OUR TEAM
ERIK S. MUSIEK, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator
Charlotte & Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine
Previous Training: BS, College of William & Mary; MD, PhD, Vanderbilt Univ. School of Medicine; Residency in Neurology, Hospital of the Univ. of Pennsylvania; Dementia Fellowship, Washington Univ. School of Medicine.
Erik grew up in Hanover, NH and attended the College of William & Mary as an undergraduate. He joined the MSTP at Vadnerbilt, and completed his PhD in Pharmacology in the lab of Dr. Jason Morrow. During Neurology residency at Penn, he worked in the lab of Dr. Garret FitzGerald. He came to WashU as a postdoctoral fellowship in David Holtzman's lab, and a clinical dementia fellow in the Knight ADRC. He started his own laboratory at WashU in 2014. In addition to his basic research, Erik sees patients in the Memory Diagnostic Center and is an investigator in the Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
Erik is also Co-Director of the Center On Biological Rhythms And Sleep at WashU, a multidisciplinary research center focus on understanding the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in human health.
Click here for WUSTL Neurology biography
JULIE DIMITRY, MS
Senior Lab Manager/Scientist
Previous training: B.S. and M.S., Univ. of Illinois. Julie joined the lab in 2015 after many years in the department of Biochemistry managing the lab of Dr. Bill Frazier. Julie brings experience and molecular biology expertise to the lab, and beyond her bench research projects, she also manages the lab and takes care of most things.
MELVIN KING
Ph.D. Student - Neuroscience
Previous training: B.A., Dartmouth College. Melvin joined the lab as a PhD student in Neuroscience in Spring 2019. Originally from Fort Worth, TX, Melvin studied Chemistry at Dartmouth and completed a post-bacalaureate research program at the Univ. of Rochester before coming to WashU. His thesis work focuses on the role of SCN in AD pathology, as well as understanding microglial regulation of alpha-synuclein pathology.
ASHISH SHARMA, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Previous training: Ph.D., School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shoolini University, India. Ashish joined the lab in Spring 2021. He completed his PhD thesis research on the effect of constant light on AD-like neuropathology in rats in the lab of Dr. Rohit Goyal. His current research examines the effects of different forms of circadian disruption and sleep inducing drugs on amyloid and tau pathology in mice.
CYNTHIA CHEN
Ph.D. Student- Neuroscience
Previous training: B.S., UCLA. Cynthia joined the lab in Spring 2021 as a PhD student in Neuroscience. After graduating form UCLA, she worked as a technician in the lab of Dr. Berislav Zlokovic at USC, modeling the blood-brain barrier using iPSCs. Her thesis work examines the impact of circaidan desyncrhony in tau and synuclein models, and the regualtion of brain lipids by the circadian clock.
COLLIN NADARAJAH
MSTP student
Previous Training: B.A., Washington University. Originally from Dallas, Collin completed an Honors Thesis in the lab as an undergraduate and stayed on as a technician in the lab for two years before departing in Summer 2019 to become an MSTP student at Washington University. Now he has returned to pursue his PhD in the lab, studying REV-ERB proteins in neurodegeneration, as well as the effects of complement proteins in AD.
SABRINA CLEMENS
Ph.D. Student- Neuroscience
Previous training: Bachelors of Science and Arts, University of Texas at Austin. Sabrina joined the lab as a PhD student in Neuroscience in Fall 2023. Originally from San Antonio, TX, Sabrina studied Neuroscience in Austin, TX and worked as a Research Assistant at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, MA before starting graduate school.
ELSA QUILLIN
Research Assistant
Previous training: B.S., College of William and Mary. Elsa joined the lab in Summer 2023 as a research technician. Originally from Ocean City, MD, Elsa studied neuroscience and biochemistry at William and Mary and completed her honors thesis on the effects of scopolamine in a zebrafish model. Following her time in the lab, she plans on pursuing a PhD studying novel therapeutic strategies for AD.
