Jonathan An
Dr. An is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. Dr. An obtained his DDS degree from the University of Washington in 2016 and his Ph.D. in 2019. He is a UW Magnuson Scholar and recipient of a graduate training award from the…
Kira Evitts
Ms. Evitts is a Bioengineering graduate student performing her Ph.D. thesis studies in the labs of Jessica Young and Ying Zheng. Her thesis project is focused on developing a stem cell based model of the human neurovascular unit (NVU) to study neurovascular interactions in the brain and investigate neurovascular dysfunction in age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Her…
Annabel Beichman
Dr. Beichman is a postdoc in Dr. Kelley Harris’ Lab at UW Genome Sciences. Her research uses genomics to learn about mutation and demographic history in wild mammals that have experienced extreme demographic events or remarkable evolutionary transitions, including sea otters, bears, and whales. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles…
Brandon Berry
Dr. Brandon Berry is a postdoctoral researcher in the Kaeberlein laboratory. His research focuses on how aging and metabolism are linked. Brandon is interested in how mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, contribute to and modulate aging. He uses novel tools to precisely control mitochondria to better understand the fundamentals of healthy aging and metabolism. Brandon…
Alessandro Bitto
Dr. Bitto is an Acting Instructor in the Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology. His research is focused on understanding the interaction between biological aging, mitochondrial function, and metabolic disease. Dr. Bitto was a BMHA post-doctoral fellow on the Genetic Approaches to Aging Training Grant from 2013-2016 and is the recipient of a post-doctoral research…
Darrian Bugg
Ms. Bugg is an M3D graduate student in Pathology performing her Ph.D. thesis studies in the Davis Lab focusing on how various cardiac fibroblast cell state changes affect cardiac physiology over time. In particular she is focusing on understanding how fluid these changes are and if there is the possibility to revert to a healthy…
Rene Coig
Mr. Coig is a graduate student in the M3D Ph.D. program in the Promislow lab, conducting dissertation research on the genetic and molecular basis of sex differences in aging and metabolism, with a focus on biological heterogeneity in big data (metabolomics). The primary pathways at the focus of his research are Kynurenine and Lipid metabolism,…
Marie Davis
Dr. Davis is a movement disorder neurologist and researcher at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System and and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying the production and spread of pathogenic protein aggregation in aging and aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Parkinson’s…
Arjune Dhanekula
Dr. Dhanekula is a current cardiothoracic surgical resident at UW and a postdoc in Dr. Marcinek’s lab. He is studying aging in the aorta; specifically, he seeks to understand the interplay between mitochondrial dysfunction, senescence, and pathology in the aging aorta. He received his MD from Wayne State School of Medicine in Detroit, MI.
Ian Dowsett
Dr. Dowsett is a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Dr. Georg Seelig, in the UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. His research focuses on studying the unique genetic differences between single cells in aged organisms, the effects of aging interventions on clonal dynamics, and developing advanced next-generation sequencing tools as part of a…
Arianna Gómez
Dr. Gómez is a postdoc in the Musculoskeletal Systems Biology Lab in the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine where she is advised by Dr. Ronald Young Kwon. Dr. Gómez’s work integrates genetics, aging, and bone biology. She seeks to develop zebrafish as a discovery platform…
Abdiasis Hussein
Mr. Abdiasis is a PhD candidate in the department of biochemistry performing his thesis research in the laboratory of Professor Hannele Ruohola-Baker. He previously studied an intermediate pluripotent step, embryonic diapause, which disrupts the transition from the pre-implantation naïve to post-implantation primed embryonic. He foun that diapause has a distinct lipid metabolic profile compared to…
Maria Janowska
Dr. Janowska is a post-doctoral researcher in the Klevit laboratory. Her interests lie in understanding the biochemistry of the protective mechanisms utilized by proteins to prevent the formation of toxic protein aggregates in the brain. When she is not at work, she enjoys the beautiful Pacific Northwest, either skiing or hiking, and when stationary at…
Matt Kaeberlein
Dr. Kaeberlein’s research interests are focused on biological mechanisms of aging in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. He has published more than 200 scientific papers, has been recognized by several prestigious awards, and has Fellow status in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the…
Scott Kennedy
