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USC Leonard Davis School PhD students in the Gerontology and Biology of Aging programs are some of the most promising minds in the science of aging.

Gerontology PhD Students

Isabella Arellanes

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Eileen Crimmins, Hussein Yassine
Email: icordova@usc.edu

Isabella Arellanes is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016, and her Master of Public Health at the University of Southern California in 2022. She previously worked as a Research Coordinator for a clinical trial on Alzheimer’s Disease at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Her primary research interests include dementia and health disparities among the Latino/Hispanic population.

Elizabeth Avent

Portrait of Liz Avent

Year of Program Entry: 2017
Faculty Advisor(s): Kate Wilber
Faculty Lab Site: The Secure Old Age Lab
Email: eavent@usc.edu

Elizabeth Avent began the doctoral program at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in Fall 2017. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Georgia State University in 2012 and her Master of Arts in Gerontology at Georgia State University in 2016. She works under the direction of Dr. Kathleen Wilber in the Secure Old Age Lab and at the USC Center on Elder Mistreatment. Her research interests include elder abuse policy, prevention and intervention, the impact of adverse childhood experiences into later life, late-life intimate partner violence, and improving and developing appropriate services for older victims through community and policy interventions.

Liz has worked as a research assistant with the Convoys of Care Research Team at Georgia State University on a NIH-funded study that focused on the care networks of residents in assisted living facilities. She has worked as a research assistant at Grady Memorial Hospital on a care transitions research study and for the Georgia Council on Aging, where aging issues are selected by a coalition of older adults to advocate to policymakers.

Eleanor Batista-Malat

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Kate Wilber
Faculty Lab Site: The Secure Old Age Lab
Email: ebatista@usc.edu

Eleanor Batista-Malat is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Before starting at USC, she graduated from Earlham College with a BA in psychology and worked as a research coordinator at the Indiana University Center for Aging Research at the Regenstrief Institute. She is interested in interventions for older adults and their caregivers as well as the policies that support these interventions. She is working under the direction of Dr. Kate Wilber in the Secure Old Age Lab.

Valeria Cardenas

Year of Program Entry: 2018
Faculty Advisor(s): Susan Enguidanos
Faculty Lab Site: The Enguidanos Lab
Email: vlcarden@usc.edu

Valeria Cardenas is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare and Justice, and Public Relations from Marquette University; and a Master’s in Aging Services Management from the University of Southern California. Valeria’s research interests are in palliative care and hospice care for the Latino community. She is currently working with Dr. Susan Enguidanos.

Jessie Chien

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Teal Eich
Faculty Lab Site: The Lifespan Cognition Lab
Email: chihyuan@usc.edu

Jessie Chien is a second-year PhD student focusing on Cognitive Psychology of Aging. Before coming to USC, she received her M.A. in Psychology from Brandeis University (Master’s thesis advisor: Dr. Angela Gutchess) and a B.S. in Psychology from Penn State University. She is interested in exploring the underlying cognitive mechanisms and brain networks of age-related changes in memory. Currently, she is investigating the role of inhibitory processes in discriminating between similar memories (pattern separation) and how aging affects this ability. In the next steps, she aims to study how emotion may modulate this pattern and incorporate neuroimaging methods.

Lilly Estenson

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Advisor(s): Mireille Jacobson
Faculty Lab Site: The Jacobson Lab
Email: estenson@usc.edu

Lilly Estenson is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She completed her Bachelor of Arts at Scripps College and her Master of Social Work at the University of Michigan. She is interested in health policy evaluation and in understanding how social factors affect health insurance enrollment choices and health care utilization, particularly among people with Medicare. She is advised by Dr. Mireille Jacobson.

Gillian Fennell

Year of Program Entry: 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Ailshire, Elizabeth Zelinski
Email: gfennell@usc.edu

Gillian Fennell is a doctoral candidate working under the advisement of Drs. Elizabeth Zelinski & Jennifer Ailshire. Prior to beginning the PhD program, she graduated with a Bachelors in Human Development from Cornell University in 2019. Her research primarily explores chronic pain and older adults’ subjective assessments of future time and their own longevity. Her recent work also focuses on the predictors and consequences of long-term opioid use and the role neighborhoods play on the physical health (namely, chronic pain and frailty) of people with dementia and their caregivers.

