People

Contact:

Email: vermulst@usc.edu

Marc Vermulst, PhD

Associate Professor of Gerontology

Principal Investigator

Education

PhD, University of Washington, Seattle (2004-2008)

Post-doctoral training, California Institute of Technology (2008-2009)

Post-doctoral training, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2009-2013)

Hometown: Baarn, the Netherlands
Favorite non-science activities: Exploring Los Angeles, reading chess and hiking

Marc has a background in mitochondrial biology and mutation detection, and is interested in the role of mitochondrial biology and transcription errors in human aging and disease.

Contact:

Email: thorwald@usc.edu

Max Thorwald, PhD

Research Associate

Education

B.S. University of California, Merced (2009-2013)

PhD. University of California, Merced (2013-2018)

Post-Doc. University of Southern California, Finch Lab (2018-2025)

Hometown: Alamo, CA
Favorite non-science activities: lifting, reading, video games

Max has a strong background in redox biology and physiology, and primarily focuses on understanding the contributions of air pollution and brain metals on neurodegeneration, particularly in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Contact:

Email: sshemtov@usc.edu

Sarah Shemtov, PhD

Post-Doc

Education

B.S. University of Miami (2014-2017)

M.S. University of Miami (2017-2018)

PhD. University of Southern California, Vermulst Lab (2019-2025)

Hometown: New York
Favorite non-science activities: yoga sculpting, the beach, spending time with friends and family

Sarah has a background in chemistry and skin biology and she is particularly interested in using new animal models to understand mtDNA mutagenesis and its impact on aging.

Contact:

Email: chungcla@usc.edu

Claire Chung

Lab Specialist

Education

B.A. Cornell University

M.S. University of Wisconson

Hometown: Hong Kong / New York
Favorite non-science activities: Drawing, arts and crafts

Claire has a background in stress biology and DNA sequencing, and is particularly interested in the effect of mutagenic compounds on the fidelity of transcription and the mechanistic underpinnings of mitochondrial DNA diseases.