
Hart Lab April 2022

Anne Hart, Ph.D.
Professor & Chair, Department of Neuroscience
Dr. Anne Hart obtained her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UCLA with Dr. S.L. Zipursky working on cell fate specification in the Drosophila eye. She undertook her post-doctoral training in C. elegans genetics with Dr. Josh Kaplan in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Hart joined the Center for Cancer Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School Department of Pathology as an assistant professor and taught numerous classes in genetics and neuroscience. She moved to the Department of Neuroscience at Brown University in the fall of 2009. Currently, she is the Speaker for the MBL Society. Dr. Hart is a trainer in both the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry Graduate Program.

Alex Lin-Moore, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Alex is a postdoctoral researcher interested in the cellular pathways that link protein aggregation to neuron death in human neurodegenerative diseases. His current work in the Hart lab focuses on the conservation of degenerative mechanisms between neuron types, as well as the identification & characterization of suppressors of neurodegeneration. Alex hopes to bring this work into the broader fields of the cell biology of neuronal longevity, health, repair and disease. Alex did his PhD in post-injury axon regeneration at Yale University, and outside the lab enjoys cooking, skiing and birdwatching.

Adam Friedberg
M.D./Ph.D Student

Jeremy Lins
Senior Research Assistant

Mika Gallati
Research Assistant
Mika received her B.S. in Biology and minor in Neuroscience from the University of Maine. She is currently working on finding candidate suppressor genes for the sod-1 project. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, hiking & rock climbing.

Marie Domina
Research Assistant
Marie received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Stetson University. She joined the Hart Lab as a research assistant and is currently working on a Huntington’s Disease study.

John Maragakis
Undergraduate Research Assistant
John is in the class of 2023 and is from Baltimore, Maryland currently concentrating in Neuroscience at Brown University. John joined the Hart lab remotely during his sophomore year and has since been working at the bench. He is particularly interested in the genetic and molecular interactions underlying neurodegenerative disorders, particularly those involved in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). His work so far has revolved primarily around analyzing the genome of a C. elegans line displaying a G4C2 expansion repeat model of ALS. The goal of his current project is to locate and test novel mutations that suppress the ALS phenotype and, as a result, gain potential insight into the underlying disease mechanism of neurodegeneration.

Muneet Gill
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Muneet is in the class of 2023 and is from Vancouver, Canada, currently concentrating in Neuroscience and is on the pre-med track. Muneet joined the Hart lab as a sophomore and is interested in researching one of the most common genes involved in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the sod-1 gene. More specifically, she hopes to explore candidate suppressor genes that may aid in diminishing neurodegeneration in different SOD-1 models, hoping to gain a better understanding of how these findings fit into the universal mechanisms that underlie other neurodegenerative diseases.

Jacqueline Cho
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jackie is in the class of 2024 and is concentrating in Neuroscience. She is interested in studying the underlying mechanisms of fatigue in the context of neurodegeneration. Outside of the lab, Jackie enjoys editing for the Triple Helix, volunteering as a Connect for Health advocate, and making niche Spotify playlists.

Ashley Guo
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ashley is an undergrad student concentrating in neuroscience. Her interests lie in studying the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative diseases. Ashley also enjoys writing for The Brown Daily Herald, volunteering at the RI Free Clinic, playing the piano, and baking chocolate chip banana bread.

Nicole Dennis-Talley
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Nicole is in the class of 2025 and is from Tucson, Arizona. Currently, she is planning on concentrating in Neuroscience. Nicole joined the Hart lab as a freshman and is interested in researching alternative methods for identifying neurodegeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). She is also involved in aiding in efforts to explore candidate suppressor genes in the SOD-1 model for ALS.

Manuel Lamela Gomez
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Manuel is concentrating in Applied Mathematics-Biology and Educational Studies. He is also very passionate about neuroscience and in particular, sleep. In his free time, he likes to play Ultimate Frisbee and go to the cinema.

