Mackenzie Carter
Staff Research Associate
She/Her/Hers
m4carter (a) ucsd (dʘt) edu
Mackenzie studied neurodevelopment of the hindbrain in Zebrafish while completing her B.S. in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University. As an IMSD scholar, she studied the effects of external factors such as ethanol on facial branchiomotor neuron migration during the early stages of development. Mackenzie is currently earning her Master’s degree in Applied Data Science, interested in machine learning for neuroscience and genetics. In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys live events, playing video games and discovering San Diego’s best sushi.
Karen Jimenez-Reyes
Staff Research Associate
They/She
kjimenezreyes (a) ucsd (dʘt) edu
Karen is a first-generation graduate from UC Davis and obtained their B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior in 2021. Just before joining DevCoGx, Karen was an NIH PREP scholar at UC Santa Cruz in Dr. Yi Zuo’s lab looking at microglia in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease. The focus of Karen’s research mission is to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms behind progressive neurological diseases and is especially interested in the role of neuroinflammation. In their time outside of the lab, Karen likes to get lost outdoors and at any bass music festival on the West Coast.
Khushi Kumra
Undergraduate Researcher
She/Her/Hers
kkumra (a) ucsd (dʘt) edu
Khushi is a second-year undergraduate student at UCSD. She is currently earning her B.S. in Neurobiology with a minor in Global Health. She has previously volunteered in various clinical settings, including Harbor-UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Centers. Khushi is passionate about giving back to the community; she currently volunteers at UCSD Health and is involved with various groups on campus. In her free time, Khushi enjoys a good book, discovering new soundtracks, and exploring San Diego’s cafes.
Nancy Lin
Undergraduate Researcher
She/Her/Hers
hul009 (a) ucsd (dʘt) edu
Nancy is a fourth-year UCSD student majoring in molecular and cell biology and minoring in chemistry. Her previous research focused on understanding the molecular control of synaptic vesicle cycle in neurotransmission using drosophila as a model organism. Nancy is interested in the general fields of genomics and neurodegenerative diseases. During her free time, she likes to dance and attend music festivals.
Ashley studied biology with a specialization in genetics before completing her PhD at Western University in biochemistry and developmental biology. She completed postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Li-Huei Tsai at MIT. Prior to joining the Developmental and Cognitive Genomics (DevCoGx) Research Group, Ashley was a senior scientist at STEMCELL Technologies. Her research is motivated by a lack of mechanistic knowledge of the molecular processes underlying brain development and cognition.
Research interests: chromatin structure, neurogenesis, building better models to study neurological disease
Hiruy Meharena, PhD
Principal Investigator
He/Him/His
hmeharena (a) ucsd (dʘt) edu
Hiruy received his PhD in Biomedical Sciences from UC San Diego (UCSD). As a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow his research focused on understanding the biochemical and biophysical principles governing Protein Kinases to identify novel cancer therapeutics under the mentorship of Dr. Susan Taylor. He then completed his postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under the mentorship of Dr. Li-Huei Tsai. As a UNCF/Merck , BWF PDEP, and Alana postdoctoral fellow his research focused on understanding the genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms governing the neurological deficits observed in individuals with Down syndrome. Currently, Hiruy is an Assistant Professor of Neurobiology and Molecular Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego.
