People

Dada Pisconti, PI. Dada was born in a lovely village in southern Italy, Maruggio, by the Ionian Sea.  Dada received her Laurea degree (an integrated Bachelor + Masters) from the University of Perugia with a dissertation on Ca-activated K channels in vascular smooth muscle cells. She then received her PhD from the University of Bari with a dissertation on the effect of aging on T-lymphocyte signaling. In 2005 Dada moved for the first time to the US to work in Brad Olwin’s lab at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she improved her skills and knowledge in cell signaling and muscle stem cells. She then moved back to Europe to start her own lab at the University of Liverpool in 2012, where she remained until her second move to the US, in summer 2018.  As an independent scientist, Dada continued to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating muscle stem cell biology and muscle regeneration. Additionally, she expanded her interests in translational research by engaging in a preclinical trial testing a novel potential treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and a biomarker clinical trial. More recently, Dada has been broadening her interests in tissue homeostasis and regeneration by establishing collaborations with colleagues in the mesenchymal stem field and in the bone metabolism field.

Fiona Jones, Postdoc. Fiona graduated from the University of Lancaster with an integrated Bachelor + Master’s degree (MSci) and then received another Master’s degree from the University of Liverpool, UK, before starting a PhD degree also at the University of Liverpool, where she graduated in 2018 with a dissertation on the regulation of the muscle stem cell phosphoproteome. As a postdoc in our lab, Fiona is  working on the mechanisms of syndecan-3-mediated regulation of insulin signaling in muscle stem cells as well as developing novel therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

 Gahyun Lee, the lab boss. Gahyun graduated from  Stony Brook University in 2018 with a BA in Pharmacology and is currently a technician in the lab. Gahyun is involved in all active projects in a way or another and takes amazing care of our mice. But really Gahyun’s most important role in the lab is to look after Dada, who would be totally lost without her 🙂

 

 Adanna Ibeku, undergraduate research student. Adanna is in her junior year and majoring in Biology on the Pre-Med track. She dances and plays Lacrosse outside the lab (thank goodness not in the lab, glassware can be quite expensive these days!) while working hard to develop a biomarker assay to better understand the inflammation process in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. When she grows up, Adanna wants to be a medical doctor.

 Riah Sharma, undergraduate research student. Riah is a sophomore student at Stony Brook majoring in Biology. Riah wants to be a medical doctor too and in the meantime she is getting familiar with being useful to patients by working part-time at a medical office. On her free-time Riah enjoys teaching chemistry, while also dedicating time to Duchenne muscular dystrophy and muscle regeneration in our lab.

PAST MEMBERS

Chris Clarke, Kirsty Johnson, Rachel Ghadiali, Matt Robinson, Amy Brown, Emily Cooke, Zoe Dunn, Paul Blackham, Jo Keating, Katie Beets, Ingrid Da Silva Gomes, Alex Hitchen, Amy Rothwell, Amal Abdulkadir, Sam Bloomer, Liam Shaw, Adams George, Niccolò Arecco, Valentina Flamini, Alex Coleman, Ifigeneia Giakoumaki.