RYEONGHWA KANG, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
Previous training:
SOHUI PARK
Ph.D. Student- Neuroscience
Previous training: B.E. & M.S., Yonsei University. Sohui joined the lab in Fall 2024 as a PhD student in Neuroscience. After earning her Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Science degrees from Yonsei University, Sohui worked as a research scientist in a biotech company focusing on drug discovery for Alzheimer’s disease.
SU YAN
Ph.D. Student- Neuroscience
Previous training: B.S., Peking University. Su joined the lab as a PhD student in Neuroscience in Summer 2024. Originally from Jiangsu, China, Su studied glial cells at Peking University and did her undergraduate thesis on the role of glial TLR4 in neuroinflammation.
MICHELLE LI
Undergraduate student
Michelle is from Livingston, NJ and joined the lab in 2022 as a sophomore at Washington University. She studies computational biology and has worked on human circadian blood transcriptomics in Alzheimer's Disease in a collaboration with Dr. Laura Ibañez. She is currently working with Collin Nadarajah, investigating the effect of C4 knockout on neuroinflammation and AD pathology in mouse models. Michelle plans on going to medical school after graduating.
LAB ALUMNI
JENNIFER LAWRENCE
Former position: Ph.D. Student- Neuroscience
Previous training: B.S., Univ. of Delaware. Jen joined the lab in Spring 2020 as a PhD student in Neuroscience. She grew up in Newport News, VA, and was a Fulbright Scholar and NSF GRFP awardee. She studied the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and neuroinflammation, and found that inflammatory BBB breakdown was highly dependent on light and time of day. She graduated from WashU in 2024 and is now working as a scientist at BPGbio in Massachusetts.
JIYEON LEE, PhD
Former Position: Postdoctoral Associate
Previous training: Ph.D., Seoul National University. Jiyeon joined the lab in Spring 2019. She majored in Circadian biology and completed Ph.D training in Dr. Kyungjin Kim's laboratory at Seoul National University, and at Asan Medical Center. Her research is focused on a role of circadian molecules, especially REV-ERBα, in Alzheimer's disease. She discovered novel roles for microlgial REV-ERBs in the regulation of lipid droplets, and astrocyte REV-ERBs in controlling brain NAD+ levels. She completed her postdoc in 2024 and departed for a position at Ajou University Medical School in South Korea.
ASHA PATEL
Former position: Undergraduate student
Originally from Hillsborough, NJ, Asha joined the lab as a sophomore in 2021. She worked with Jen Lawrence on projects related to the roles that glial cells and neuroinflammation play in the development of AD in mouse models. She graduated Washington University in 2024 and is headed to medical school in 2025.
SOPHIE JACOB
Former position: Undergraduate student
Originally from Palo Alto, CA, Sophie worked in the lab as an undergraduate researcher from 2021-2024, when she gradauted from Washington University. She worked with Melvin King on microglia in synclein models. She is now headed to graduate school.
CELIA MCKEE
Former Position: Ph.D. Student - Neuroscience
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research, Merck
Previous training: B.A., Vassar College. Celia joined the lab in Spring 2018 as a PhD student in Neuroscience. As a tech at Duke University and the University of Virginia, she has studied retinal neurodegeneration, traumatic brain injury, and meningeal lymphatic function. As a PhD student Celia studied how astrocyte Bmal1 regulated amyloid-beta pathology and lysosomal function. In 2023 she graduated an took a research position at Merck.
ADYA DHULER
Former Position: Research Technician
Previous Training: B.A., Washington University. Adya hails from India and attended Washington University for undergradute training, graduating in spring 2022. He joined the lab as a research technician in summer 2022 and worked with us for a year before heading off to medical school.
PATRICK SHEEHAN
Former Position: Ph.D. Student - Neuroscience
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dori Schafer lab, UMass Chan School of Medicine
Previous training: B.S., Clarion University. Pat joined the lab in Spring 2018 as a PhD student in Neuroscience. Pat had previous research experience at Brandeis University and the NIH prior to coming to WashU. As a PhD student, Pat studied the effect of Bmal1 deletion on tau and alpha-synuclein pathology, and circadian transcrptional profiling of astrocytes and microglia in mouse AD and aging models. In 2022 he moved on to Dori Schafer's lab at UMass Medical School for his postdoctoral work.
