People

lab group

Francisco J. Alvarez, PhD

Professor

Whitehead Research Building, Room 642
School of Medicine faculty profile

404-727-5139

Email: Francisco.j.alvarez@emory.edu

Biosketch:

Francisco (Paco) received a B.S. in Biology from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid (Spain) in 1984 and a PhD (1987) for work done at the CajalInstitute (CSIC) under the direction of Prof. José Rodrigo and at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London under the direction of Prof. John V. Priestley. He then received further postdoctoral training in the Priestley Lab followed by a second postdoc in the lab of Prof. Alan R. Light at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. ...Read More

Ronald W. Griffith, PhD

Instructor
Department of Cell Biology

Whitehead 646
Office Number 404-727-6478
Lab Number:  404-727-4826
Fax: 404-727-2648
Email:  ronald.griffith@emory.edu 

Biosketch:

Ron obtained his B.S. in 1985 at the University of West Georgia, followed by a and masters in Science completed at the same University in 1987. He obtained his Ph.D. at Emory University in 1997 under the direction of Dr. Jerome Sutin (Cell Biology, Emory University). ...Read More

Edyta B. Murlin, PhD

Senior Research Scientist

Whitehead 629
Lab Number:  404-727-4826

Email: edyta.murlin@emory.edu

Biosketch:

Edyta received her PhD from the Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering at the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1999, after obtaining her Master of Science in Physics from the Adam Mickiewicz University. ...Read More

Ryan Wood, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: ryan.wood@emory.edu 

Biosketch: 

Ryan obtained a dual B.S./M.S. degree in 2016 at Brigham Young University in Chemical Engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in 2020 at Brigham Young University in Chemical Engineering with an emphasis in Biomedical Engineering under the direction of Dr. William Pitt. ...Read More

Olivia Mistretta, MS

Graduate Student
PhD Neuroscience Program (co-mentor with Dr. Arthur English)

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email : Ocmistr@emory.edu

Biosketch: 

Olivia obtained her B.S. in 2014 at Kennesaw State University, followed by a M.S. in Integrative biology from the same university in 2016. Her master’s thesis focused on the therapeutic potential of Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on spasticity. ...Read More

Tana Sue Portoff, BA

Graduate Student
LGS Neuroscience Program

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: tana.pottorf@emory.edu

Biosketch: 

Tana obtained a B.A. in Biology degree in 2018 at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. She started her graduate career at Emory in the fall of 2020 (The CoVid Cohort), and is working towards obtaining her Ph.D. in Neuroscience. Tana joined the Alvarez lab for her dissertation research in the summer of 2021.

...Read More

Zoƫ Haley-Johnson, BS

Research Specialist

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: zoe.haley-johnson@emory.edu

Biosketch: 

Zoë graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2019, with her B.S. in Physiology & Neurobiology and a minor in music performance.

Since joining the Alvarez lab in the fall of 2020, Zoë has begun studying the neuroinflammatory reaction that occurs in the spinal cord following peripheral nerve injury. Specifically, she examines the role of CCR2+ cells entering the ventral horn of the spinal cord around motoneurons axotomized after nerve transections.

...Read More

William McCallum, BS

Research Specialist

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: will8mccallum@gmail.com

Biosketch: 

Will received his B.S. in Biology in 2016 at the University of Oregon. During his time at the UO he worked in the lab of Dr. Mike Wehr, facilitating behavioral assays of auditory perception in mice. After graduating Will went on to work as a Research Specialist in the laboratory of Dr. Grégory Scherrer at Stanford University, and consequently moved along with Dr. Scherrer to the University of North Carolina in 2019 under the same title.

