Current Members of the Francis Lab
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Michael Francis, PhD - Principal Investigator |
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Kellianne Alexander - Graduate Student |
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Shankar Ramachandran, PhD - Post-Doctoral Associate Shankar is a postdoctoral associate, who joined the lab in 2016. He received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he characterized calcium channels at presynaptic terminals of lamprey reticulospinal axons using calcium imaging and electrophysiology. He is currently investigating molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic connectivity and plasticity in the C. elegans motor circuit using genetic tools, optogenetics and calcium imaging.
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Kasturi Biswas - Graduate Student Kasturi is a Neuroscience graduate student from Kolkata, India. She earned her B.Sc. with a major in microbiology from St. Xavier’s College and completed her M.Sc.in neuroscience from National Brain Research Centre in 2018. She joined the Francis lab in 2019 and is interested in molecular basis of memory-formation. Kasturi is currently studying proteins important for synaptic remodelling and circuit formation. Apart from her lab-work, she enjoys cooking, painting and reading non-fiction novels, especially on brain-science and consciousness.
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Samuel Liu - Graduate Student |
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Julia Russell - Research Associate Julia joined the lab as a research associate in 2021. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Genetics from the University of New Hampshire. Her work focuses on the molecular biology used to carry out experiments on C. elegans. Apart from her lab work, Julia enjoys baking, shopping, and going on walks.
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Hillary Nna - PREP Scholar Hillary has had a passionate interest in science since she was young. Hillary graduated from Framingham State University in May 2022 with a BS in Biology. She has been an intern in the Francis lab since March 2022 and transitioned into the PREP Scholar position in the Francis lab.
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