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James Defended His Master’s Thesis!

Congratulations to James Johnson for successfully defending his master’s thesis project! James presented his excellent work on developing and optimizing organotypic slice cultures of live human brain tissue as part of a broader project to create a human tissue model of neuroHIV. His essential contributions moved the project forward and positioned him for success in […]

New publication on opioid control of iron transport

Dr. Elena Irollo and colleagues from the Meucci lab recently published a new study on how morphine uses the iron transporter divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) to control iron metabolism in cortical neurons. The study also reports a new set of molecular tools to study DMT1 in a variety of cellular systems. This work continues […]

Jared Defended His PhD Thesis!

Congratulations to Jared Luchetta for successfully defending his PhD thesis! Jared’s work uncovered how chemokine signaling through the CXCL12/CXCR4 pathway controls neuronal activity, and he identified that CXCR4 expressed on cortical inhibitory neurons is a major driver of CXCL12’s beneficial and homeostatic effects. Jared was a T32 fellow of Drexel’s Interdisciplinary and Translational Research Training […]

We’re hiring a research assistant!

Research/Laboratory Assistant Job Overview: The research assistant will be involved in ongoing NIH-funded projects in the field of neuroHIV and neuroprotection, and additional collaborative studies in oncology. The successful candidate will have expertise in both cellular/molecular biology techniques and small animal in vivo models. They are also expected to facilitate teamwork and ensure proper function […]

New publication on US9 fusion proteins to control amyloidogenesis

Dr. Renato Brandimarti and colleagues from the lab published a new study detailing US9 fusion proteins that control amyloid precursor protein processing without targeting endogenous secretases. The work was published in Molecular Neurobiology and is freely available. Click here to read the publication!  

We’re hiring a postdoc!

Description: This position is for a post-doctoral researcher with extensive experience in neurobiology, neuroimmune pharmacology, and translational neuroscience eager to contribute to the overall mission of the lab with creativity and passion. This individual will be involved in ongoing NIH-funded projects in the field of neuroHIV, neuroprotection, and drug abuse, which require expertise in both […]

MERIT award extension

We received a five-year extension of our R37 MERIT (method to extend research in time) award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse! The extension will support lab’s longtime research project “Role of chemokines in neuronal function and survival.”

Erica Dalla defends PhD thesis!

Congratulations to former lab member Erica Dalla, who successfully defended her PhD thesis at Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine! Erica worked in the lab of Dr. Julio Aguirre-Ghiso where she studied how lung macrophages control the fate of disseminated tumor cells. Her work in the PhD program contributed to several high-profile publications that capped […]