Narae Kim

Year of Program Entry: Fall 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Mireille Jacobson
Faculty Lab Site: The Jacobson Lab
Email: naraekim@usc.edu

Narae Kim is a doctoral student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Her research interests focus on the evaluation of health and insurance policies and the provision of affordable care for vulnerable seniors.

Prior to the doctoral study, Narae received a Master of Public Health from Brown University and a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts with Political Science, Economics and Philosophy concentration from Sogang University in South Korea. She worked as a global marketer at Samsung Medison for four years and worked as a research assistant at the Rhode Island Department of Health for two years. Under the direction of Dr. Mireille Jacobson, she is currently studying Health Economics and working as a research assistant.

Do Kyung Yoon

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Teal Eich, Kate Wilber
Faculty Lab Sites: The Lifespan Cognition Lab (Eich), The Secure Old Age Lab (Wilber)
Email: dokyung@usc.edu

Dokyung Yoon is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Dokyung received a BA in Psychology and a BS in Child and Family Studies from Yonsei University in South Korea. She also completed her Master of Arts in Child and Family Studies at Yonsei University. Her research interests include:

  1. technology usage and acceptance among older adults and
  2. the association between psychosocial factors and cognitive function in later life. She is currently working under the advisement of Dr. Kathleen Wilber and Dr. Teal Eich

Susanna Mage

Year of Program Entry: 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Kate Wilber
Faculty Lab Site: The Secure Old Age Lab
Email: mage@usc.edu

Susanna Mage comes to USC after working in New York City for the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry for several years. Her previous educational background was in Environmental Science (Masters from Brown University 2012 & Bachelors from University of Delaware 2010). Suzy’s current interests stem from her more recent experience in being her father’s caregiver, which has led her to interest in a career focusing on how to best provide caregiver support and in influencing social policy for the elderly. She works under the direction of Dr. Kathleen Wilber in the Secure Old Age Lab.

Kelly Ann Marnfeldt

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Advisor(s): Kate Wilber
Faculty Lab Site: The Secure Old Age Lab
Email: kellyfor@usc.edu

Kelly Ann Marnfeldt is a doctoral student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, where she also received her Master of Science in Gerontology in 2019. During her master’s program, her research focused on 3 key areas: the impact of caregiver burden; the complexity of elder mistreatment; the importance of social connection and maintaining a sense of purpose across the life course.
Kelly will continue her research in the Secure Old Age lab at USC in the following areas: reexamining the meaning of justice for the individual in cases of elder mistreatment; the varying effects of episodic, serial and perennial caregiving across the life course; evaluating social connection in the context of the digital age. Kelly employs a mixed methods approach to her research and has a strong foundation in narrative analysis to compliment her quantitative skills.
Prior to attending USC, Kelly’s experience in the arts, communications and media led her to establish a creative writing and performance workshop that provided a space for older adults to create and perform original works that dismantle age bias in media and the performing arts, with a hearty focus on the value of intergenerational connectivity for people of all ages.

Margarita Osuna

Year of Program Entry: 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Ailshire
Email: margarmo@usc.edu

Margarita Osuna is a doctoral student in Gerontology at the University of Southern California. Under the mentorship of Jennifer Ailshire, she is conducting research in the Ailshire Lab focused on Latin American demography, health, and aging. She is also interested in socioeconomic inequalities in health and well-being in the Latin American older adult population. Margarita graduated from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in 2015 (Colombia) with an undergraduate degree in Sociology and is currently a member of the LAHA research group (Latin America Health and Aging research group).

Stephanie Rubinstein

Portrait of Stephanie Rubinstein

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Elizabeth Zelinski
Email: srrubins@usc.edu

Stephanie Rubinstein is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Prior to her start at USC, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Music from Loyola University Maryland in 2017. She then went on to work as a research assistant at Boston University School of Medicine for the New England Centenarian Study, under the direction of Dr. Tom Perls. Her primary research interests include examining the centenarian experience and exploring ways to improve cognitive assessment tools, with a particular interest in subjective measures. She is currently working under the advisement Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski.

Sheila Salinas Navarro

Portrait of Sheila Salinas Navarro

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Advisor(s): Kate Wilber, Reginald Tucker-Seeley
Faculty Lab Site: The Secure Old Age Lab (Wilber)
Email: salinasn@usc.edu

Sheila Salinas Navarro is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at California State University, Long Beach in 2016, and her Master of Public Administration at California State University, Long Beach, in 2018. Her research interest is on economic security for the Latino/Hispanic immigrant communities living in the United States. She is currently working under the advisement of Dr. Kathleen Wilber and Dr. Reginald Tucker-Seeley.

