity and alterations to connectivity that result from extreme stress state exposure.