MICHAEL KANAN
Former Position: Research Technician
Current Position: Medical Student, SLU School of Medicine
Previous training: B.A., St. Louis Univ. Michael worked in the lab as an undergraduate for two summers, studying the impact of Bmal1 deletion on alpha-synuclein pathology. He then joined the lab as a technician in August 2019. He grew up in Detroit and Chesterfield, MO. In 2022 he returned to St. Louis University, now as a medical student.
LUCY COHEN
Former Position: Undergraduate Researcher
Lucy hails from Clayton, MO, and worked an undergraduate student at Washington University from 2018-2020. She joined the lab as a sophomore, and has worked with Jacob Basak and Pat Sheehan on projects related to neuroinflammation. She graduated in 2021 and is now pursuing further research and plans to for graduate school.
SHIRLEY CAI
Former Position: Undergraduate Researcher
Originally from China, Shirley joined the lab as a sophomore at Washington University. She worked on astrocyte circadian clocks, first with Brian Lananna, and more recently with Celia McKee and Jen Lawrence. She graduated in 2021 and joined the lab of Dr. Dennis Selkoe at Harvard as a technician. In 2023 she started as a Neuroscience PhD student at Columbia.
PERCY GRIFFIN, PhD
Former Position: Ph.D. Student, Molecular Cell Biology
Current Position: Director of Scientific Engagement, Alzheimer's Association
Percy was the second PhD student to graduate from the lab, successfully defending his thesis in June 2020. His thesis work focused on regulation of neuroinflammation (Griffin P et al, PNAS, 2019) and microglial synaptic phagocytosis (Griffin P et al, eLife, 2020) by the circadian REV-ERB proteins. He was a recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
ASHLEY DODD
Former Position: Research Technician
Current Position: Psychometrics researcher, Hassenstab Lab, WashU
Ashley worked as a technician in the lab from early 2020 until summer 2021. She studyed the effects of novel therapeutic agents in mouse models of AD. She moved on to join Jason Hassenstab in the Kinght ADRC to pursue her interest in neuropsychology.
JACOB BASAK, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Anesthesiology
Current position: Assistant Professor, Univ. of Colorado School of Medicine
Previous training: B.A., Univ. of Chicago; MD and PhD, Washington University MSTP, Residency in Anesthesiology, Barnes Jewish Hospital. Jacob joined the lab in Summer 2017, and spent 18 months in lab. His research interests focus on dementia and cognitive impairment after critical illness. He departed in Summer 2019 for a faculty position at the Univ. of Colorado. His work from the lab on experimental sepsis and amyloid plaque deposition was published in 2020.
BRIAN LANANNA, PhD
Former position: PhD student, Neuroscience.
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Lab of Dr. Shin-Ichiro Imai, WashU.
Brian was the first graduate student to join the lab, and successfully defended in April 2019. His work demonstrated that Bmal1 regulates astrocyte activation (Lananna et al, Cell Rep, 2018), and that the AD biomarker Chi3l1/YKL-40 is clock-controlled and influences glial activation and AD pathogenesis in mice and humans (Lananna et al, STM, 2020). He stayed on at WashU to pursue post-doc training on his primary interest, aging, in the lab of Dr. Shin Imai. While in the lab, he was the recipient of the 2018 John E. Majors award from the Dept. of Biochemistry.
GERRY KRESS, PhD
Former position: Instructor in Neurology
Current position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine
Gerry joined the lab after completing a successful post-doc in the lab of Dr. James Surmeier at Northwestern. In our lab, she published an important first-author J Exp Med paper showing that Bmal1 deletion alters amyloid-beta dynamics and plaque deposition. She received a K01 award from the NIA, and now has her own R01-funded lab at here at WashU.
MICHELLE CEDENO
Former position: Research Technician
Current position:Design Strategist Consultant, Boston Consulting Group
DAVID XIONG, MD
Former position: Research Technician
Current position: Dermatology Resident, Case Western Reserve University Hospitals
LAURA QI, MD
Former position: Research Technician
Current position: Neurology Resident, Univ. of Missouri