Meki Singleton

Portrait of Meki Singleton

Year of Program Entry: 2018
Faculty Advisor(s): Susan Enguídanos
Faculty Lab Site: The Enguídanos Lab
Email: mekiayls@usc.edu

Meki Singleton (she/her) began the doctoral program at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in the Fall of 2018. Originally from Florida, Meki attended the University of South Florida where she earned a BA in Psychology and Gerontology and an MSW. After completing her MSW, she became a Health Educator Consultant for the Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County. She worked directly with the Ryan White clinic, which provides medical care to people living with HIV/AIDS. Her main role was overseeing the medication assistance program and performing administrative duties. Working under Dr. Susan Enguidanos, Meki’s research revolves around the older adult SGM population and how they access and utilize end-of-life care and planning and long-term care support and services. In August of 2022, she received a NIA Aging Research Dissertation Award to Increase Diversity (R36) grant to fund her dissertation research that is exploring the interaction between race and sexual orientation in advance care planning.

Olivia (Yu-Hsuan) Wang

Year of Program Entry: 2018
Faculty Advisor(s): Susan Enguídanos
Faculty Lab Site: The Enguídanos Lab
Email: wang385@usc.edu

Olivia (Yu-Hsuan) Wang works under the direction of Dr. Susan Enguidanos. Olivia received a BS in psychology, MS in Clinical Psychology from National Taiwan University. From 2015 to 2018, she worked in hospice as a clinical psychologist in Taiwan. Her research interests are advance directives and palliative care issues.

Qiao Wu

Year of Program Entry: 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Eileen Crimmins
Email: qiaowu@usc.edu

Qiao Wu is a PhD student under the mentorship of Dr. Eileen Crimmins. He completed his BA in History at the Capital Normal University (Beijing, China), and Master of International Public Policy and Management at Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California. Qiao is interested in biodemography and population health, using large population surveys with biomarkers to understand health trajectories and outcomes. He is currently examining cardiometabolic risk and cognitive health in different countries (the US, China, and India). He is also using RNA sequencing data to understand how gene expression profile correlates to sociodemographic characteristics and late-life health outcomes.

Mengzhao Yan

Portrait of Mengzhao Yan

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Jon Pynoos, Kate Wilber
Faculty Lab Sites: The Pynoos Lab, The Secure Old Age Lab (Wilber)
Email: mengzhay@usc.edu

Mengzhao Yan (闫孟昭) is a PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, where he received a Master’s degree in Aging Services Management and has worked as a Staff. Prior to coming to the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in 2018, he was a researcher and an administrator at Beijing Foreign Studies University in China. His research interests include: administration of aging and health services; development of age-friendly ecology; organizational behavioral issues related to aging; and social alienation among the marginalized population. He also holds a CA RCFE Administrator Certificate. He is currently working under the advisement of Dr. Jon Pynoos and Dr. Kate Wilber.

Mutian Zhang

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Eileen Crimmins, Jennifer Ailshire
Email: mutianz@usc.edu

Mutian Zhang is a PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, working under the mentorship of Dr. Eileen Crimmins and Dr. Jennifer Ailshire. Mutian is currently working on a project investigating trends in physical performance among older Americans over time. In addition, Mutian focuses her attention on global aging, population health, and social determinants of health. She is also interested in research questions related to the association between SES and cancer survivors, indoor air pollution, and the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Erfei Zhao

Year of Program Entry: 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Eileen Crimmins
Email: erfeizha@usc.edu

Erfei Zhao is a PhD student working under the mentorship of Dr. Eileen Crimmins. He joined the USC family with an MSW from Columbia university and a BA in Economics and minors in Dance and French from Washington University in St. Louis. He previously worked at a senior center under University Settlement in New York. Erfei is interested in various aspects that influence the subjective well-being of older Chinese, such employment quality and intergenerational relationships. He is also interested in how older adults are portrayed in the media. Outside of studying, Erfei is also a passionate dancer. He is currently a member of the USC-based competitive urban dance team Chaotic 3.

