Rupkatha Banarjee
Postdoctoral Associate
Rupkatha graduated in 2020 from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York with a Ph.D. in Biology. Her Ph.D. research with Dr. Shermali Gunawardena focused on investigating the regulation of molecular motors by Glycogen synthase kinase 3β and Presenilin during axonal transport. Rupkatha joined the Davis lab in 2020 and is currently working on developing mitochondria-based therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease.
Wesley Bollinger
Postdoctoral Associate
Wes graduated from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in 2018 with a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology and Neuroscience. While at FAU, Wes worked in the lab of Dr. Ken Dawson-Scully, where he discovered classes of compounds that protect an essential cellular process from acute oxidative stress. Following his Ph.D., Wes pursued a clinical trials interest by working for Arog Pharmaceuticals Inc., which serves as the sponsor for several oncology trials. Wes joined the Davis lab in 2020 where he is performing a screen, with the goal of identifying novel compounds that alleviate the pathological effects observed in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s disease.
Courtney “Cori” MacMullen
Scientific Laboratory Manager
Cori graduated from Cedar Crest College in 1999 with a Bachelor’s degree in Genetic Engineering and a minor in Chemistry. She went on to work for 11 years at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she searched for novel, disease-causing mutations in children with Hyperinsulinism. Cori is currently involved in using neurons derived from hIPSCs to discover compounds to treat mitochondrial dysfunction in brain disorders.
Nathaniel Noyes
Staff Scientist
Nathaniel graduated in 2014 from the University of Maryland with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology. In the laboratory of Dudley Strickland he investigated the role of LDL receptors in the molecular pathways of Alzheimer’s disease and normal neuronal physiology. Nathaniel joined the Davis lab in 2015 and is examining the cellular and molecular mechanisms for memory maintenance using Drosophila as a model organism.
Neelam Shahani
Research Assistant Professor
Neelam graduated from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Science (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India, in 2000 with a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She obtained her Postdoc training at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Later, she moved on to Johns Hopkins University as a Senior Researcher, where she focused on integrative signaling in psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, and continued this focus in the Subramaniam lab at Scripps, Florida. Neelam joined the Davis lab in 2021 and is currently involved in modeling ALS phenotypes in patient-specific iPSC-derived motor neurons to test compounds to treat mitochondrial dysfunction.
Neelam Sharma
Postdoctoral Associate
Neelam graduated in 2019 from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India with a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. For her Ph.D., she worked with Dr. Shasi Vardhan Kalivendi, investigating the disease modifying role of the DJ-1 protein in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. Neelam joined the Davis lab in 2020 as a postdoctoral associate. Her current research focusses on developing mitochondrial based therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders.
Mira Swartzlander
Research Assistant II
Mira graduated in 2021 from the University of California San Diego with a B.S. in Physiology & Neuroscience. She previously worked in Dr. Lingyan Shi’s lab at UCSD’s Department of Bioengineering where she used Raman bioimaging to study breast cancer metabolism. She joined the Davis lab in 2021 and where she is currently working on screening mitochondrial-based therapeutics for an ALS model in Drosophila.
Niki Mabie
Lab Administrative Coordinator II
Niki Mabie joined UF Scripps in 2019, and supports Dr. Davis and his lab members. Niki’s background includes more than 25 years of communications, education outreach and public relations experience.
