Lab Members

Graduate Students

Cass Dedert, Ph.D Student

Cass graduated with their B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Southeast Missouri State University in 2015. They then went on to work in industry at The American Red Cross and Creative Testing Solutions as a lab tech and supervisor for several years before coming to Saint Louis University to pursue a graduate education. They received their M.S. in 2020 working under the lab of Dr. Jonathan Fisher, studying the role of autophagy activation in glucose uptake in muscle cells. Their current work as a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Fenglian Xu focuses on the role of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) on neurodegeneration through impaired autophagy, and how the neurotrophic factor progranulin can alleviate this.

Kristina Springer, Ph.D Student

Kristina graduated with her B.S. from Southern Illinois University in 2020, majoring in biology and minoring in environmental sciences and chemistry. While at SIUE, she worked in an environmental toxicology lab and studied the transgenerational effects of insecticide exposure in Drosophila melanogaster. Kristina is now a PhD candidate studying how various environmental and cellular factors impact gap junction expression and function in the central nervous system of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis.

Lyuba Salih, Ph.D Student

Lyuba earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences in 2020 from the State University of New York at Brockport where she studied the effect of dietary magnesium and calcium on the intestinal microbiome of mice with ulcerative colitis (UC) under Bernardo Ortega Ph.D. She is now a Ph.D. candidate studying the role of various membrane associated receptors and their effect in modulating chronic neuropathic pain states.  

Undergraduate Students

Julia Lanfersieck

Class of 2023

Major: Neuroscience

Julia is an undergraduate neuroscience student with minors in biology and psychology who plans to pursue a Ph.D. following graduation from SLU. Her passion for neuroscience stems from her interests in mental health and neurodegenerative disease. In the Xu Lab, Julia studies the effect of G-protein coupled receptor activation by oxysterols in the nervous system.

Previous Members 

Kyle Pemberton, M.S. 

Kyle graduated with a BS in Biology and a BA in Psychology in 2014 from the University of Southern Indiana. He then worked as a lab technician for a couple years before coming to Saint Louis University to pursue his Ph.D. in Biology. He studies the role of G-protein coupled estrogen receptors in neurite outgrowth and synaptic formation.

Brittany Mersman, Ph.D 

Brittany grew up in Teutopolis, Illinois and graduated from Teutopolis High School in 2012. She then attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In May 2016, Brittany graduated summa cum laude with high honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences with a double major in Psychology and a minor in Chemistry. While at SIUE, Brittany became involved in genetic research on the planarian Schmidtea Mediterranea by studying the effects of RNA interference of central nervous system genes on learning and memory. While at SLU, she gained more experience in molecular biology as well as in electrophysiology by studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying cytotoxicity with a focus on the involvement of the Parkin-mediated mitophagy process in neurons. Brittany enjoys teaching, spending time with her family and friends, and earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2021.

Name: Prerana (Rayna) Jayanth, B.S.

Year: Class of 2019

Major: Neuroscience 

Prerana, who also goes by Rayna, was born in India, lived in Singapore during her early childhood years, and eventually grew up in the Chicagoland area. With a passion for Medicine, Prerana is an active member of Alpha Epsilon Delta and Minority Association for Pre-health Students. Also, she soon plans to volunteer as a medical scribe at Casa De Salud. Other activities she is currently involved in at SLU are the Learning Community Advisory Board, K:ODE dance team, and a tutor for inner city children with Overground Railroad. As a member of Dr. Xu’s research lab, Prerana hopes to gain viable laboratory techniques and skills as well as research model conditions that can stimulate neuronal regeneration in Lymnaea Stagnalis

Name: Pallavi Mhaskar, B.S.

Year: Class of 2018

Major/Minor: Neuroscience/International Business

Pallavi is a junior majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in International Business who is on the pre-med track. After earning her MD, she wants to work with Doctors Without Borders to help set up clinics in underprivileged areas across the world. She is from Springfield, IL and enjoys playing tennis, playing the piano, hiking, biking, eating, and taking naps. One of her favorite movies is The Dark Knight, and her favorite book series is the Harry Potter books. Over the summer, she volunteered in the pediatric department at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, IL. She is a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, Habitat for Humanity, and is also involved in another research lab. This coming summer she plans to continue her volunteer work at St. John’s and hopefully get a job as an anesthesia technologist. In the lab, she is interested in neuron regeneration in Lymnaea Stagnalis and wants to investigate the metabolic pathways and proteins that are involved in regeneration.

Name: Nicki Patel, B.S.

Year:   Class of 2018

Major: Neuroscience

Nicki is a pre-med student who plans on going to medical school to become a pediatrician. She actively participates in Alpha Epsilon Delta, SLU Pre-health club and honor society, as an Assistant Vice President. She is also actively involved in the Indian Student association and holds an Assistant Vice President position in Student Activities Board. She loves to volunteer with kids and worked as a summer camp counselor for Camp Kesem. Nicki is also a Co-coordinator for CampKesem’s Make the Magic department. Kids are a big part of her life and she really wants to give back to the community by working with kids. Nicki enjoys dancing and making others smile. Her research interests include infertility. Nicki wants to observe the ovulation hormone in various organisms, such as Lymnaea stagnalis and then compare the hormone in Lymnaea stagnalis to the hormones in more complex organisms to solve questions about infertility in women.                                 

                                Name: Jason Lorenzo Cocjin, B.S.

No photo                           Year:   Class of 2018

                                          Major: Neuroscience

Previous lab members (We miss you all!)