Yujun Zhu

Portrait of Yujun Zhu

Year of Program Entry: 2017
Faculty Advisor(s): Susan Enguídanos
Faculty Lab Site: The Enguídanos Lab
Email: yujunzhu@usc.edu

YuJun (Fisher) Zhu is a PhD student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. He worked in a local hospital after getting his bachelor’s degree in public health in Shanghai, China. Then he came to the United States and got his Master of Science in Gerontology degree here in 2017. His research interest is technology implementation in health care, especially in end of life care. He is currently working under the direction of Dr. Susan Enguidanos.

Fisher used to be a student worker in the school’s IT department and loves troubleshooting and solving technical issues.

Affiliated PhD Students

Kalekirstos Alemu

Email: kalemu@usc.edu

Zeferino Reyna

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Lab Site: The Cohen Lab
Faculty Advisor(s): Pinchas Cohen
Email: zreyna@usc.edu

Zeferino Reyna is a Molecular Biology Graduate Program PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. He is interested in understanding the interplay between mitochondrial-derived peptides and the immune system that lead to inflammatory diseases and aging with the hope that one day we will put these ailments behind us. Outside of the lab, Zeferino likes to unwind with a bottle of good wine and cheese, while relaxing at the beach. He enjoys most sports, but especially water sports.

Nicole Stuhr

Year of Program Entry: 2017
Faculty Advisor(s): Sean Curran
Email: nstuhr@usc.edu

Nicole is a PhD student in the Molecular and Computational Biology program. She is completing her PhD in Sean Curran’s lab at the School of Gerontology. Nicole is interested in understanding the relationship between diet and aging and determining what genes are important for preventing the onset of age-related diseases using the model organism C. elegans.

Rachel Wilkie

Year of Program Entry: 2019
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Ailshire, Eileen Crimmins
Email: rwilkie@usc.edu

Rachel Wilkie is a PhD Candidate in the Population, Health, and Place program, run by the Spatial Sciences department in USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. Her dissertation focuses on socioeconomic inequalities and cross-national comparisons in life expectancy and healthy aging, primarily using national longitudinal surveys of health and aging.

Biology of Aging PhD Students

Katelyn Adam

Katelyn received her B.S. from UC Berkeley in molecular environmental biology. As an undergraduate she worked in Dr. Caroline Williams lab studying physiological ecology. Katelyn joined the Garrison lab as a Research Associate to study the role of neuropeptides in aging and reproductive longevity. She continues her work as a PhD candidate in the USC-Buck PhD program.

Edward Anderton

Year of Program Entry: 2018
Faculty Advisor(s): Gordon Lithgow
Email: EAnderton@buckinstitute.org

Edward Anderton is a PhD student in the USC-Buck Biology of Aging Program in the Lithgow lab at the Buck Institute. Originally from the United Kingdom, Edward received his integrated bachelor’s-master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Oxford. His thesis project focused on differential expression of Hox genes in the evolution of the mammalian brain. After graduating, he worked in project management for the UK’s largest retail bank for three years before returning to his real passion – science and solving aging. His research at the Buck centers on protein homeostasis decline during normal aging and in Alzheimer’s Disease. His project applies deep proteomics to uncover the proteins and pathways most impacted by aging in worm models of disease and in the human brain and in doing so he aims to identify novel genetic drivers of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease. When he isn’t buried in papers he likes to climb boulders, travel to distant countries and explore the great outdoors.

Maxim Averbukh

Portrait of Maxim Averbukh Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Ryo Sanabria
Faculty Lab Site: The Sanabria Lab

Juan Bravo

Year of Program Entry: 2017
Faculty Advisor(s): Bérénice Benayoun
Faculty Lab Site: The Benayoun Lab
Email: juanb@usc.edu

Juan is a PhD student in the Biology of Aging program at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. As a member of the Benayoun lab, he studies the molecular biology, cellular biology, and genomics of transposable elements–fragments of DNA that can generate additional copies of themselves. Since transposons have been implicated in multiple aspects of aging, including senescence, inflammation, and genome instability, the focus of his research is to characterize 1) the functional consequences of unrestrained transposon activity and 2) novel mechanisms of transposon regulation. His research has been funded by a USC Provost Fellowship, NIA T32 Training Grant, and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Jun-Wei Brendan Hughes

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Judy Campisi
Email: junweihu@usc.edu

Brendan is a PhD student in the USC-Buck Biology of Aging Program studying neurodegenerative disease in Judy Campisi’s lab. Prior to the PhD program, Brendan received his B.S. in biological sciences from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After an internship at Rubedo Life Sciences, Brendan discovered his passion for the biology of aging, so following Rubedo and graduating from Cal Poly SLO, Brendan found the opportunity to work in the Campisi as an RA/lab manager for 2 years while applying to PhD programs focused on the biology of aging. Brendan is now a first year PhD student in the Campisi lab and is excited to continue research studying neuronal senescence and the contribution to neurodegenerative diseases.

