Our Trainees

Spotlight: James Overly

My name is James Overly, and I am junior biology and neuroscience student. I have been in the lab of Daniel Lee, MD, at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging for 2 years, where we study Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies. Under Dr. Lee’s mentorship, my focus on Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies brought me towards the study of polyamine metabolism and the polyamine stress response (PSR). This work investigates the role of polyamines, aliphatic polycations essential for various physiological functions, particularly under conditions of stress.

Spotlight: Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle

My name is Bernardo Aguzzoli Heberle, and I am a third-year PhD candidate at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, working in the lab of Mark Ebbert, PhD. From a young age, I witnessed the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease on my family. Both of my grandfathers were diagnosed with this cruel ailment when I was around six years old. The toll it took on my loved ones left a mark on me. The suffering they endured motivated me to embark on a path to better understand Alzheimer's disease and, hopefully, contribute to finding solutions.

Spotlight: Meghana Gazula

My name is Meghana Gazula, and I am a third-year undergraduate majoring in agricultural and medical biotechnology. I am working in Dr. Maj-Linda Selenica's Lab to study the effects of TDP-43 proteinopathy on brain metabolism and the blood-brain barrier in the context of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) focusing on frontotemporal dementia, and other related dementias. In the United States, 5.8 million people aged 65 and over are impacted by Alzheimer's Disease. It ranks as the seventh largest cause of death in the US and is the primary cause of dementia in older people.