College
College of Life Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Campus
Center City
Format
On Campus
Duration
4 - 5 Years
Contact Information
Program Director
Program Director
900 Walnut Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Program Coordinator
1020 Locust Street
M-46 JAH
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Connect with Us
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Current Students
The close-knit student body of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience is an integral part of the Jefferson Community and continues the time-honored tradition of scholarly exchange. Our interdisciplinary curriculum allows students from all departments to work collectively toward the common goal of progress in the field of neuroscience.
Current Students
Michael Aimino
Michael.Aimino@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Timothy Mosca, PhD
Project: My project involves determining how synapses develop over time in different classes of sensory neurons in the olfactory regions of the fruit fly brain.
Tyler Alexander (MD/PhD)
Tyler.Alexander@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Manuel Covarrubias, MD, PhD
Project: TBD
Victoria Baccini
Victoria.Baccini@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Matthew Dalva, PhD
Project: TBD
Bridget Boyle
Bridget.Boyle@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Elena Blanco-Suarez, PhD
Project: To study the spatiotemporal-dependent roles of Chrdl1 in ischemic stroke-driven GluA2-AMPAR distribution and its role in differential neuronal vulnerability to stroke.
Debotri Chatterjee (MD/PhD)
Debotri.Chatterjee@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Richard Smeyne, PhD
Project: I'm interested in looking at the interplay of environmental toxins and viral infections in the etiology of Parkinson's disease.
Lara Cheslow (MD/PhD)
Lara.Cheslow@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Scott Waldman, MD, PhD
Project: TBD
Alison DePew
Alison.DePew@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Timothy Mosca, PhD
Project: My project is focused on investigating a novel mechanism for the cell surface receptor LRP4 in synapse development at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction in order to better understand its role in disease and the overall development of the nervous system.
Layla Ghaffari
Layla.Ghaffari@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Aaron Haeusler, PhD
Project: Investigating the convergence of altered neuronal activity and C9orf72-linked molecular mechanisms in ALS/FTD
Jesse Humenik
Jesse.Humenik@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Timothy Mosca, PhD
Project: 1-Identifying Cell Surface and Secreted Proteins used in synaptogenesis
2- The role of transcription factors in neurogenesis
Jordyn Karliner
Jordyn.Karliner@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Diane Merry, PhD
Project: My project is investigating the mechanisms of aberrant neurite outgrowth in SBMA and the involvement of androgen receptor transcriptional activity in this process.
Siddharth Karthikeyan (MD/PhD)
Siddharth.Karthikeyan@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Le Ma, PhD
Project: TBD
Ivette Martorell Serra
Ivette.martorellserra@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Richard Smeyne, PhD
Project: TBD
Elizabeth Moese
Elizabeth.Moese@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Le Ma, PhD
Project: I study how posttranslational modifications of neuronal microtubule associated proteins, MAP7 and tau, influence kinesin based transport and axon branching.
Tabitha Rodriguez
Tabitha.Rodriguez@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Richard Smeyne, PhD
Project: TBD
Gabrielle Spagnuolo
Gabrielle.Spagnuolo@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Lorraine Iacovitti, PhD
Project: I am interested in understanding how glial interactions affect post-stroke outcomes in ischemic stroke.
Samantha Thomas (MD/PhD)
Samantha.Thomas@students.jefferson.edu
Laboratory: Angelo Lepore, PhD
Project: Promoting circuit-specific synaptic reconnectivity after spinal cord injury
Recent Graduates
2023/2024
Joshua Barton (MD/PhD)
Thesis Title: “Regulation of the Gut-Brain Axis by Guanylyl Cyclase C”
Advisor: Scott Waldman, MD, PhD
Current Position: MD/PhD 7, JeffMD Phase 2, SKMC 3
2022/2023
Bridget Curran
Thesis Title: “Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Guidance of Bifurcating Sensory Axons During Development”
Advisor: Le Ma, PhD
Vibol Heng (MD/PhD)
Thesis Title: “Neurobiological and Behavioral Characterization of Adult Male and Female Mice in Prolonged Social Isolation”
Advisor: Richard Smeyne, PhD
Current Position: MD/PhD 9, JeffMD Phase 3, SKMC 4
Elana Molotsky
Thesis Title: “THE IMPACT OF ANDROGEN RECEPTOR POLYGLUTAMINE EXPANSION ON THE MOTOR UNIT IN SBMA: NMJ PATHOLOGY, MOTOR UNIT VULNERABILITY, AND NEUROFILAMENT DYSREGULATION”
Advisor: Diane Merry, PhD
2021/2022
Eric Brown
Thesis Title: “Differential activation of pain circuitry neuron populations in spinal cord injury induced neuropathic pain”
Advisor: Angelo Lepore, PhD
Nicolette Heinsinger
Thesis Title: “Modulating EphBs in the dorsal horn attenuates neuropathic pain after cervical spinal cord injury”
Advisor: Angelo Lepore, PhD
Brandie Verdone
Thesis Title: “Understanding the consequences of dipeptide repeat protein formation in C9orf72 ALS/FTD”
Advisor: Piera Pasinelli, PhD
Current Position: PostDoctoral Fellow/ IRACDA Posdoctoral Scholar, Department of Biomedical Engineering/Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
2020/2021
Brittany Charsar (MD/PhD)
Thesis Title: “Respiratory axon plasticity drives recovery of diaphragm function after spinal cord injury”
Advisor: Angelo Lepore, PhD
Current Position: PGY-3 Resident, Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Rogan Magee (MD/PhD)
Thesis Title: “Addressing Computational and Experimental Questions on tRNA-Derived Fragments (tRFs) to Define New Roles in Cell Behavior and Human Disease”
Advisor: Isidore Rigoutsos, PhD
Current Position: PGY - 3 Resident, Neurology, University of Pennsylvania
Sean O’Sullivan (MD/PhD)
Thesis Title: “The Effect of Alcohol and Opioid Withdrawal on Single-Cell Glia and Neuronal Gene Expression in the Visceral Emotional Neuraxis“
Advisor: James Schwaber, PhD
Benjamin Yang (MD/PhD)
Thesis Title: “Investigation of molecular mechanisms mediating MAP7 function in axon branching”
Advisor: Le Ma, PhD
Current Position: PGY-3 Resident, Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson