Paz Lab

Jeanne T. Paz, PhD
Associate Investigator
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Dr. Paz studies epileptogenesis, the process by which a normal brain develops epilepsy. Epilepsy occurs in a number of neurological diseases; however, the underlying mechanisms of the condition are not well understood.

Annie Dalton (2022-present)
Administrative Associate
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Annie received a BS in Cognitive Science with an emphasis in Neuroscience from UC Davis in June of 2022. She works as an administrative associate to Dr. Paz. Annie has been locally in the Bay Area her whole life, and is looking forward to new adventures with Gladstone. She spends her free time running, reading, or baking.

Seydi Sanchez (2023-present)
Administrative Assistant
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Seydi is currently attending San Francisco State University in which she plans to receive a BA in Business Administration with a concentration in Decision Sciences in June 2025. She currently works as an administrative assistant in the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease. Seydi was born and raised in San Francisco and enjoys going on road trips to different areas of the country as well as spending time at home with her two cats.

Agnieszka Ciesielska, PhD (2018-present)
Postdoc
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Agnieszka received her Ph.D. degree from Warsaw Medical University, Poland. Her Ph.D. thesis was focused on the influence of age and gender on the neuroinflammatory processes in Parkinson’s disease. Before joining the Paz lab, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Bankiewicz Lab at UCSF, where she mostly evaluated the factors that are critical in achieving the clinical success with different vectors, such as transduction efficiency, injection accuracy, cell-specific transduction, transport and neuroimmunotoxicity. In Paz lab she is studying the role of the immune system in network dysfunction and epileptogenesis after stroke and traumatic brain injury. Outside the lab, Agnieszka enjoys biking and hiking.

Jeremy Ford, PhD (2020-present)
Postdoc
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Jeremy received his B.E., M.S., and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University. His graduate research with Dr. Duco Jansen involved optimizing the laser-tissue interactions to minimize the temperature rise during the application of “infrared neural inhibition”, a technique to apply laser-induced neural heat block. In his post-doctoral research with the Paz lab, Jeremy is interested in applying in vivo optical imaging techniques to understand the role of neuro-vascular coupling in epilepsy and chronic headache/migraine. When outside the lab, Jeremy enjoys searching for new coffee shops, hiking, playing volleyball, and traveling across the country.

Britta Lindquist, MD, PhD (2021-present)
UCSF/SFGH Neurocritical Care Fellow
NINDS R25 Postdoctoral Fellow
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Britta received her A.B. in Biochemistry from Harvard College and earned her M.D./Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico, where her graduate work in the laboratory of Dr. Bill Shuttleworth elucidated the role of adenosine accumulation and A1 receptor activation underlying synaptic depression following spreading depolarization, with relevance to migraine, stroke, and acute brain injury. She completed residency training in Neurology at UCSF, where she is continuing as a Fellow in Neurocritical Care. In Dr. Paz’s lab, she investigates mechanisms of seizure termination and why they fail in status epilepticus. When she is not in the hospital or the lab, Britta enjoys cycling, trail running, cooking, and travel.

Clare Timbie, MD, PhD (2021-present)
Post-doc Physician Scientist
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Clare received her MD/PhD at Boston University, completed Child Neurology residency and Epilepsy fellowship training at UCSF, and is now a physician scientist in Pediatric Epilepsy at UCSF. Her graduate research with Dr. Helen Barbas focused on pathways activated by emotion, connecting the amygdala, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex. In the Paz lab, she is studying the role of the amygdala in thalamic circuits, including the reticular thalamus and thalamocortical circuits, and the disruption of these pathways in epilepsy. Outside of lab she enjoys camping and hiking.

Yuliya Voskobiynyk, PhD (2021-present)
Postdoc
F32 NIH/NINDS Fellow
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Yuliya Voskobiynyk, born and raised in Ukraine, received her BS in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Chicago working with Dr. Daniel Nicholson in the Rush University Medical Center studying cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Yuliya received her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Erik Roberson in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics. Yuliya’s dissertation focused on the Tau-dependent contribution of BIN1, one of the leading genetic risk factors, to network hyperexcitability in Alzheimer’s disease. In her postdoctoral work in the Paz Lab, Yuliya focuses on the thalamocortical circuit’s contribution to epileptiform activity in neurodevelopmental epilepsy, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. In her free time, Yuliya enjoys hanging out with her son Ostap near any body of water.

