Position: Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor.

Pronouns: She/her/ella.

About: Elena is originally from Asturies (Spain) where she grew up and attended University of Oviedo to get her Licenciatura in Biology. She also spent a year studying in Aristotelous University of Thessaloniki (Greece) as an Erasmus student. She got her MS in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine in Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), and soon after, she moved to the UK to pursue her Ph.D.  under a Marie Curie ITN fellowship. She did her Ph.D. in Biochemistry with Dr. Jonathan Hanley at the University of Bristol (UK), where she studied region-specific AMPA receptor trafficking and GTPase activation in neurons under ischemic conditions. It was in 2014 when she arrived in San Diego (CA) to do her postdoc with Dr. Nicola Allen at the Salk Institute. There, she focused on the study of astrocytic regulation of synaptic plasticity during development. Now she is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at San Diego State University. The main goal of the lab is to harness the potential of astrocytes to regulate plasticity in injury and disease to improve prevention and functional recovery. Outside the lab, she likes playing guitar and ukulele, going to punk-rock shows, watching bad horror movies, and planning her next trip to Asturies.

Position: Ph.D. candidate M.D./Ph.D. program (Thomas Jefferson).

Pronouns: He/him.

About: Andrea was born and raised in downtown Philadelphia. The son of two Italian immigrants, he also spent a significant portion of his upbringing with family in Italy, and continues to visit every year. Andrea attended Brown University for his undergraduate studies, where he received his B.S. in Neuroscience in 2020, completing an honors thesis and graduating magna cum laude. During his time at Brown he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Carlos Aizenman, studying activity-dependent neural plasticity and extracellular matrix remodeling in the optic tectum of Xenopus laevis. Furthermore, he worked as a research assistant for Dr. David Yaden at Johns Hopkins’ Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, publishing several reviews on psychedelic mechanisms and clinical applications. In his gap year before graduate school, Andrea joined Dr. Gül Dölen’s lab at Johns Hopkins, where he conducted behavioral experiments in mice to investigate MDMA’s potential to reopen critical periods of plasticity. In 2021, Andrea joined the MD/PhD program at Thomas Jefferson University, where he is currently a PhD candidate in the Blanco-Suárez lab studying mechanisms of post-stroke recovery and plasticity. In his free time, Andrea enjoys spending time with his brother Pietro, playing and watching basketball with friends, trying new restaurants in the city, and traveling the world. 

Position: Ph.D. candidate Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program, Neuroscience (Thomas Jefferson).

Pronouns: She/her.

About: Bridget grew up right outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs of Medford, New Jersey. She stayed in South Jersey to attend Rowan University and, in 2020, received her B.S. in Translational Biomedical Science. At Rowan, Bridget began her neuroscience research journey in Dr. Ileana Soto-Reye’s laboratory, where she investigated cerebellar postnatal microglia development impairment and neurodegeneration in Niemann-Pick disease type C. Bridget is currently a PhD Candidate in the Blanco-Suarez laboratory where she is investigating how astrocytes regulate region-specific changes in AMPAR subunit composition immediately after ischemic stroke, and how that relates to neuronal vulnerability to excitotoxicity. Bridget is the self-appointed party and décor coordinator of the lab. Outside of the lab, she loves going to concerts, trying new restaurants around the city, and thrifting! 

Position: Cell and Molecular Biology Master's Program (SDSU).

Pronouns: She/her.

About: Rosemary was born and raised in San Diego, California. She attended California State University Fullerton to complete her B.S in Cell and Developmental BIology. After completing her undergraduate degree, she moved back home to pursue higher education as an M.S. in Molecular Biology student at San Diego State University. During the first year of her graduate program, she got accepted into an internship program called Bridges to Stem Cell Internship Program funded by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. She got an amazing opportunity to conduct research at the Salk Institute of Biological Sciences in Dr. Fred Gage's lab. Her research focused on combining stem cell reprogramming techniques with molecular approaches to study disease mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's Disease. She is excited to continue research in the neuroscience field alongside the Blanco- Suarez laboratory for her Master's thesis. Apart from doing research, Rosemary likes to go on walks outside, sing karaoke with her friends, and watch comedy podcasts on Youtube. 

Position: Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics Master's Program (SDSU).

Pronouns: She/they.

About: Reina was born in Worcester, Massachusetts but spent most of her childhood growing up in Temecula, California. She graduated from San Diego State University in 2024 with a B.S. in Cellular & Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She is currently in her second year of the Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics Master’s program at SDSU. Her research journey began in Dr. Kim Finley’s lab, where she developed a passion for bioinformatics. Starting with wet lab work consisting of Drosophila husbandry and data collection, Reina transitioned into computational analysis. She ended up building RNA-seq pipelines and exploring transcriptomics data. She later expanded her computational expertise in Dr. Faramarz Valafar’s lab, analyzing Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomes, identifying gene conversion events and transcriptional start sites.

Reina has been recognized with the NSF-funded TAPDINTO-STEM Fellowship for her contributions to advancing equity for students with disabilities in STEM. In addition, she serves as a Teaching Associate for the SDSU Genetics course where she enjoys mentoring and interacting with students.

Beyond academics, Reina can often be found performing improv at local comedy clubs, free-skating with her skate community, or spending time with friends!

Position: Biology- Physiology Concentration Master’s Program (SDSU).

Pronouns: She/her.

About: Kayla was born in the bay area and grew up in the central valley in California. She graduated in May of 2025 from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a B.S. in Animal Science, Pre-Veterinary Science. During her undergraduate studies, she was part of an animal behavior lab where they studied the effects of nutrition composition on cattle grazing behavior and body condition. She also spent lots of time shadowing dairy veterinarians where she handled calves, goats, and cows. Kayla wanted to expand her knowledge in biology and join the rigorous research community at San Diego State University. As she has just begun her Master’s program, she is excited to explore the realm of neuroscience for her thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Blanco-Suarez. Outside of work and school, Kayla is a book lover for all things fiction and enjoy baking sweet treats for her friends and family.

Position: Undergraduate Researcher (SDSU).

Pronouns: She/her.

About: Termeh was born and raised in San Jose, California. She is currently a junior at San Diego State University pursuing a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Neuroscience, with aspirations of pursuing a career in medicine. She currently tutors students in math and science and volunteers at a hospital assisting post-operative patients and working front desk. She is also a member of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). Outside of academics, Termeh enjoys staying active by going on hikes, spending time with family and friends, and watching scary movies. 

Position: Honorary Member. Official lab pet.

Pronouns: She/her.

About: Dookie has a Ph.D. in cuteness. She appeared in a couple of Blink 182 music videos and inspired the dog emoji 🐶 . She spends most of her time sleeping or getting through life with extremely high anxiety.  She's a very good girl.