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Mark Gradwell, PhD
Mark received both his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and graduate degree in Human Physiology from the University of Newcastle, Australia. During his graduate studies he used electrophysiological techniques to dissect the complex neuronal microcircuits underlying sensory coding within the spinal cord dorsal horn. He has a particular interest in inhibitory interneurons, and how inhibition modulates sensory experience. |
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Manon Bohic, PhD
Manon received her master's degree in Biology of development and graduate degree in Neuroscience from Aix-Marseille University in France. During her PhD she studied sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system involved both in affective touch and in pain modulation, by behavioral and molecular genetic approaches. As a postdoctoral fellow in Abraira Lab, Manon aims to discover the extent of the role of pleasant touch in physiological and pathological contexts, by deciphering its neurobiological substrate. |
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Thomas Theis, PhD
Thomas received his master's degree in Biology from the University of Oldenburg, Germany, where he conducted behavioral experiments with gerbils measuring acoustic thresholds. During his doctoral thesis in Hamburg, Germany, he studied functional consequences of interactions between signal transduction molecules and neural cell adhesion molecules using biochemical approaches and primary neuron culture. During his time at the Keck Center, he gained knowledge in the field of spinal cord injury using a mouse contusion model. Thomas' goal in the Abraira Lab is to deepen his insight in system biology, specifically how interneuron networks are affected by spinal cord injury. |
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Jaclyn Eisdorfer, PhD
Jac received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the College of Creative Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara. During her doctoral studies in Bioengineering at Temple University, Jac used chemogenetics to modulate large diameter peripheral afferents and studied how upregulation of these neurons can affect plasticity within the spinal cord and hindlimb biomechanics after spinal cord injury. She was also appointed Chair of the 2021 Gordon Research Seminar on Central Nervous System Injury and Repair. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Abraira Lab, Jac aims to continue her work within the spinal cord injury field, and use a combination of mouse genetics, deep computer vision, and biomechanics to begin teasing apart the neural subtypes that promote the greatest recovery after injury. |
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Arlene George
Arlene received her B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology at Temple University. As an undergraduate, she conducted research with Dr. Prasun Datta where she investigated the mechanism of how the manipulation of the glutamate transporter, EAAT2, causes excitotoxicity in astrocytes. Upon graduation, Arlene worked as a research technician at the University of Georgia in Dr. Rick Tarleton's lab at the Center for Emerging and Tropical Diseases. There she investigated the role of Trypanosoma cruzi in Chagas disease where she determined the efficacy of novel trypanocidal compounds and implemented the CRISPR-Cas9 system to identify targets of drug action into trypanosomal organisms. Arlene then completed her graduate studies in neuroscience at Georgia State University studying in Dr. Angela Mabb’s lab where she evaluated the role of the ubiquitin E3 ligase, RNF216/TRIAD3, in reproductive, learning, and neuroinflammation function using both cellular and mouse models. Arlene is currently doing post-doctoral research in the labs of Drs. Victoria Abraira and David Margolis where she is studying somatosensory circuits underlying chronic pain using in vivo imaging and behavioral analysis techniques. |
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