Gomez-Pastor Lab

2025

Our Huntington's disease R01 competitive renewal 2R01NS110694 was funded by the NINDS!!!!
Melissa Solem, our beloved undergraduate student, was admitted into the graduate program at UT Houston. Congratulations Melissa!
Congratulations to our lab technician Peter Gavrilyuk for his Admission into the Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) Doctoral Program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio.
Congratulations to our undergraduate Melissa Solem and grad students Ross Pelzel and Nick Rozema for their first co-author publication in the Journal of Huntington's disease. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18796397251316762

2024

Welcome to the MINDS Scholar Abby Mitchel that joined the lab for her postbacc studies.
More good news! Nick Rozema has been awarded the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award
We have received funding from NIH R03AG087281 to study the effects of specific therapeutics in the amelioration of cognitive deficits in frontotemporal dementia.
Congratulations Nick Rozema for being selected as a speaker at the 29th Midwest Stress and Molecular Chaperone Meeting in Chicago!!!
Nick Rozema and Angel White received the Council of Graduate Students (COGS) Travel Award
Congratulations Taylor Brown for receiving the Institute for Translational Neuroscience/MnDRIVE Brain Conditions Retreat poster award.
Ross Pelzel received the GPN Stark Award.
We have received funding from NIH R21NS136971 to study astrocytes and apathy in Huntington's disease

2023

Ross Pelzel and Nick Rozema passed their Oral Prelims and become PhD candidates. Congratulations!
Dr. Gomez-Pastor has been promoted to rank of Associate Professor with Tenure.
Dr. Gomez-Pastor has been elected Associate Director of the Graduate Studies (aDGS) for the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at UMN.
Nicole Zarate starts her new position as a postdoc at Northwestern University.
Yay! Taylor Brown (MSTP student) published her first author publication in the Gomez-Pastor Lab. Great Job! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10175581/
Congratulations to our postbacc Rachel Mansky and other lab members publishing in Cell Reports www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124723002097
Angel White and Nick Rozema received the Institute for Translational Neuroscience/MnDRIVE Brain Conditions Retreat poster award.
Congratulations Angel White for being selected as a speaker at the 28th Midwest Stress and Molecular Chaperone Meeting in Chicago!!!
Rachel Mansky is admitted into Medical School at UMN!!!

2022

Congratulations Angel White for becoming a PhD candidate!!!
Urray Dr. Zarate, other lab members and collaborators for our latest publication in the Journal of Neurochemistry https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jnc.15714
Welcome to Nick Rozema and Ross Pelzel who joined the lab for their PhD.
Congratulations to Angel White and Anna McGlone for their Review article publication in Biomedicines https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36009526/
Congratulations Dr. Nicole Zarate for an amazing PhD Thesis defense.
A new paper from the Gomez-Pastor lab was just accepted in Acta Neuropathologica Communications https://actaneurocomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40478-022-01379-8
Congratulations Taylor Brown, She passed her Oral Prelim!!!

Taylor Brown received The Morris Smithberg Memorial Prize, presented annually to the outstanding first year student in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. Congratulations Taylor!
Drs. Marija Cvetanovic and Rocio Gomez-Pastor received the GPN Outreach Award for their work launching the Neuroscience Summer Program for High School students underrepresented in Medicine and Science.

2021

A fantastic way of finishing 2021. Nicole Zarate published her thesis work in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences: Heat Shock Factor 1 Directly Regulates Postsynaptic Scaffolding PSD-95 in Aging and Huntington’s Disease and Influences Striatal Synaptic Density. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/23/13113
Angel White received the Trainee and Professional Development Awardee by the Society for Neuroscience

We are very proud to announce that Dahyun Yu and Adelyn Tsai have been admitted into the Mayo Clinic Neuroscience Graduate Program. Good luck!
We have received funding from NIH R21AG073416 in collaboration with Dr. Veena Prahlad (Univ. of Iowa)
We have received funding from NIH R21NS116260 in collaboration with Drs. Kathryn Nelson and Michael Walters (Univ. of Minnesota)
Dr. Gomez-Pastor received the John Ohlfest Faculty Mentorship Award 2021 (Graduate Program of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota)
We welcome Dr. Erin Greguske as a new postdoc!
Welcome Angel White who joined the lab as a grad student in the GPN program. We are excited to have you!

2020

We have received funding from NIH Alzheimer's Disease supplement R01NS110694-01A1-S1
Dr. Hyuck Kim leaves the lab to start his own laboratory at the University of Korea. Congratulations Hyuck!
Congratulations Nicole Zarate, She passed her Oral Prelim!!!
Welcome back Rachel Mansky, who joined the lab as a Research Technician I
Welcome Taylor Brown who joined the lab as a grad student in the MSTP program. We are excited to have you!

2019

We have received funding from the American Cancer Society 129819-IRG-16-189-58-IRG-107
Nicole Zarate receives the Maurice B. Visscher Young Investigator Award. So proud of you!
We have received funding from NIH R01NS110694, the first one of many to come!!!
Welcome Adelyn Tsai, undergraduate student (UMN CBS)
Dr. Hyuck Kim joins the lab as a Postdoctoral Associate. Welcome Hyuck!!!!
Welcome Rachel Mansky (Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts) who joins the lab as a summer intern
Welcome David Moreno (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas) who joins the lab for the summer as part of the LSSURP
Wallin Day, Nicole Zarate wins the Best Poster Award. Well done!
Congratulations Taylor Intihar for accepting a position at Yale University, we are going to miss you!
Undergraduate students Aditi Makaram and Sunny Gamam (UMN CBS) join the lab
Taylor Intihar is invited to present her work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Kennesaw State University (Georgia)
Welcome Francesco Cuccu (University of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy) who is joining the lab for the winter as part of the Extra-European training Globus Placement program
Congratulations Nicole Zarate. She was selected to give a talk at the Midwest Stress Response and Molecular Chaperone Meeting in Evanston, IL
Taylor A. Intihar and Elisa A. Martinez published the first paper of our lab in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. Congratulations for such a big accomplishment!

2018

We received the Biomedical Research Award for Interdisciplinary new Science in collaboration with Dr. Gulin Oz
Welcome Elisa A. Martinez (Dickinson Liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania) who joins the lab for the summer as part of the LSSURP program
Welcome Belle Yu. She accepted a position as a Researcher 1 in our laboratory
Undergraduate students Kevin Jiang and Luke Carlson (UMN CBS major class of 2019) join the lab
Congratulations Taylor A. Intihar for receiving the UROP Award (University of Minnesota) for her work; Role of p53 in the regulation of HSF1 degradation in Huntington’s Disease
Welcome Nicole Zarate (Graduate Program in Neuroscience) who joins the lab as our first and very brave Graduate Student!!!!

2017