Isaac Chang (2022-present)
Graduate Student, Croucher Foundation Scholar
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Isaac received his B.S. at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and is now a Neuroscience Ph.D. student at UCSF. During his undergraduate studies, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Savio Chan at Northwestern University where he studied the basal ganglia circuit in the context of Parkinson's Disease. In the Paz lab, he is interested in exploring thalamic dysfunctions and how they connect to the basal ganglia in different disease contexts (eg. PD, TBI). Outside the lab, you can find Isaac in the boulder gyms and the great outdoors in SF. He also enjoys binge-watching TV shows and anime.

Audrey Magsig (2022-present)
Graduate Student
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Audrey received her BS in Computational and Systems Biology from UCLA where she worked in the labs of Dr. Stephanie Correa and Dr. Daniel Geschwind. In the Paz lab, she is interested in studying the role of sex and the immune system in neural dysfunction after brain injury and neurodegeneration. Outside of lab, you can find her exploring the Bay Area’s national parks, baking a sweet treat, doing various home improvement projects, picking up a random hobby and being goofy with her cat, Glia.

Deanna Necula (2020-present)
Graduate Student, F31 NRSA NIH/NINDS Scholar
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Deanna is a student in the neuroscience program at UCSF. She received her bachelor's in neuroscience at UCLA, working in the labs of Dr. Tom Carmichael and Dr. Alcino Silva. In the Paz lab, she is interested in homeostatic neuroplasticity after brain injury. Outside of the lab, she loves to read and explore natural spaces. She is also on the hunt for the best udon in the Bay Area.

Olive Tambou (2023-present)
Graduate Student
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Olive received her B.A. in Neuroscience from Macalester College and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in neuroscience at UCSF. In the Paz lab, she is interested in understanding how thalamic stroke impacts thalamocortical circuit function. Outside of the lab, she loves exploring new places, binge-watching reality TV shows, and playing softball.

Charlotte Taylor (2023-present)
Graduate Student
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Charlotte received her B.S. in biochemistry at University of Oregon and is now a PhD student in Neuroscience at UCSF. She is studying how astrocytes integrate neuromodulatory signals to regulate sleep and wake behavior and is currently co-mentored by Jeanne Paz and Kira Poskanzer. Outside of the lab, Charlotte loves to host dinner parties, is learning how to climb, and wishes she read more.

Drew Willoughby (2022-present)
Graduate Student
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Drew is a graduate student in the UCSF neuroscience program and belongs to both the Paz and Poskanzer labs. He graduated from Stanford with a BS in neurobiology, where he worked in the labs of Theo Palmer and Tony Wyss-Coray. In graduate school, he is interested in studying the role of astrocytes in regulating neural circuit activity in response to neuromodulators in the cortex and thalamus. Outside of academics, Drew was also a competitive gymnast for nearly 18 years and competed for Stanford's NCAA men's team. He still enjoys staying active and exploring SF with his miniature australian shepherd, Nova.

Vivianna DeNittis (2022-present)
Research Associate I
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Vivianna received her B.A. in Neuroscience and East Asian Studies from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. In her current work, she is investigating network dysfunction in various models of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease. She will apply to PhD programs to begin in 2025. Some of her hobbies include: reading, journaling, drawing, sitting in the sun, and sipping an iced latte.

Debleena Chatterjee
PROPEL Research Associate I
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Debleena received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular & Cellular Biology with a Neurobiology emphasis, Cognitive Science, and Economics. She is currently part of the PROPEL post-baccalaureate research program at UCSF, with an interest in becoming a physician-scientist researching mechanisms of neurological disease. In the Paz lab, she is interested in investigating alterations to thalamocortical network dynamics following stroke. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, hiking, museum-going, and finding new and sunny picnic spots.

Estefany Vasquez
Rotation Student
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Estefany was born and raised in Guatemala. She received her BA in molecular and cell biology from UC Berkeley working in the Gomez Lab. She is currently pursuing her PhD in neuroscience at UCSF. Estefany is interested in studying neurological disorders and the role of the immune system in such disorders. When not in the lab, Estefany enjoys running, cooking and hiking.

Srujana Poluri
Student Intern
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Srujana is a 3rd year undergraduate at UC Berkeley double majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology: Biochemistry and Public Health. In the future, she is hoping to study neurodevelopmental disorders. Outside of the lab, Srujana is a trained Indian classical dancer and is on the competitive team at Berkeley. She also enjoys reading, playing video games, and traveling!

