People

Alita D'Almeida is a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis and a graduate student researcher with the Chaudhari lab in the Department of Radiology. Her research is primarily in preclinical neuroimaging with projects in developing methods for analysis of MRI and PET scans in small and large animal models as well as in the development of methods to quantify imaging data.

Valerie Porter is PhD candidate working in Dr. Abhijit Chaudhari's lab and collaborating with Dr. Pamela Lein and CounterACT. She is developing automated segmentation techniques with machine learning for analyzing MRI and PET data of brain scans following organophosphate exposure.

Xiaoyue Xiao is a visiting scholar and PhD graduate student in the Department of Entomology and Nematology. She has expertise in antibody preparation and the development of lateral flow immunoassay and ELISA. She serves the immunoassay project for the CounterACT program.

Peter Andrew is a student in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Program. After graduating from Tufts University, he worked for two years in the Tufts-AstraZeneca Laboratory for Basic and Translational Neuroscience. His graduate research for CounterACT involves the assessment of neuroprotective strategies against intoxication with organophosphates. 

Brittany Davis is a DVM-Ph.D. student in the Neuroscience Graduate Group. As a dual degree student, she aspires to contribute to research aimed at improving the quality of both human and animal lives. Her research is focused on understanding how organophosphate exposure affects the blood brain barrier, with the goal of identifying therapeutic strategies to mitigate neurotoxicity.

Jeremy MacMahon is a graduate student in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Program. His research involves characterizing the role of neuroinflammation in chemical exposures and identifying neuroprotective compounds to prevent the long term cognitive decline associated with these exposures.

Maria Muñoz is a graduate student in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Program. She first worked as an undergraduate researcher studying the effects of environmental pollution on the lung, and then after graduation, in a cancer biology lab developing models of soft-tissue sarcomas. Maria is working to neuroprotective compounds against the toxic effects from acute organophosphate exposure.

Dr. Negri Bernardino is a PhD student in the Graduate Group in Integrative Pathobiology. His main career goal is to work in translational research, where he can bring bench work findings to the clinical field. For CounterACT, Dr. Negri Bernardino is focusing on blood-brain barrier function following organophosphate intoxication.

Chelsea Unkel is a Ph.D. student in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Program. She studies the role of neuroinflammation following acute organophosphate intoxication and potential therapeutics to reduce long-term sequalae, emphasizing translational models and understanding of epileptogenesis.