{"id":13,"date":"2022-11-02T00:08:42","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T00:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2026-04-16T00:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T00:03:50","slug":"people","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/","title":{"rendered":"People"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”75″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Email:<\/strong> constanza.cortes[at]usc.edu[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Dr. Constanza J. Cortes<\/a><\/h3>\n

Assistant Professor of Gerontology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Project\/Research Interests:<\/strong> Exercise, geroprotection and neurodegenerative diseases
\nFun Fact:<\/strong> I used to be a competitive salsa dancer when I was a postdoc.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”100″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Jocelyne Le\u00f3n<\/h3>\n

Research Technician<\/strong><\/p>\n

Project\/Research Interests:<\/strong> Aging and Alzheimer’s
\nFun Fact:<\/strong> On my days off you\u2019ll find me at Universal Studios, Disneyland, or streaming a new show[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”169″ img_size=”200X200″ css=””][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Tiarra Joseph<\/h3>\n

Undergraduate Student, Quantitative Biology B.S., Class of 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n

Project\/Research Interests:<\/strong> Neurodegenerative diseases, aging and genomics
\nFun Fact:<\/strong> My sister and I have a 14-year age gap (she is currently in Kindergarten!)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”101″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Kailin Liu<\/h3>\n

Undergraduate Student, Quantitative Biology B.S, Class Of 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Project\/Research Interests:<\/strong> Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, Multiomics, and more to be discovered!
\nFun Fact:<\/strong> I have an eyebrow slit! It\u2019s not to look cool\u2026more like the consequences of three-year-old me jumping on the couch.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”181″ img_size=”200X200″ css=””][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Karel Aceituno<\/h3>\n

PhD Student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program<\/strong><\/p>\n

Project\/Research Interests: neuroinflammation, mitochondria, aging and exercise\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>
\nFun Fact:<\/strong> I used to be an avid rock climber in undergrad[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1721074020896{padding-top: 5% !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Former Lab Trainees<\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Name<\/th>Position<\/th>Dates<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Dr. Allison Birnbaum<\/td>Postdoctoral Researcher <\/td>Graduated in 2024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eleanor Liu<\/td>Undergraduate Student<\/td>Graduated in 2024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ian Matthews<\/td>Graduate Student<\/td>Graduated in 2024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Janeel Calzaretta<\/td>Undergraduate Student<\/td>Graduated in 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mia Hakian<\/td>Undergraduate Student<\/td>Graduated in 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amy Huang<\/td>Undergraduate Student<\/td>Graduated in 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”75″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Email: constanza.cortes[at]usc.edu[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] Dr. Constanza J. Cortes Assistant Professor of Gerontology Project\/Research Interests: Exercise, geroprotection and neurodegenerative diseases Fun Fact: I used to be a competitive salsa dancer when I was a postdoc.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”100″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] Jocelyne Le\u00f3n Research Technician Project\/Research Interests: Aging and Alzheimer’s Fun Fact: On my days off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPeople - The Cortes Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People - The Cortes Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”75″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Email: constanza.cortes[at]usc.edu[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] Dr. Constanza J. Cortes Assistant Professor of Gerontology Project\/Research Interests: Exercise, geroprotection and neurodegenerative diseases Fun Fact: I used to be a competitive salsa dancer when I was a postdoc.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”100″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] Jocelyne Le\u00f3n Research Technician Project\/Research Interests: Aging and Alzheimer’s Fun Fact: On my days off […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Cortes Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-16T00:03:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@constanza343\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/people\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/people\\\/\",\"name\":\"People - The Cortes Lab\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-02T00:08:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-16T00:03:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/people\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/people\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/people\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"People\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Cortes Lab\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gero.usc.edu\\\/labs\\\/corteslab\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"People - The Cortes Lab","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"People - The Cortes Lab","og_description":"[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”75″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Email: constanza.cortes[at]usc.edu[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] Dr. Constanza J. Cortes Assistant Professor of Gerontology Project\/Research Interests: Exercise, geroprotection and neurodegenerative diseases Fun Fact: I used to be a competitive salsa dancer when I was a postdoc.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”100″ img_size=”200X200″][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text] Jocelyne Le\u00f3n Research Technician Project\/Research Interests: Aging and Alzheimer’s Fun Fact: On my days off […]","og_url":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/","og_site_name":"The Cortes Lab","article_modified_time":"2026-04-16T00:03:50+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@constanza343","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/","url":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/","name":"People - The Cortes Lab","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-11-02T00:08:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-16T00:03:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/people\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"People"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/","name":"The Cortes Lab","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":191,"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions\/191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gero.usc.edu\/labs\/corteslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}