Tanisha Pulla
Student Intern
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Tanisha Pulla will be a junior at UCLA in Fall 2024. She is studying neuroscience there, and plans to go to med school post-undergrad and eventually become a neurologist. Tanisha is particularly interested in studying neurodegeneration and inflammation, leading her to a summer internship at the Paz lab, to learn more about brain injury and inflammation. In her free time, Tanisha loves to sing, spend time with family and close friends, and try fun restaurants.

Oumaima Aboubakr (2017-2018)
Oumaima did her Master thesis in the Paz lab. She worked with Stephanie Holden, graduate student in the Paz lab, on the role of the complement protein C1q in neuroinflammation after mild TBI and contributed to this study published in the journal Science.
Next Position: Medical Student at the Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris. Oumaima is currently a Neurosurgery resident in Paris, France.

Marie Bukart (2019-2020)
Marie’s internship project focused on designing multi-site optrodes for long-term longitudinal assessment of epileptic activity in mice
Next Position: student at UC Berkeley.
Current Position: Medical Student, University of Leipzig

Ana Chkaidze (2017)
Ana did her Master’s degree internship in the Paz lab. She worked on the role of thalamocortical circuits in Dravet Syndrome and contributed to the study published in Cell Reports. Next Position: Graduate student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), Cognitive Sciences

Frances Cho
NSF GRFP and F31 NRSA NIH/NINDS Scholar (2015-2023)
During her PhD thesis in the Paz lab Frances studied the role of thalamic astrocytes in regulating thalamocortical circuit dynamics and seizure risk. Her work resulted in numerous publications. The main first-author and second author manuscripts include:
Science Translational Medicine
Journal of Comparative Neurology
Science
Next Position: Postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Lisa Giocomo's lab at Stanford

Alexandra Clemente (2014-2018)
NSF scholar
Alex was the first graduate student in the Paz lab! Her PhD thesis work focused on understanding the cellular and circuit heterogeneity in the reticular thalamus. Alex did her PhD in 4 years with three first and co-first author manuscripts!
Cell Reports
Cell Reports
Cell Reports
Next position: Life Sciences consultant at Putnam Associates

Stephanie Holden (2015-2021)
ARCS and Ford Foundation Scholar
Stephanie was the second graduate student in the Paz lab. Her PhD thesis work focused on understanding how traumatic brain injuries (TBI) impact corticothalamic circuits. Stephanie discovered a new role for the complement pathway in the chronic deficits that occur after TBI and her findings were published in the journal Science. Stephanie was also highlighted in the ABC news.
Next Position: Implementation Consultant at Benchling

Morgane Leroux (2019-2023)
FOXG1 Foundation Scholar
After completing her PhD, Morgane is now pursuing a Neuropsychology degree in France. Morgane investigated the emergence of parametric working memory in the prefrontal cortex and how this is altered in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders

Rahel Abraham (2022)
Rahel Abraham, born and raised in Eritrea, is currently a rising junior at the University of California, Berkeley. She likes hiking and listening to music outside of science. Rahel was a PUMAS intern in Paz lab in June-August 2022 and worked with Deanna Necula, graduate student in the Paz lab, to characterize motor deficits in a mouse model of TBI.
Next Position: Graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2024, and is pursuing med school.

Trinidad Arceo (2017)
Trinidad was a PUMAS intern in the Paz lab. His project focused on assessing the effect of cell-based therapy in rats with ischemic stroke. Trinidad received a scholarship to attend the SACNAS conference to present this work.
Next Position: Undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Current Position: Trinidad is now a scientist at Genentech

Henna Mohabbat
Henna did her PUMAS internship in the Paz lab in 2019. She participated in a study that aimed to characterize the effect of small molecule treatments on brain-injury induced inflammation and arteriogenesis. For her work in the Paz lab, she received the best presentation award at the ABRCMS conference.
Next Position: Undergraduate student at the University of California, Davis as a Biological Sciences major
Current Position: Medical Student

Charrel Sherman
Next position: Student at University of California, Davis

Allison Morningstar
In the Paz lab, Allison studied the role of thalamic inflammation in TBI and stroke models. Her work resulted in co-authored manuscripts in Science and Science Trans Medicine. After completing her internship in the Paz lab, Allison received a Fulbright scholarship to train in Germany. Currently she is a graduate student at Stanford.
Next Position: Undergraduate student at the University of Rochester

Cathy Dang
Next Position: Undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine

Moises Altamirano
Moises worked as an SEP intern with grad student Audrey Magsig. During his time in the lab, Moises examined the survival of parvalbumin-positive and somatostatin-positive neurons in the thalamus using immunohistochemistry.
Next Position: High School Student at Mission High School.