...Read More

Andrew Worthy, BA, BS

Research Specialist

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: andrew.worthy@emory.edu

Biosketch: 

Andrew earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Chemistry from Emory University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2020. During his undergraduate training, Andrew led an honors research project under the guidance of Dr. Nic Vega that investigated the spiteful weapon dynamics of lysogenic bacteria in conspecific competition with phage-susceptible strains. ...Read More

Noah Greenfield

Undergraduate Student
Math Department
Emory College of Arts and Sciences

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: nmgreen@emory.edu

Biosketch:

Noah began his undergraduate education in the 2018-2019 term.  He is currently on the Pre-Med track while majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Physics. ...Read More

Anthony Wang

Undergraduate Student
Biology and Computer Science
Emory College of Arts and Sciences

Lab: Whitehead 627-629 
Lab Number: 404-727-4826

Email: anthony.anshih.wang@emory.edu

Biosketch:

Anthony is currently a junior double-majoring in biology and computer science at the Emory College of Arts and Sciences. ...Read More

Alvarez Lab Alumni

 

 

 

 

 

Wright University

1995 - 2010

Position after leaving Alvarez lab and current (italics)

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Dr. Rosa M. Villalba

1999 - 2002

Research Scientist, Yerkes Primate Research, Atlanta, GA

Same

Dr. David Gonzalez-Forero

2003 - 2004

Assistant Professor, University of Cadiz, Spain

Professor, University of Cadiz, Spain

Dr. Patrick Sonner

2008- 2010

Instructor, Wright State University, Dayton, OH

Same

Ph.D. STUDENTS

Dr. Eric J. Geiman

1998 - 2003

Postdoc, F32 Awardee, Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA

Full Professor, Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio

Dr. Valerie C. (Neff) Siembab

2004 - 2009

Associate Director Microscopy Imaging Core Wright State University, Dayton, OH

Contract Specialist, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, WSU, Dayton, OH

Dr. Dannette S (Geiman) Richards

2003 - 2009

Teaching Instructor, Sinclair College, Dayton, OH

Assistant Professor, Sinclair College Dayton, OH

Dr. Ana Benito-Gonzalez

2007 - 2011

Postdoc, F32 Awardee, John Hopkins Medical School Baltimore, MD

Outschool Teacher

MASTERS STUDENTS

Michael C. Knox

1999 - 2000

Medical School, University of Toledo, OH

M.D. practice in Lebanon, Indiana

Eileen Fitzsimons Kantamneni

2004 - 2006

Bhagavatula Charitable Trust, Non-profit NGO in rural India

Same

Haley E. Titus

2008 - 2009

PhD Student, Neuroscience PhD Program University of Cincinnati, OH

Research Scientist at Northwestern University

 

Emory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emory University

2011-present

Position after leaving Alvarez lab and current (italics)

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Dr. Andre F Rivard

2011 - 2015

Staff Scientist, Stanford University, CA

Dr. JoAnna T. Anderson

2011 - 2016

prIME Oncology, Atlanta, GA

Senior Medical Writer at ArticulateScience LLC

Dr. Laura Gomez-Perez

2013 - 2018

Back to Spain

Ph.D. STUDENTS

Dr. Travis M. Rotterman

2013 - 2018

Postdoc, F32 Awardee, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

Dr. Erica T Akhter

2015 - 2019

Instructor Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

UNDERGRADUATES (HONORS)

Positions listed correspond to those after Emory graduation 

Turnee Malik (Honors)

2013 - 2014

PhD Student, Vanderbilt University (Tennessee)

Anirudh Dwarakanath

2013 - 2014

Masters in Botechnology and Health Sciences, John Hopkins University

Medical Student, Albany Medical College 2019 grad

Adam J. Schultz (Honors)

2014- 2016

Postbaccalaurate Research Program, National Institutes of Heath (Washington DC)

Tavishi Chopra

2017 - 2019

Medical Student, Creighton Medical School (Omaha, Nebraska)

Shlok Sarin

2018 - 2020

Medical Student, Case Westren Resereve (Cleveland, Ohio)

                                                POST BAC RESEARCH

Alicia Lane
B.S. GaTech 2015

2015 - 2019
Research Tech

Graduate Student, Emory Neuroscience PhD Program (Atlanta, Georgia)
Woodruff Scholar

Indeara Codgell
B.S. U. Penn 2019

2019 - 2020
Research Tech

 

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