Skip to main content
search

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): Mireille Jacobson
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

Eleanor Batista-Malat

Eleanor Batista-Malat Headshot

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 PhD 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. Eleanor’s work now focuses on the role of home- and community-based services in elder abuse detection, disclosure, and prevention. She is working under the direction of Dr. Kate Wilber in the Secure Old Age Lab. 

Cameron Brown

Cameron Brown Headshot

Year of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s): Lauren Brown
Email: cbrown45@usc.edu

Cameron Brown is a first year PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Before starting at USC, Cameron completed a B.A. in Health and Human Biology, with a focus on Brain Health and Behavior, and a M.S. in Pathology and Biology at Brown University. Her research interests include Alzheimer’s and neurodegeneration in the African American population and increasing  the diversity of participants for studies and clinical trials. She is working under the direction of Dr. Lauren Brown.    

Jessie Chien

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

Jessie is a PhD candidate focusing on Cognitive Psychology of Aging. Her research focuses on exploring the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying age-related differences in memory specificity and how these differences might influence decision-making in both younger and older adults. 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.

Sung Eun (Euni) Cho

Sung Eun Cho Headshot

Year of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Ailshire
Email: sungeunc@usc.edu

Sung Eun Cho is a doctoral student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She has a particular interest in tackling the marginalization of older adults in both urban and digital environments. Her current research examines how engagement with urban and digital resources impacts health in later life. Before coming to USC, Sung Eun earned a BA in Urban Sociology from the University of Seoul and an MA in Sociology from Yonsei University.

Lilly Estenson

LIly 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 candidate at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She previously completed her Bachelor of Arts at Scripps College and her Master of Social Work at the University of Michigan. She is interested in how social and policy factors affect health insurance enrollment and health care utilization. Her current work focuses on predictors, characteristics, and outcomes of Medicare enrollment and coverage choices.

Tongyu Gu

Year of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s): Jennifer Ailshire
Email: tongyugu@usc.edu

Tori is a PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology working with Professor Jennifer Ailshire. Her research focuses on the social and environmental determinants of cognitive and mental health in older adults, particularly using survey methods. Before starting to pursue a doctorate in Los Angeles where there is always another day of sun, Tori obtained an M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Quantitative Psychology with a minor in Genderand Sexuality studies from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where populations ‘are not made of sugar and will not melt in the rain’.

Tamara Harris

Tamara Harris is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Having completed her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh, and her Masters of Social Work at New York University, she has experience in the social work, non-profit, financial and entrepreneurship sectors. A former caregiver for several family members, she is a passionate advocate focused on reducing health disparities in underrepresented populations. Her research interests lie at the intersection of the complex relationship between abuse, grief, trauma and cognitive decline and its impact on resiliency and longevity in older adults, specifically African American and Latino adults, and their caregivers.

Year of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s): Michelle Keller
Email:  tamaralh@usc.edu

Tamara Harris is a doctoral student at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Having completed her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh, and her Masters of Social Work at New York University, she has experience in the social work, non-profit, financial and entrepreneurship sectors. A former caregiver for several family members, she is a passionate advocate focused on reducing health disparities in underrepresented populations. Her research interests lie at the intersection of the complex relationship between abuse, grief, trauma and cognitive decline and its impact on resiliency and longevity in older adults, specifically African American and Latino adults, and their caregivers.

Kenya Luna

Kenya Luna Headshot

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Lauren Brown
Email: kenyalun@usc.edu

Kenya Luna is a first year PhD student in the Gerontology program at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She completed her BA in Psychology and her MA in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience at Cal State San Bernardino. Her primary research interests include health disparities in Hispanic/Latino populations with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

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).

Dinithi Perera

Dinithi Perera HeadshotYear of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s): Michelle Keller
Email: dinithip@usc.edu

Dinithi Perera is a doctoral student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Having completed her Bachelor and Master’s in law in the UK and US, she’s worked in clinical trials management for dementia prevention research for several years in Europe, in both academic and non-profit research institutions. Her research interests focus on ethnic diversity in dementia research and its impact on advances in new treatments, and healthcare policies and strategies, particularly in relation to South Asians. She works under the direction of Dr Michelle Keller.

Elizabeth Rojas

Elizabeth Rojas Headshot

Year of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s):
Francesca Falzarano
Email: rojasea@usc.edu

Elizabeth Rojas, a two-time graduate of USC’s Leonard Davis School is currently a first-year PhD student working with Dr. Francesca Falzarano. As a Research Assistant in the Falzarano Family Caregiving Lab, Elizabeth is interested in understanding caregiving for patients affected by cognitive decline and its implications on an expert level. A gerontologist by training, Elizabeth’s ultimate ambition is to help older adults and their families alleviate their most acute stressors. 

Stephanie Rubinstein

Rubinstein Headshot

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

Stephanie Rubinstein is a doctoral candidate 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 center around examining the psychosocial experience of older adult bereaved parents. She is currently working under the advisement Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski.

Sheila A. 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 A. 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.

Mengzhao Yan

Portrait of Mengzhao Yan

Year of Program Entry: 2021
Faculty Advisor(s): Jon Pynoos, John Walsh
Faculty Lab Sites: The Pynoos Lab
Email: mengzhay@usc.edu

Mengzhao Yan is a PhD Candidate at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, where he earned a Master’s degree in Aging Services Management and has worked as a staff member. He completed his undergraduate education in business administration at Beijing Foreign Studies University in China and worked as an administrator and researcher there. He is dedicated to studying how to optimize services, programs, and products to improve older persons’ health and well-being and support them aging in place. His current work focuses on home modifications for aging in place. He holds a California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) Administrator License. 

Dokyung Yoon

Year of Program Entry: 2022
Faculty Advisor(s): Teal Eich, Elizabeth Zelinski
Faculty Lab Sites: The Lifespan Cognition Lab (Eich),
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. She is currently investigating the association between loneliness, social isolation, and cognition among older adults.

Wenhui Zhao

Wenhui Zhao Headshot

Year of Program Entry: 2024
Faculty Advisor(s): Mara Mather 
Faculty Lab Site: Emotion & Cognition Lab
Email: wenhuiz@usc.edu

Wenhui Zhao is a PhD student at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Working under the mentorship of Dr. Mara Mather, he is focusing on using advanced statistical and neuroimaging techniques to study how locus coeruleus leads to cognitive dysfunctions and cognitive reverses. Before joining USC, he earned his BS in Quantitative Psychology from Jiangxi Normal University in 2021. Following his undergraduate studies, Wenhui worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2021 to 2024. During this time, he developed skills in machine learning, digital signal processing, human genomics, and neuroimaging techniques.  His interest is challenging research integrating knowledge and techniques from different fields.

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.

Close Menu