Akizu Lab Team

Graduate students in the Akizu lab choose to work in any of our multiple ongoing projects, and as they become proficient with organizing, planning, and executing their experiments, we encourage them to be creative and test new scientifically relevant ideas.

Most projects involve aspects of modeling with pluripotent stem cells, neuronal culture and engraftments working with animal models, high throughput DNA/RNA sequencing, microscopy, metabolomics, and proteomics.

Students receive training to improve their technical skills in our experimental systems, but also to improve their critical scientific reading, writing, and oral presentation skills. We discuss our results and research articles that we find interesting on an everyday basis and in lab meetings, and we encourage students to attend and present their work in at least one relevant meeting per year. Likewise, students actively participate in preparing and submitting research articles to scientific journals and preparing successful grant applications.

If you are a student in a PhD, MD/PhD and VMD/PhD program and our lab sounds like a good fit for your career development, contact Naiara Akizu to set up a time to meet.

We have multiple exciting rotation projects!

• Develop strategies to engraft human neural cells in animal models to study disease mechanisms of neurological disorders that are poorly reproduced in those models and to test cell replacement therapies for neurodegenerative disorders
• Establish in vitro pluripotent stem cell diferentiation to upper motoneuron models to study motoneuron diseases
• Analyze AMPD2 isoform specific functions.

Postdoctoral fellows in the Akizu Lab will find multiple opportunities to develop as scientists while enjoying their research.

Postdocs in our lab choose to work in two of our ongoing projects and are strongly encouraged to develop, in parallel, at least one new project that they may be interested in following up in their future scientific careers.

Fellows are trained as required in research areas and experimental approaches that we work on, but we welcome any expertise that they bring to the Lab especially related to behavioral studies, electrophysiology, RNA and protein biology, and computational biology.

In addition to the lab work, fellows in the Akizu Lab are expected to improve their writing and presentation skills by preparing grants, scientific articles, and poster and oral presentations. They are encouraged to attend and present their work in scientifically relevant meetings and expected to participate in our fun, weekly lab meetings, which altogether contribute to the achievement of career developmental goals.

If you recently obtained an MD or PhD (or equivalent) degree less than a year ago and are interested in pursuing a postdoctoral study in the Akizu Lab, please send a cover letter, your CV and the names and contact information for three references to Naiara Akizu.

2018-2021 Marco Flores Mendez; current research associate at CHOP
2018-2022 Yijing Zhou; current researcher at Prime Medicine in Boston

2019-2023 Carolina Gracia-Diaz, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Cell and Molecular Biology and Genetics and Epigenetics

2024 Madison Sangster, University of Pennsylvania Cell and Molecular Biology and Genetics (CAMB)
2022 Mara Davis, Penn CAMB
2022 Loreilys Mejias, Penn CAMB
2022 Tania Perez, Penn CAMB
2021 Xanthe Heifetz Ament, Penn Biology Graduate Group
2021 Emily Lubin, Penn CAMB
2021 Jafar Bhatti, Penn Neuroscience Graduate Group (NGG)
2020 Heidi Elashal, Penn Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (BMB)
2019 Roseanne Davila Ribera, Penn BMB
2019 Sarah Campbell, Penn CAMB
2018 Laura Ohl, Penn CAMB
2018 Melissa Barton, Penn CAMB
2018 Mara Cowen, Penn NGG
2017 Melanie Schaffler, Penn NGG
2017 Katelyn Sweeney, Penn CAMB

2017-2019 Laura Ballentine
2019-2022 Garrett Otrimski
2022-2023 Sunyimeng Lei

2023 Annie Aboye, Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PennPREP); Institute on Aging Scholar (2023-2024)
2023 Mary Falstin, CHOP Research Institute Summer Scholar Program (CRISSP)
2023 Tiffney Aina, Penn Summer Undergraduate Internship Program (SUIP)
2022-2023 Songy Lee, Penn undergraduate internship
2022 Mason Shockely, CRISSP
2022 Ana Lia Gayan Quijano, University Francisco De Vitoria (Madrid), TFG project
2021-2022 Kelsey Walsh, Penn Department of Biology Independent study (Biol 399 and 499)
2021 Emma Kielsa, Penn SUIP
2020 Fran Amo Cuellar, University Francisco De Vitoria (Madrid), TFG project
2020 Daniel Ferrera, University Francisco De Vitoria (Madrid), TFG project
2020 Hiab Teshome, Penn Department of Biology Independent study (Biol 399 and 499); Spring 2019 Pincus-Magaziner Family Undergraduate Research and Travel Fund from the College Alumni Society
2020 Jocasta Manasseh-Lewis, Penn SUIP
2019 Coral Alicea Pauneto, Penn SUIP
2017-2020 Donna Yoo, Penn Department of Biology Independent study (Biol 399 and 499)
2018 Yohaniz Ortega Burgos, Penn SUIP
2017-2018 Samantha Ratakonda, Penn Department of Biology Independent study (Biol 399 and 499)
2018 Olivia Romera Rincon, University Francisco De Vitoria (Madrid), TFG project.
2018 Christopher Rodier, Penn
2017-2018 Susmita Roy, Penn Department of Biology Independent study (Biol 399 and 499)
2017-2018 Keri Cronin, Haverford College Independent study

2022 Jay Crowther, Haverford School High School
2022 Danielle Im, Princeton Day School High School
2019 Daniel Chou, Haverford School High School
2017 Satch Baker, Haverford School High School