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Akizu Lab Team
As passionate scientists, it is our goal to contribute to the foundation of future generations of bright and devoted scientists conveying both our knowledge and enthusiasm for the beauty of scientific research.
We continuously seek to recruit motivated students and introduce them to the fields of neurosciences, genetics, and cellular biology that are part of our everyday research work.
The strategic location of Akizu Lab within Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania offers multiple resources for additional career development and support that significantly complement research training.
Naiara Akizu, PhD
Researcher
Dr. Akizu's research focuses on cerebellar ataxias and motoneuron disorders, with the specific goals of uncovering the particularities of these neuronal types, understanding disease mechanisms, and exploring treatment options.
STAFF
Garrett Otrimski
Research Assistant
otrimskig@chop.edu
Yijing Zhou, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
zhouy3@chop.edu
Carolina Gracia-Diaz
Graduate Student
graciadiac@chop.edu
Vanessa Sanchez
Graduate Student
sanchezvb@chop.edu
Kelsey Walsh
Undergraduate Student
kelseyaw@sas.upenn.edu
Graduate and Postdoctoral Positions
Graduate students in the Akizu lab choose to work in any of our multiple ongoing projects, and as they become proficient with organizing, planning, and executing their experiments, we encourage them to be creative and test new scientifically relevant ideas.
Most projects involve aspects of modeling with pluripotent stem cells, neuronal culture and engraftments working with animal models, high throughput DNA/RNA sequencing, microscopy, metabolomics, and proteomics.
Students receive training to improve their technical skills in our experimental systems, but also to improve their critical scientific reading, writing, and oral presentation skills. We discuss our results and research articles that we find interesting on an everyday basis and in lab meetings, and we encourage students to attend and present their work in at least one relevant meeting per year. Likewise, students actively participate in preparing and submitting research articles to scientific journals and preparing successful grant applications.
If you are a student in a PhD, MD/PhD and VMD/PhD program and our lab sounds like a good fit for your career development, contact Naiara Akizu to set up a time to meet.
We have multiple exciting rotation projects!
- Develop strategies to engraft human neural cells in animal models to study disease mechanisms of neurological disorders that are poorly reproduced in those models and to test cell replacement therapies for neurodegenerative disorders
- Establish in vitro pluripotent stem cell diferentiation to upper motoneuron models to study motoneuron diseases
- Analyze AMPD2 isoform specific functions.
Postdoctoral fellows in the Akizu Lab will find multiple opportunities to develop as scientists while enjoying their research.
Postdocs in our lab choose to work in two of our ongoing projects and are strongly encouraged to develop, in parallel, at least one new project that they may be interested in following up in their future scientific careers.
Fellows are trained as required in research areas and experimental approaches that we work on, but we welcome any expertise that they bring to the Lab especially related to behavioral studies, electrophysiology, RNA and protein biology, and computational biology.
In addition to the lab work, fellows in the Akizu Lab are expected to improve their writing and presentation skills by preparing grants, scientific articles, and poster and oral presentations. They are encouraged to attend and present their work in scientifically relevant meetings and expected to participate in our fun, weekly lab meetings, which altogether contribute to the achievement of career developmental goals.
If you recently obtained an MD or PhD (or equivalent) degree less than a year ago and are interested in pursuing a postdoctoral study in the Akizu Lab, please send a cover letter, your CV and the names and contact information for three references to Naiara Akizu.
Laura Ohl: Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Student May 2019-December 2021
Isabelle Heifetzh Ament: Biology Rotation Student September 2021-December 2021
Emily Lubin: Cell and Molecular Biology Rotation Student September 2021-December 2021
Jafar Bhatti: Neuroscience Graduate Group Rotation Student June 2021-August 2021
Emma Kielsa: Summer Undergraduate Internship Program Student June 2021-July 2021
Marco Flores-Mendez, Postdoc January 2018-May 2021
Jocasta Manasseh-Lewis, Summer Undergraduate Internship Program Student June-July 2020
Donna Yoo, University of Pennsylvania Undergrad Student, July 2017-June 2020
Hiab Teshome, University of Pennsylvania Undergrad Student, September 2018-June 2020
Daniel Ferrera, Universidade Federal de Vicosa Undergrad Student, February-July 2020
Fran Amo, Universidade Federal de Vicosa Undergrad Student, February-July 2020
Heidi Elashal, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Rotation Student, January-March 2020
Amanda Weiss, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Rotation Student, January-March 2020
Roseanne Davila-Rivera, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Rotation Student, September -December 2019
Sarah Campbell, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Rotation Student, September-December 2019
Carolina Garcia-Diaz, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Rotation Student, January-March 2019
Melissa Barton, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Rotation Student, September-December 2018
Mara Cowen, Neuroscience Graduate Group Rotation Student September-December 2018
Laura Ohl, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Rotation Student, June-August 2018
Yohaniz Ortega Burgos, Summer Undergraduate Internship Program Student, June -July 2018
Olivia Romera Rincon, Universidade Federal de VicosaUndergrad Student, January-July 2018
Laura Ballentine, Research Assistant, January 2017-May 2018
Samantha Ratakonda, Undergrad Student June 2017-May 2018
Susmita Roy, Undergrad Student, June 2017-May 2018
Keri Cronin, Undergrad Student, November 2017-May 2018
Melanie Schaffler, Neuroscience Graduate Group Rotation Student, September 2017-January 2018
Satch Baker, High School Student, June-August 2017
Katelyn Sweeney, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group Rotation Student, April-June 2017
Akansha Kapoor, Master's Student February-May 2017