Our Trainees

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.

Spotlight: Carrie Johnson

My name is Carrie Johnson and I am a fourth-year PhD candidate at the Sander’s Brown Center on Aging in lab of Paul Murphy, PhD, and a second-year recipient of the TRIAD T32 fellowship. Our research focuses mainly on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and the molecular pathways that are affected by AD pathology. My project within the lab primarily focuses on sex differences in AD related to disrupted sleep patterns. I am very passionate about the work I do here not only because I love sleeping, but also due to the immense impact AD has had on my own life.