who we are

Alice Chen-Plotkin, MD

Principal Investigator
Parker Family Professor of Neurology

The lab was started by Alice Chen-Plotkin in May of 2010. You can follow her on Twitter (@alicechenp) or reach her at chenplot[at]pennmedicine.upenn.eduYou can find her CV here.

THomaS
Tropea, DO

Assistant Professor of Neurology

 Tom is working on biomarkers and on how to actually implement precision medicine in the Parkinson's clinic (without BS). He knows all the good places in Philadelphia to eat.  

Tyler
Skrinak

Lab
Manager

Tyler is our resident Pipette Otaku and mouse surgeon. He is also a superb source of book suggestions.  Despite knowing him for nearly 10 years, Alice has failed to secure another photo of him. 

ALLISON
WARD

Administrative Coordinator

Allie has her MA in Theatre from Villanova with a focus on Stage Management and Directing. She now thoroughly enjoys Stage Managing Alice's personal and professional life. 

George
Kannarkat,
MD PhD

Assistant Professor of Neurology

George is an MD-PhD clinician-scientist interested in peripheral mechanisms of neuroinflammation and synuclein pathology. In his spare time, he enjoys biking, running, and playing tennis.

Sromona
Das, PHD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Sromona did her PhD from CSIR-IICB, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Besides, being a professional Indian classical dancer (that's one thing she can never get bored of). Some of her other favorite things are travelling the world, painting, driving, and trying different cuisines (She is a foodie).

Sambit
Dalui, PHD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Sambit is a chromatin biology & epigenetics enthusiast with specialisation in protein biochemistry & biophysics. He is working on gene regulatory mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases. He did his PhD from CSIR-IICB, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Along with that, he is also an amateur travel photographer and plays the Indian classical instrument "sitar".

Kathi
Ging, PHD

MD-PhD/Postdoctoral Fellow

Kathi embarked on her journey from bedside to bench after studying medicine and working as a neurology intern in Bern before earning a PhD in Neurosciences in Zurich, Switzerland. Her fascination with the human brain began in a neuroanatomy class that felt like a trip down the rabbit hole. Thanks to citing "Alice in Wonderland" during her job interview, she was hired despite ordering chickpeas for lunch. An avid hiker, she dreams of visiting Jim Thorpe in the Pocono Mountains.

Cooper
Penner

MD-PHD Student

Cooper is an MD-PHD student studying the pathogenesis of ALS. His background is mostly computational, but because he loves suffering and uncertainty now he spends his time running a bunch of Western Blots and DNA gels. Cooper loves being in nature, reading, and hanging out with his cat (Blue).

Marc
carceles
Cordon

Graduate Student 

Marc completed his MD at the University of Barcelona before realizing, as Alice did many years earlier, that he might want to do research for a large part of his career. He previously worked with Josep Dalmau on autoimmune encephalitides and is now working towards a PhD in the Neuroscience Graduate Group. 

Adama
Berndt 

Graduate Student

Adama was an undergraduate at Kenyon College and then worked for a few years at NIH before becoming a PhD student in the Neuroscience Graduate Group. In snooping the internet for a photo, Alice discovered that Adama has released a rap album!!

Masen Boucher

Graduate Student

Masen graduated from Williams College in 2020 before moving to Boston to work in the Mannix and Meehan lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. There, she focused on translational traumatic brain injury. In 2023, she joined the Neuroscience Graduate Group, and is excited to study questions related to neurodegeneration more broadly.

Rachel
Paul

Genetic Counselor

Rachel Paul works with us on projects related to disclosure of genetic results back to our research participants. We believe strongly that patients who participate in research and want to know some of their results should have an avenue to gain this knowledge, and Rachel helps us figure out how to do this in an ethical way.

Carrie
Lewis

Technician

Carrie graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2023 with a BA in Neuroscience and Behavior and is originally from Los Angeles. In their free time, Carrie enjoys cooking and playing with their pets. 

Eliza
Brody

Technician

Eliza, a (near-by) Philly native, is our GPNMB mouse mama. She is always ready to commiserate about the Sixers or go on adventures, especially to pick fruit. 

Travis
Unger

Technician

Travis has over 15 years of experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology.  He is an avid gardener and amateur photographer.  He is also the father of our First Lab Baby, born in January 2012.

Randy
Cai

Undergrad Research Assistant

 Randy is an undergraduate at Penn studying Neuroscience. He is originally from outside of Los Angeles, enjoys running, and misses LA weather and his family cat. 

Charles
Shen

Undergrad Research Assistant

Charles is a first-year student at UPenn pursuing Neuroscience and History. He lived in Shanghai for nine years, and he likes Dune, Star Wars, creative writing, food trucks, and beef jerky.

Lab stats:

Age: 12 years 

Coffee consumed: >20,000 cups 

Babies produced: More than a dozen -- we have stopped counting

Engagements/Weddings: 7 

Idols to ward off bad luck: 3

Places to nap: 1 

You can read about our lab alumni here. 

Here is our lab at our 12-Year Lab-iversary/Retreat in Puerto Rico! 

Other photos may be found here.  

We operate under the assumptions that justice is a core value, the best scientific ideas can come from anyone, and it's our job to find those voices. 

JOIN US! 

Full-time positions and rotation student positions may be available.

Inquiries: chenplot[at]pennmedicine.upenn.edu