Dr. Kennedy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. He has a strong interest in the role of the fidelity mechanisms that cells employ to maintain genetic information and the ways these mechanisms are involved in diseases of aging. Research in the Kennedy lab focuses on developing and using Next-Generation…
Michael Kiflezghi
Mr. Kiflezghi is a graduate student in the M3D Ph.D. program and pre-doctoral trainee in the Biological Mechanisms of Healthy Aging Training Program. He is performing his Ph.D. thesis studies in the Kaeberlein Lab, where he has developed and applied novel technology for identifying small molecule inhibitors of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). As…
Rachel Knopp
Dr. Knopp is a postdoctoral researcher working under Dr. William (Bill) Banks and Dr. Michelle (Shelly) Erickson. Her research focuses on blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction during normal aging and in age-related diseases. Dr. Knopp’s main projects include 1) evaluating the age-specific effects of senolytic treatment to protect against BBB-dysfunction; and 2) characterizing the response of…
Nicole Liachko
Nicole Liachko, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Washington, and a Core Investigator in the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VA PSHCS). Dr. Liachko’s research program centers on understanding the biology…
Cheyne Littlesun
Ms. Cheyne Littlesun is a MCB graduate student in the Kaeberlein lab, her research focuses on deciphering combinatorial drug interactions in aging biology. Currently she is looking at how a library of chemicals interact with metformin; a possible modulator of longevity now being investigated in humans and the 6th most prescribed drug in the United…
Luana Paleologu
Luana Paleologu is working in the Berg Lab on uncovering the signaling pathway of chitinase-like proteins, a class of proteins found to be upregulated in age-associated and inflammatory diseases. She works with fly eggs as a model system to test for genetic interactions and to image protein dynamics.
Gavin Pharaoh
Dr. Pharaoh’s research is focused on the role of mitochondria in aging and disease using a multifaceted approach that integrates physiological, pharmaceutical, genetic, molecular, and mitochondrial bioenergetic techniques. Dr. Pharaoh’s research specifically focuses on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle and cardiac aging. Dr. Pharaoh received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma…
Matt Pomaville
Dr. Pomaville is a postdoc in Dr. Philip Abitua’s lab in the Department of Genome Sciences at UW. His research uses the extraordinarily short-lived African killifish to examine the mechanisms regulating the balance of apoptosis and senescence in aging animals. Matt is interested in using cell biology approaches and unique model organisms to explore multiple…
Stephan Raiders
Mr. Raiders is a PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Ph.D. program. He performs his research in the lab of Dr. Aakanksha Singhvi, studying molecular interactions between neurons and their supporting cells, glia, using the small nematode worm, C. elegans. Mr. Raiders studies the pruning of sensory neurons by associated glial cells and…
Ryan Rossner
Mr. Rossner is a graduate student in the M3D Ph.D. program studying the role of flavin-containing monooxygenase proteins in aging. He is performing his Ph.D. thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Kaeberlein. He was awarded a position on the Genetic Approaches of Aging Training Grant in 2016 and is currently a pre-doctoral trainee in the…
Kristine Tsantilas
Dr. Tsantilas is a postdoctoral fellow in Michael MacCoss’ laboratory in the Genome Sciences Department. She completed her PhD in the laboratory of James B. Hurley in the UW Biochemistry Department, where she studied metabolic activity in young, healthy retinas and examined how aging affects these norms. Her research as a postdoctoral fellow uses different…
Lindsey Ulmer
Lindsey is a PhD candidate in the Bush lab. Lindsey Ulmer’s research involves developing novel crosslinking mass spectrometry methods through working with the Bush Lab in the UW chemistry department and applying these methods to study small heat shock proteins (sHSPs). sHSPs are chaperones that prevent aging associated protein aggregation. Using the reagent benzoylphenylalanine, she…
Katie Yanagi
Dr. Yanagi is a postdoctoral fellow in Nicolas Lehrbach’s lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Her research uses C. elegans genetics and reporter-based assays in combination with molecular biology and biochemistry to address how protein homeostasis is maintained as organisms age. Dr. Yanagi received her PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University.
Jessica Young
Dr. Young joined the UW faculty in 2016 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology. Her research goal is to understand the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying age-related disorders, with a particular focus on neurodegenerative disorders. She has developed human stem cell models to further this line of research, as…