Josef Byrne

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Simon Melov
Email: jpbyrne@usc.edu

Josef Byrne is a PhD student in the USC-Buck Biology of Aging Program in Dr. Simon Melov’s lab at the Buck Institute. Originally from upstate New York, Josef received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. As an undergraduate, he was involved in research ranging from synthetic glycobiology to computational modeling of biological systems. After his undergraduate tenure, Josef served as a Scientist in Merck Vaccine Process Development where he designed purification strategies and co-led tech transfers to bring novel vaccines from the bench top to the clinic to protect against pathogens ranging from S. pneumoniae to SARS-CoV-2. Upon noticing the notable progress towards developing clinically tangible interventions to extend healthy lifespan, Josef pivoted to the biogerontology field through the USC-Buck program and is currently assessing potential PhD projects. When not in the lab or coding, Josef enjoys playing percussion and doing martial arts.

Dolly Chowdhury

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Valter Longo
Email: dollycho@usc.edu

Dolly received her B.S. from the University of Southern California in biochemistry. As an undergraduate student she worked in the Dr. Longo lab studying the effects of fasting on Alzheimer’s disease. Dolly joined the Longo lab as a Research Technician to study the effects fasting and nutrition have in the prevention of senescence. She continues her work as a PhD candidate in the USC-Buck PhD program.

Aeowynn Coakley

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Garrison
Email: acoakley@usc.edu

Aeowynn is a PhD student in Jennifer Garrison’s lab at the Buck Institute, where she will pursue her interest in reproductive aging. She received her B.S. in biology with a concentration in systems physiology from San Jose State University in 2021. As an undergraduate, she participated extensively in research, both in science education and in bench science. Aeowynn contributed to the lab of Dr. Frank K. Huynh studying the role of sirtuin 4 in mammary tissue, as well as leading a project on sirtuin 4’s potential role in reproductive physiology. For her doctoral work, Aeowynn’s research goal is to understand how brain-ovarian signaling changes with age. Her research is funded by the NIA T32 Training Grant.

Huixun Du

Huixun “Zoe” Du joined the lab of Dr. Daniel Winer at the Buck Institute as a graduate student from the University of Southern California-Buck Biology of Aging Ph.D. program in May 2021. Prior to this, she completed her B.S. in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California-Irvine and studied the function of ion channel PIEZO1 in neural stem cell development as an undergraduate intern. Currently, in the Winer lab, she is studying the relationship between mechanical forces and cellular senescence with the goal of better understanding fibrotic diseases.

Ariel Floro

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Eric Verdin
Email: afloro@usc.edu

Ariel is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Eric Verdin’s lab at the Buck Institute. She graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and a minor in Biomedical Research. Her undergraduate research focused on the structure of the HIV accessory protein vpr. After graduating, she worked as a research associate, studying inflammation in macrophages via UVB radiation and the neuro-immune interactions of psoriasis. She decided to pursue aging research as it ties together her passions for science and healthy living. Aside from lab, she enjoys training and teaching martial arts and wrestling.

Elissa Fultz

Elissa is a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Ralf Langen’s lab at USC. She graduated from University of California – Santa Barbara in 2017, where she did undergraduate research studying the role of glutamate in methamphetamine and alcohol addiction. Before starting at UC Santa Barbara, she volunteered at a lab at University of California – Los Angeles studying how opioid receptors mediate pain sensitization. Her research focus shifted (dramatically) to structural work when she joined the Langen lab, where she studies the huntingtin protein, the main culprit in Huntington’s disease. Her thesis work focuses on how the huntingtin protein forms the characteristic aggregates seen in the brains of patients with Huntington’s disease, and how to prevent them from forming.

