People

Indrani Dhanasekaran

Master's student, ITP

Indrani holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Sri Ramachandra University in India. Presently, she is pursuing a Master's in Toxicology at the University of Georgia, where I am a Research Assistant in Dr. Shaolin Liu's lab. She joined Dr. Liu's lab in Spring 2024. Her research focuses on the impact of cadmium toxicity on the olfactory bulb in Alzheimer's disease. This project aims to understand the mechanisms through which cadmium exposure contributes to the progression of Alzheimer's disease, particularly in the olfactory bulb. The goal is to understand the toxicity pathways of cadmium which could provide insights into potential therapeutic interventions.

Email: indranidevi.dhanasekaran@uga.edu

Meigeng Hu, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Meigeng received his Master's degree in Pharmaceutical Analysis from Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, China, and Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy at Peking Union Medical College. He joined the lab as a postdoctoral researcher to study functional operation of the olfactory and related systems using electrophysiological, optogenetic, chemogenetic, fiber photometry, immunohistochemical, and behavioral techniques. The overall goal of his projects is to investigate the mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in neurological diseases.

Email: meigeng.hu@uga.edu

Yingzhen Kong, Ph.D.

Lab Manager

Yingzhen received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Lanzhou University. She joined the Liu lab as a Lab Manager in 2024.

Email：ykong@uga.edu

Osayomore Marie Lacour

PhD Student, Neuroscience

Marie received her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Houston- Clear Lake in 2022. In 2023, she joined the Neuroscience program at the University of Georgia (UGA) through the Integrated Life Sciences program. After completing three lab rotations, Marie joined the Liu Lab in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology of the College of Veterinary Medicine, affiliated with Biomedical and Translational Sciences and the Center for Neurological Disease Research. Under the mentorship of Dr. Shaolin Liu, she studies tau pathological progression patterns, noradrenergic degeneration, projection pathways from the locus coeruleus to the olfactory bulb, and neuronal and circuit susceptibility to tau-APOE4 interaction in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Email: Marie.Lacour@uga.edu

Yaping Li

Technician

Yaping had a Bachelor degree in Philosophy from Anhui University in China. She gained significant research experience in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, and confocal imaging at UGA before joining our lab, where she currently plays a leading role in carrying out the immunohistochemical work, neuronal and circuit reconstruction in addition to her dedication to animal care and colony maintenance.

Email: yaping@uga.edu

Shaolin Liu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & PI

Shaolin received his Ph. D. in Pharmacology from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College followed by a postdoctoral training at Yale University. He served as a tenured associate professor and principal investigator at Howard University before joining UGA where he holds his current position as an associate professor and principal investigator affiliated with the Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology and Department of Biomedical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Precision One Health. He leads the research team on a mission to uncover the secrets of the olfactory and limbic systems, and how they relate to neurological disorders caused by neurodegeneration including Alzheimer's Disease or injuries due to brain trauma or neurotoxicity with cutting edge technologies as well as continuous funding support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Email: shaolin.liu@uga.edu

Maria Matesich

Research Assistant

Maria graduated from UGA in the Summer of 2025, with a Bachelor degree in Biomedical Physiology and Psychology with emphasis in neuroscience. She gained some experience in stereotaxic neurosurgeries, viral microinjection, and in vivo electrophysiological recordings in our lab. before joining us in July 2025. Her roles include neural circuit tracing and reconstruction with viral vectors and confocal and light-sheet microscopy, in vivo electrophysiological recordings of neuronal activities in the brain of anesthetic animals, behavioral phenotyping, in addition to assisting others to achieve their goals.

Email: maria.matesich@uga.edu

Zhimei Qiao, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scientist

Zhimei received her Ph.D. in Physiology from Peking University Health Science Center in 2006 followed by a postdoctoral training at Tsinghua University. Before coming to the United States, she worked at East China Normal University and focused on the central mechanisms underlying pain and itch sensation.

Zhimei worked at Morehouse School of Medicine as a researcher before joining Liu lab at UGA in June, 2025. Her primary expertise is in vivo electrophysiology and optogenetics on freely moving mouse. Her work at Liu lab is focusing on the study of mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease, especially at the neuronal circuits level.

Email: zhimei.qiao@uga.edu

Jesse Riker, DVM

PhD Student, ITP

Jesse received his DVM at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine, completed a Small Animal Rotating Internship at Virginia-Maryland's College of Veterinary Medicine, and completed a Veterinary Anatomic Pathology Residency at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine. Jesse joined Drs Tai Guo's and Shaolin Liu's lab in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology to study the pathomechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, primarily Alzheimer's disease.

Email: jesse.riker@uga.edu

Cosar Uzun, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Cosar received his M.Sc. in Medical Faculty, Department of Biophysics in 2014 at Mersin University, Turkey, and earned his Ph.D. in Medical Faculty, Department of Biophysics, in 2022 at Mersin University, Turkey, under supervision of Prof. Nurten Erdal.

Cosar joined the Liu lab at the Center for Neurological Disease Research, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology to study the Mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease and Neurobiological bases of olfactory processing using in vivo electrophysiological, optogenetic, and behavioral techniques. The overall goal of his projects is to identify the relationship between olfactory dysfunction processing and Alzheimer's disease. Based on the outcomes obtained, a novel approach to improving AD diagnosis in APOE4-carrying populations may be determined.

Email: cosar.uzun@uga.edu

Xinrui Xiong

Technician

Xinrui received her Bachelor degree in Medicine from Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University in China. In the US, she has had over five years of experience in lab animal technology on rodents and obtained the Lab Animal Technician license. Xinrui joined the lab as a technician with responsibilities for animal colony management and will also assist others in behavioral studies as well as in immunohistochemical work et al.

Email: xinrui.xiong@uga.edu

Shamaila Zafar, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Scientist

Dr. Shamaila Zafar is a trained pharmacist and neuroscientist with a focus on understanding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and exploring novel therapeutic strategies. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Pharmacology, and Ph.D. in Physiology (Neuroscience) in Pakistan. Her doctoral work focused on the neuroregenerative potential of medicinal plants in a peripheral nerve injury model.

Her recent postdoctoral research at Thomas Jefferson University, PA, investigated how environmental factors such as early-life lead exposure affect brain development, aggressive behavior, and cognition, with a focus on the protective roles of maternal care and enriched environments. She is also exploring how the GM1 ganglioside provides protection in Parkinson’s disease.

At UGA, Dr. Zafar’s research focuses on understanding the anatomical and functional organization of the olfactory and related systems in both health and neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease, by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as optogenetics, chemogenetics, electrophysiology, and behavioral approaches.

Email: shamaila.zafar@uga.edu

Dan Zhao, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Dan received her M.Sc. in Pharmacognosy in 2015 from Jilin Agricultural University, China, and her Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from Peking Union Medical College. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab, she specializes in neurophysiology including in vitro electrophysiology in addition to leveraging optogenetic, immunohistochemical, and behavioral techniques to answering fundamental questions. Her research is dedicated to investigating the mechanisms underlying olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease and the olfactory deficits induced by traumatic brain injury. Dr. Zhao's overall goal is to elucidate the neurobiological foundations of olfactory processing.

Email: dan.zhao1@uga.edu