Kapil Ramachandran, Ph.D.

Kapil is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Columbia in the Taub Institute on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain. He initially trained at UT Austin and Duke and then discovered the Neuroproteasome at Johns Hopkins. As a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows, he began his independent career and advanced Neuroproteasome biology. Outside the lab, he goes hiking with his dog Sadie, brews espresso, and is attempting to systematically tackle the NYC food scene.

Kalin Konrad-Vicario, Ph.D.

Kalin's undergraduate and graduate research training has primarily focused on developmental biology. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware studying the effects of non-coding microRNAs in development. She is investigating the intersection between RNA biology, neuroproteasomes, and Tau aggregation and pathology. In her spare time, she is an excellent baker who loves to share her treats with the lab. She also loves to spend time with her husband and two cats Freud and Rosalind .

Bianca Corjuc

Bianca received her B.S. from Northeastern University. As an undergraduate student, Bianca characterized tau propagation in human and murine models of Alzheimer’s Disease in the lab of Dr. Bradley Hyman at MGH-Harvard Medical School. Following graduation, she translated her knowledge of disease research into the development of drug therapeutics at Aquinnah Pharmaceuticals and Dewpoint Therapeutics. After 4 years in the Boston Biotech scene, Bianca decided to pursue her PhD in Columbia’s Neurobiology and Behavior program where she’s currently molecular logic underlying neuroproteasome integration into membranes and applying this knowledge to characterize more precisely how neuroproteasome dysfunction leads to neurodegeneration. When not performing experiments, Bianca loves baking bougie desserts (earl grey white chocolate mousse pie is her favorite), gushing over the latest anime episode with her lab mates, and attempting to read the next chapter of one piece in Mandarin.

Lara Demir

Lara received her B.A. in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Virginia. She manages our mice and is pursuing the physiological effects of neuroproteasome inhibition. In her free time, she likes to read, do yoga, explore new food and music around the city, and enjoy the baked goods Kalin makes. She will be applying to MD/PhD programs in 2024.

Chi Nguyen

Chi received her B.A and M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Clark University. She is our resident chemist and builds chemical tools to perturb the neuroproteosome. She is also rapidly becoming a biochemist and cell biologist. Outside of lab, Chi enjoys thrift-shopping and going to H-Mart with Malavika. With her background as a peptide chemist, Chi will also be leading the way forward on the purification and synthesis of neuroproteasome-derived peptides. She will be applying to medical school in 2023.

Xiao Wang, Ph.D.

Xiao received his Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University with expertise in AAA+ ATPases and single molecule biophysics. He will be working on the biochemistry and cell biology of neuroproteasome to define their regulation and function.

Max Rice

Max received a B.S. in Neuroscience from McGill University in 2022 and is now a PhD student in the Biological Sciences program. In a joint project with Franck Polleux, Max is investigating the role of neuroproteasomes in hippocampal circuit function in-vivo. Outside the lab, Max enjoys biking around the city and cooking new recipes.

Sadie

Sadie is the lab energizer bunny and is thrilled to meet every new member of the lab. Even though she tore her dog ACL in 2020, Sadie is still extremely energetic and can’t wait to meet all the new labbies!

Victoria Paradise

Victoria is now a PhD student at MIT Biology . She was first an undergraduate co-op student from Northeastern from 2019-2020 and then a technician in the lab from 2020-2023.

Gabi Maldonado

Gabi is now a PhD student at UCSF Tetrad and a Shurl and Kay Curci Fellow. She was first an undergraduate co-op student from Northeastern from 2019-2020 and then a technician in the lab from 2020-2022.

Nyle Sharif

Nyle is an MD/PhD student at the Weill/Rockefeller/MSK Tri-Institutional program. He joined the lab in 2019 and was a technician from 2020-2022.

Joanna Bafia

Joanna was a Harvard undergraduate and is now in Medical School.

Mason Arbery

Mason is a Harvard Senior and was studying mechanisms underlying co-translational degradation through NMPs.