Faculty
Neil Dani
Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Dr. Dani graduated from the University of Rochester with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry followed by a Master’s degree at New York Medical College. He earned his Ph.D. degree from Vanderbilt University and carried out dissertation research on extracellular signal transduction in the laboratory of Dr. Kendal Broadie. To further investigate how extracellular signals impact mammalian brain development and function, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Maria Lehtinen at Boston Children’s Hospital. As a postdoctoral researcher and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, he focused on the choroid plexus, which is a key source of extracellular signals in the developing brain that also functions as a brain barrier throughout life. Dr. Dani and collaborators have generated the first cell atlas of the choroid plexus in the mouse brain and have innovated live imaging tools to visualize its function in real time. As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University, he will continue research on the choroid plexus to investigate its roles in development, brain function and contributions to neurological disease.
In his free time he enjoys music, percussion drumming, history of science, podcasts on a variety of subjects, and dabbling in computers.
Staff
Alexander Brand
2024 VUSRP Summer Research Scholar, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Alex graduated high school in Roebuck, South Carolina. He is currently sophomore at Vanderbilt majoring in molecular and cellular biology. Previously, he worked as an undergraduate researcher studying shared mammalian traits accounting for phylogeny using R and Python packages. He has plans to one day enter the medical field and in his free time outside of the classroom, he enjoys sports and spending time with friends and family.
Sunny Chen
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Sunny graduated high school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She is currently a freshman at Vanderbilt University pursuing a neuroscience major with a business minor on the pre-dental track. Sunny has previously worked in the McKenna Lab at the University of Florida College of Medicine, where she used cryo-electron microscopy and AlphaFold to structurally characterize an avian parvovirus capsid. In her free time, she loves going on long walks, trying new restaurants, and painting.
Cindy Jaramillo
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Cindy graduated high school in Hendersonville, Tennessee. She is currently a junior pursuing a major in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society. In the Dani Lab, she investigates the role of the choroid plexus in health and its breakdown in neurological disease. In her free time, she loves spending time with her friends and family, reading, and playing the piano.
Ian Junker
Graduate Student, Cell and Developmental Biology
Ian graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. As an undergraduate, he investigated spontaneous recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury in Smith Lab at the Shriners Pediatric Research Center. Post-graduation, Ian worked as a research specialist in the Ding Lab at the University of Pennsylvania where he explored how the evolution of genes and neural circuitry lead to diverse behavioral phenotypes. As a PhD student in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, he is interested in the characterization of the neurons of the choroid plexus and how this knowledge can be used to improve human health. Outside of science, Ian enjoys cooking, playing guitar, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Chloe Koo
2024 VUSRP Summer Research Scholar, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Chloe graduated high school from Suwanee, Georgia. She is currently a sophomore pursuing a major in Medicine, Health and Society with a minor in Data Science. As an undergraduate research assistant, she is exploring the role of the choroid plexus in health and disease. In her free time, she loves traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Samantha Kuszynski
Graduate Student, Cell and Developmental Biology
Sam graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with a B.S. in Biochemistry, minoring in Statistics and Psychology. Her research at UMD focused on characterizing the essential oil of a native mint using hydrodistillation and GC/MS. She also spent two summers doing research through the NSF REU program at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN and at Simmons University in Boston. She is currently a PhD student in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and is interested in the regulation of barrier integrity at the choroid plexus and how systemic inflammation and peripheral organ systems affect health through the blood-CSF barrier. Outside of lab, she enjoys attending local concerts, rock climbing, and is always looking for a good pinball arcade.
Carson Oakes
2024 MARC Research Scholar, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Carson graduated high school in Glasgow, Kentucky. He is currently a sophomore at Vanderbilt studying Medicine, Health, and Society. In the Dani lab, he is exploring the choroid plexus and its relation to several diseases. In his spare time, he enjoys working out and watching hockey. One day he wants to visit all of America’s national parks.
Victoria Sarkisian
Graduate Student, Cell and Developmental Biology
Victoria graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. During her time at CSULB, she was a researcher in the Slowinska lab, where she worked on optimizing the use of thermo-responsive collagen-based nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery applications. She is currently a PhD student in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, with an interest in studying the role of the choroid plexus in neurological disease. She is also interested in exploring the role of the choroid plexus at a systemic level as it relates to processes that are essential for general wellness; her goal is to contribute to practical and applicable research findings with a focus on enhancing human health and longevity. In her free time, she enjoys baking, learning new instruments, and is an avid MMA and basketball fan.