Giacomo Giuliani

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Valter Longo
Email: giacomo@usc.edu

Giacomo is a Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California pursuing the Biology of Aging’s doctoral program in the School of Gerontology. Educated at the University of Camerino (Italy), he graduated with honors for his BSc in Nutritional Biology, completing his thesis on genetic polymorphisms in Fibromyalgia Syndrome patients. Upon graduation, Giacomo’s academic career continued at the University of Trieste (Italy) and Rennes 1 (France), where he earned a double degree Master of Science in Functional Genomics and Molecular and Cellular Biology defending the thesis entitled “3-ß-hydroxybutyrate supplementation decreases pancreatic cancer cell line viability in vitro”.
As a researcher in Professor Valter Longo’s laboratory, Giacomo collaborates with the research team still conducting his studies. His interest at the USC focuses on how nutrient-sensing pathways regulate health, longevity, and cancer metabolism. His scientific background is based on cell biology, molecular biology, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and biochemistry, all of which are highly relevant to his focus on cancer research and health-lifespan studies.

Cassandra Joan McGill

Faculty Advisor(s): Christian Pike, Bérénice Benayoun
Faculty Lab Sites: The Pike Lab, The Benayoun Lab

Cassie is a PhD student in the labs of Dr. Christian Pike and Dr. Berenice Benayoun. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Genetics from the University of California, Irvine, where she discovered her interest in using “omics” to investigate neurodegenerative disease and aging. Cassie’s current research focuses on investigating genotype-specific responses to longevity-promoting interventions in an Alzheimer’s disease context. Cassie’s research is funded by an NIA T32 Training Grant.

Jonathan Levi

Faculty Advisor(s): Michael Bonaguidi

Jonathan is a PhD candidate in the USC-Buck Institute Biology of Aging program. He received his Bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has multiple years of experience in molecular biology, bioengineering, biochemistry, stem cell biology, and aging. His current work in the Bonaguidi Lab at the USC Broad CIRM Center focuses on neural stem cells during aging and Alzheimer’s. He studies cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the decline of neural stem cell function with age and how to harness neural stem cells for rejuvenation. Through his PhD he has been funded by the NIH T32 Training Fellowship in Developmental Biology, Stem Cells and Regeneration.

Ryan Lu

Faculty Advisor(s): Bérénice Benayoun
Faculty Lab Site: The Benayoun Lab

Ryan is a PhD student in the Biology of Aging program at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. He received his Bachelor’s degree in cell and development at California State University of Fullerton. Ryan’s research focuses on understanding the sex dimorphic impact on the aging immune system. He is currently trying to characterize the impact of aging and sex on macrophage function. As well as understanding the mechanism that contributes to the sex dimorphic phenotypes observed. His research has been funded by the NIA T32 Training Grant and Diana Jacobs Kalman/AFAR scholarship for research in biology of aging.

Sidharth Madhavan

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Advisor(s): John Newman
Email: ssmadhav@usc.edu

Sid is a doctoral fellow working under Dr. John Newman at the Buck Institute. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Honors at Virginia Tech where he majored in Clinical Neuroscience. As an undergraduate, he studied the biochemical structure and function of human tau proteins under Dr. Bin Xu. Sid is currently investigating how ketone bodies and other signaling metabolites regulate the solubility of misfolded and potentially toxic proteins. He is interested in understanding the mechanistic and molecular underpinnings of interventions relevant to translational geroscience, and his research benefits greatly from Dr. Newman’s expertise as a practicing geriatrician. Sid’s research has been funded by the USC Provost Fellowship and he is passionate about creating space for underrepresented groups in STEM.

Francesco Neri

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Judith Campisi, Birgit Schilling

Francesco received his B.S. in biotechnology at the University of Bologna (Italy) in 2017 and then completed his M.S. in pharmaceutical biotechnology at the University of Bologna (Italy) in 2019. He joined the Campisi and Schilling laboratories at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in 2019, where he studies cellular senescence, a major driver of aging, and interventions for age-related diseases

Lewis Randall

Faculty Advisor(s): Gordon Lithgow

Lewis Randall is a PhD student in the USC-Buck Institute Biology of Aging Program in the lab of Gordon Lithgow at the Buck Institute. At the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he obtained degrees in biology and music, after which he worked in a lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying immune cell populations in the lung. Using the worm model C. elegans, his research project explores the metabolic and epigenetic mediators of the impact of exercise on protein homeostasis. From these studies, he hopes to uncover novel mechanisms contributing to the beneficial effects of physical activity. When not in the lab, he spends time cycling, backpacking, and baking bread. Lewis’ research has been funded by a USC Provost Fellowship and an NIA T32 Training Grant.