John Askins (2019)
During his summer internship in the Paz lab John learned how to analyze EEG recordings from a mouse model of epilepsy.
Next Position: Undergraduate Biology Student at the University of San Francisco

Faye Tager
Next position: Undergrad student at University of California, Los Angeles

Ella Olgin
Next position: Undergrad student at University of California, San Diego

Francisco Aparicio (2019)
Francisco’s rotation project focused on assessing seizure risk in a mouse model of thalamic inflammation and co-authored this study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Next Position: UCSF Neuroscience Graduate Student in the Ganguli lab at UCSF

Joshua Brenner (2019)
Joshua’s rotation project in the Paz lab focused on using miniature microscopes to assess neuronal activity in the cortex during seizures.
Next Position: UCSF Neuroscience Graduate Student in the Scanziani lab

Jiapei Chen (2018)
During her rotation project, Jiapei worked on the role of Mafb and cMaf genes in the development of seizures in mice.
Next Position: Graduate Student in Eric Huang’s lab, UCSF Biomedical sciences graduate program

Naznin Jahan (2019)
In the Paz lab Naznin worked with Stephanie Holden, graduate student in the lab, to assess the epilepsy phenotype in mice with loss of function in the Scn2a gene.
Next Position:Graduate Student in Eric Huang’s lab, UCSF Biomedical Sciences graduate program

Sofia Lavrentyeva
Next Position: UCSF Neuroscience Graduate Student

Lucille Johnson
Next Position: UCSF Neuroscience Graduate Student

Megan Scantlen
UCSF Biomedical Sciences graduate program

Yanilka Y. Soto Muñiz
Current Position: UCSF Neuroscience Graduate Student in Ken Nakamura's lab

Chenyu Wang
Next Position: Graduate Student in Kevin Bender’s lab, UCSF Neuroscience

Naomi Donovan
Next Position: UCSF Neuroscience Graduate Student

Eric Bennet (2014-2016)
Eric was one of the first people to join the Paz lab in 2014. His work was instrumental in building the lab from scratch.
Next Position: Founder, Frontier Bio

Scott Brovarney (2015-2017)
Scott was the first lab manager in the Paz lab. He unpacked the first boxes and helped set up the lab from scratch.
Next position: Senior Research Associate II, LARC Rodent Nurse, University of California, San Francisco
Next Position: Medical student (veterinary medicine), Lincoln Memorial University

Andrea He (2020)
After graduating from UC Berkeley, Andrea worked as a research associate in the Paz lab and assisted with lab management and surgical procedures.
Next Position: Medical Student, Virginia Commonwealth University

Irene Lew
Next Position: Senior Research Associate I at Gilead Sciences

Zanib Naeem
Next Position: Research Associate, UCSF

Yinan Su
Next Position: Medical Student, University Southern California (USC)

Dale Tager
Next Position: Medical Student at Emory School of Medicine

Alexander Urry
Next Position: MBA student at Yale University
Next Position: Senior Policy Advisor, Leader Hakeem Jeffries at U.S. House of Representatives, Washington DC

Andrew Chang, PhD (2018-2020)

Andrew joined the Paz lab after graduating from Stanford from Kristy Red-Horse’s lab where he worked on heart development. His work in the Paz lab focused on studying the role of arteriogenesis in recovery of brain functions after stroke.
Next Position: Senior Associate Scientist at 23andMe

Stefanie Makinson (2016-2018) AES and Dravet Syndrome Foundation Fellow
Stefanie did her PhD at the University of Emory befoe joining the Paz lab for a postdoc. In the Paz lab, Stefanie studied the role of the reticular thalamic nucleus in Dravet Syndrome. Her work was published in Cell Reports
Next Position: Senior Scientist at Coda Biotherapeutics.
Next Position: Assistant Director of Research Development, Columbia University, NY.

Sean Dailey (2020-2022)
Next Position: Graduate Student, Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling MS Program, Stanford

Jordan Rosendorf
Next Position: Administrative Assistant to the Director's Office, Assay Development Core, and Behavioral Core

Stephanie Tuazon
Next Position: Ethics and Compliance at Kaiser Permanente

Kristina Lippmann
Next Position: Faculty at Leipzig University focusing on understanding basic mechanisms of presynaptic release and how release alters during epileptogenesis.
Photo Credit: DanielCojanu_UnderCurrentProductions

Oscar Eelkman Rooda
Next Position: Neurosurgeon at Erasmus University in the Netherlands