Jasmine Xi
Undergraduate Research Assistant
LAB ALUMNI
Post-Doctoral Fellows
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1999-2003
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2003-2006
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2003-2006
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2008-2014
2009-2014
2011-2014
2011-2017
2019-2021
Hidetoshi Komatsu, Ph.D.
Pieter Faber, Ph.D. (with Dr. Marcy MacDonald)
Jamie White, Ph.D.
Michael Chao, Ph.D.,
Denise Ferkey, Ph.D.
Cindy Voisine, Ph.D.
Gal Haspel, Ph.D.
Amy Walker, Ph.D. (with Dr. Anders Naar)
Veerle Rottiers, Ph.D. (with Dr. Anders Naar)
Maria Dimitriadi, Ph.D.
Komudi Singh, Ph.D.
Jill Yersak, Ph.D.
Winnie Huang, Ph.D.
Mathieu Bartoletti, Ph.D. (with Dr. Kristi Wharton)
Graduate Students
1997-2000
1998-2004
1999-2006
2000-2008
2006-2009
2010-2016
2010-2017
2010-2017
2010-2016
2013-2019
2015-2020
2016-2021
2017-2019
2017-2022
Arif Nathoo (Harvard University, Master's Degree)
Hana (Sugimoto) Fukuto (Harvard University, Ph.D.)
Emily Bates (Harvard University, Ph.D.)
Rhonda Hyde (Harvard University, Ph.D.)
Juan Carmona (Harvard University, Ph.D.)
Melissa (Hoh) Walsh (MCB Ph.D.)
Heather Bennett (MCB Ph.D.)
Altar Sorkac (NSGP Ph.D.)
Patrick O’Hern (NSGP Ph.D.)
Saba Baskoylu (NSGP Ph.D.)
Veronica Ryan (NSGP Ph.D, co-mentor Dr. Nicholas Fawzi)
Katherine Yanagi (NSGP Ph.D.)
Belinda Mahama (ScM NSGP)
Kelsey Schuch (MCB Ph.D.)
Undergraduate Students
Vinh Chung (Harvard University)
Kenneth LeCointe (Harvard University)
Helen Sharpe (University of Bath, England; B.A. 2005)
Nicola Walker (University of Bath, England; B.A. 2006)
Tom Barsby (University of Bath, England; B.A. 2008)
James Sleigh (University of Bath, England; B.A. 2009)
Michael DiIorio (B.S. Neuroscience) Senior thesis awarded for Richard E. Whalen Award
Mara Smith (B.S. Neuroscience)
Jennifer Ju, Brown University (B.S. Neuroscience, 2012)
Jason Jia-Cheng Li (B.S. Neuroscience 2014)
Emily Wingrove (B.S. Biology 2014)
Bryn Bliska (B.S. Neuroscience 2014)
Hannah Graham (B.S. Neuroscience 2014)
Dustin Hayden (B.S. Neuroscience 2015)
Ivan Alcantara (B.S. Neuroscience 2016, Fulbright Scholar)
Yulia Khoruzhik (B.S. Neuroscience 2016)
Jonah Simon (B.S. Neuroscience 2017) Senior thesis awarded for Donoghue Prize
Lukas Skuja (B.S. Neuroscience 2017) Senior thesis awarded for Donoghue Prize
Natalie Chapkis (B.S. Neuroscience 2018, Fulbright Scholar)
Animesh Mahapatra (B.S. Biology 2018)
Sarah Kim (B.S. Biology 2019)
Ibithal Elfaki (B.S. Neuroscience 2019, Fulbright Scholar)
Jane Kruskop (B.S. Biology 2020)
Jennifer Osbourne (B.S. Biology 2020)
Camillo Sauerassig (B.S. Biology 2020)
Jason Tsai (2021)
Stephanie Moy (PREP Student 2021-2022)
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2021-2022
Research Assistants & Trainees
Daphne King
Heather Dionne
Jonah Larkins-Ford
Jonathan Shapiro
Rachael Moeller
Tim Tucey
Ed Anderson
Geetika Kalloo
Gerard Somers
Jevede Harris
Leon Candara
Loraina Stinson
Mark Corkins
Neil Dach
Sade Parsons