Andrew Rodriguez

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Garrison
Email: atr02872@usc.edu

Andrew studied Bioengineering at Stanford University and got his master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCSB. After that, Andrew worked in industry for a few years testing the biological effects of radiation-based cancer treatments at Varian, then worked for a year with Professor Brack at UCSF in muscle stem cell biology. In the Buck Institute laboratory of Professor Jennifer Garrison, Andrew is investigating how neuropeptide signaling can regulate healthspan and longevity.

Michelle Rice

Faculty Advisor(s): Changhan David Lee

Michelle is a PhD student in the Biology of Aging program in the Lee lab. She received her B.S. in neuroscience and B.A. in anthropology at Tulane University, before moving to New York to do research in the Choi lab at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her research there focused on understanding the role of necroptosis and extracellular mitochondrial DNA in lung and kidney injury. As a graduate student in the Lee lab, Michelle is interested in how the innate immune system changes with age and the role of mitochondrial-derived peptides in immunometabolism. When not in the lab, Michelle may be found under a beach umbrella eating a taco.

Sarah Shemtov

Faculty Advisor(s): Marc Vermulst
Faculty Lab Site: The Vermulst Lab

Sarah is a PhD candidate in Dr. Marc Vermulst’s lab at USC. Here, she studies the role of mitochondrial mutagenesis in the context of aging to answer fundamental biological questions in the field by tracking mitochondrial DNA mutations over time. Prior to starting her PhD, she graduated from the University of Miami with a BS in Chemistry and a MS in Skin Biology and Dermatological Sciences from UM’s Miller School of Medicine. At the same time, Sarah worked at a cosmetic company in their R&D labs. In the future, she hopes to apply the knowledge and skills she acquires to understanding the impact of mitochondrial dysfunction on cutaneous aging.

Daria Timonina

Year of Program Entry: 2018
Faculty Advisor(s): Eric Verdin
Email: timonina@usc.edu

Daria is a PhD candidate in Eric Verdin’s lab at the Buck Institute. She received her Bachelors of Science from the University of Arizona with a dual degree in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology. After graduation, she worked for two years at Massachusetts General Hospital in partnership with Harvard Medical School. Using tumor samples from patients in the hospital, she created xenograft cancer models in mice to study drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer. In her graduate research, she is applying her laboratory skills to study how sleep impacts aging in mice. Her research is funded by the T32 grant.

Alan Tomusiak

Alan TomusiakYear of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Eric Verdin
Email: tomusiak@usc.edu

Alan began his academic career by studying how master transcription factors regulate differentiation state in plants, culminating in an Honor’s degree in biology from Stanford University with a minor in computer science. After graduating, he assisted in developing high-throughput CRISPR screens at a CAR-T immunotherapy startup, igniting an interest in reprogramming cells for therapeutic benefit. Pivoting into aging, Alan now works on decoupling cell-intrinsic aging processes from those related to inflammation.

Bennett Van Camp

Year of Program Entry: 2020
Faculty Advisor(s): Sean Curran
Faculty Lab Site: The Curran Lab
Email: btvancam@usc.edu

Bennett is a Ph.D candidate in Sean Curran’s lab at USC. They completed their undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in both Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry. Bennett began their academic career studying the divergent roles of conserved transcription factors in Tribolium castaneum and Drosophila melanogaster during development. Since joining the Biology of Aging program, Bennett has focused their research on characterizing neuronal, post-translational, and age-dependent regulation of SKN-1/NRF in Caenorhabditis elegans and its impacts on stress resistance and lifespan.

Wang Xiang

Wang is a PhD student at the USC-Buck Institute Biology of Aging PhD program, she has extensive experience in the fields of bioinformatics and  computational biology. She completed her Bachelor of Science at Harbin Medical University, China majored in Bioinformatics.As a member of the Bonaguidi Lab at the USC Broad CIRM Center, she studies stem cell biology, neuron science, aging biology, scRNA-seq transcriptomics and pharmacogenomics. Her research focuses on integration of single-cell omics and pharmacogenomics for neurological disease. Specifically, she aims to define NSC rejuvenation mechanisms using pharmaceutical bioinformatics networks and identify drugs targeting immature astrocyte states in human epilepsy through single cell pharmacogenomics.

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