Professor, Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Research Professor, Michigan Neuroscience Institute
Dr. Murphy has had a long standing interest in the neurobiological underpinnings of learning and memory. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley he worked in the laboratory of Mark R. Rosenzweig asking question regarding the storage and retrieval mechanisms of short and long term memory. As a Ph.D. student under the mentorship of David L. Glanzman, he studied the neuronal correlates of classical conditioning in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica. As a postdoctoral fellow, in the laboratory of Alcino J. Silva he began making and using genetically engineered mice as a model system to investigate relationship between age-related changes in neuronal excitability and cognitive function. His current CV is available for download here (518 KB PDF)
Murphy Lab Manager and Senior Research Laboratory Technician
kastangi@umich.edu
I grew up in Sterling Heights, Michigan. I moved north of the Mackinac Bridge to major in Neuroscience at Northern Michigan University, before heading back down to the middle of the mitten to complete a M.S. in Neuroscience at Central Michigan University in the summer of 2021.
In my free time I enjoy baking as well as exploring the outdoors by foot, snowmobile, or some kind of boat.
Michigan Neuroscience Institute Postdoctoral Fellow
Co-mentor: Daniel Lawrence Ph.D.
I was born and grew up in Chiapas, Mexico, where I attended the college and obtained my undergraduate degree in Biotechnology in 2009. Later that same year, I moved to Monterrey where I had the opportunity to work on my Masters degree thesis project based on the use of adenoviral vectors as vehicles for protein expression. I was interested in continuing my formation as a scientist, thus, I decided to move to Mexico City looking for an opportunity in the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV), where I got a PhD in Molecular Biomedicine in 2016. I joined Prof. Geoffrey Murphy’s Lab in February of 2023, where I’m trying to unveil the role of PAI-1 in the brain microvasculature remodeling and impaired cognition in Alzheimer’s disease.
In my spare time I enjoy cooking and spending time with my friends. I also really enjoy reading and occasionally watching a good movie.
Molecular & Integrative Physiology Ph.D. student
I grew up in West Chester, a southwestern suburb of Philadelphia, PA, and received my undergraduate degree in Biology from Temple University. After graduating I did a co-op at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) where I studied respiratory diseases such as COPD in adherent cell culture models. From there I took a full-time position at Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson as a research scientist in their Cell & Developability Sciences group, bioengineering suspension cell lines to produce antibodies (i.e., biologics) for various cancer and neurological targets. Several years passed and eventually my desire for further education grew so I applied and began graduate studies here at the University of Michigan. My thesis work is focused on studying the specific contribution of a chromosome 21 gene, DSCAM, in the development and determination of cognitive impairment in Down Syndrome and also in the behavioral phenotypes associated with autism spectrum disorders.
Outside of the lab I enjoy spending time with friends and my dog Theo, reading, watching movies, and playing video games. Occasionally I’ll exercise and spend time outdoors too.
Laboratory Research Technician
I grew up in New Delhi, India, where I finished high school and moved to the United States for my undergrad. I will graduate with a B.S. in Neuroscience at Eastern Michigan University in Fall 2024. In my undergraduate research, I studied the effects of diuretics amiloride and benzamil on salt taste transduction and isolated salt-sensitive neural pathways using in-vivo electrophysiology.
I enjoy baking, reading books, and attending theatre shows with friends when I'm not in the lab.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major: Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Natalie Johnson 10/03–04/05
Tracie Goodness 09/04–04/05
Kelly Kugle 09/04–12/04
David Sabatini 09/04–11/06*
Christian Catalan 09/05–04/06
Sonya Cho 09/05–04/06*
Adil Khan 09/05–03/06
Tuan-Anh Tran 09/05–12/05
Jennifer Lowing 09/05–04/07* †
Sathish Mohan 09/05–04/07†
Steven King 05/06–04/07
Ben Taylor 05/06–04/07
Jenni Choi 09/06–04/07*
Ashley Varner 09/06–04/07
Zhujie (Tina) Wang 09/06–04/07
Attishi Aggarwal 09/06–04/08
Alison Kinning 09/06–09/08
Ben Lee 09/06–04/08†
Peter Daniels 09/06–04/08
Mike Lu 09/06–04/08
Jacqueline Jackson 06/08–08/08**
Wilson Sze 09/06–05/09†
Wendelin Diab 05/09–08/09
Nancy Fru 06/09–08/09**
Benjamin Throesch 09/09–05/11†
Jennifer Park 09/09–05/11
Priscilla Lee 09/09–08/11
Kaivalya Deshpande 09/11–05/13†
Reciton Pahumi 09/11–05/13
John Tepper 05/12–09/13
James Stevens 05/12–09/13
Mia Kanzawa 05/11–08/11 & 05/12–08/12 (summer student--Hopkins)
Ryan Bell 09/12–05/14†
Rachel Brunner 09/12–05/14
Hillary Schafer 09/12–05/14
Taylor Tarpey 05/13–06/15†
Grace Fisher 07/14–05/18†
Hannah Burns 05/15–08/17†
Carina Castellanos 09/16–08/17♣
Kaitlyn Gordon 05/17–09/17 (summer student)
Genesis Rodriguez 09/18–08/19♣†
Menaka Atree 09/19–09/20
Justin McMahon 09/18–05/20♠
Araba Gyan 09/19–05/21
Arushi Mithal 01/23-09/23
Aarani Varatharajan 08/23-02/24
* Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)
** Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)
♣ Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP)
♠ Senior Thesis Student (Graduated with High Honors)
† Lab Contributions led to publication.
Brandon McKinney, MSTP /Neuroscience Program 2004
John Perkowski, Neuroscience Program 2004
Joshua Zimmerman, Neuroscience Program 2005
Stephanie Temme, Neuroscience Program 2009
Fredrick Henry, Neuroscience Program 2009
Viren Patel, MSTP /Neuroscience Program 2010
Ravi Chopra MSTP /Neuroscience Program 2012
Jessica White, M.S. Biology Eastern Michigan University 2004–2006
Brandon McKinney, MSTP /Neuroscience Program 2004–2008
John Perkowski, Neuroscience Program 2004–2008
Viren Patel, MSTP /Neuroscience Program 2010–2012
Jamie Slater, M.S. Molecular & Cellular Biology Eastern Michigan University 2010–2012
Stephanie Temme, Neuroscience Program 2009-2015
Alison Althaus, Neuroscience Program 2009-2015 (Parent Lab)
Ryan Bell, M.S. BME 09/2014-07/2015
Dakota Crisp (BME--Stacey Lab) 2016–2019
Cristina Maria Rios, Neuroscience Program (Morrow Lab) 2017-2022
Amy Kuo, Ph.D. 2005 – 2008
John Perkowski, Ph.D. 2009
Aislinn Williams MD, Ph.D. 2014 - 2017
Victor Cazares Ph.D. 2015 – 2020
Tamara Stevenson Ph.D. 2018 – 2020
Kasia Glanowska Ph.D. 2014 – 2020
Jack Prenderville, Department of Physiology & Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience 11/2013
Chris Valdez, Neuroscience Program (Beg Lab, Dept Pharmacology University of Michigan) 03/2015-06/2015
Michael D. Uhler, Ph.D. 01/08–12/08
Shannon Moore, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor 2009–2023