Soto Lab Updates

End of the 2025-2026 Academic Year Lab Pictures

May 2026. This year's graduates in the lab are Olivia Barbarini, Siena Brazier, Carly Immerman, Reagan Dennett, Kathryn Ditrano, and Cameron Petrelli. It was great to have you in the lab, thank you for your work and contributions!

2026 Pawtucket Brain Fair

March 29, 2026. Students Carly Immerman ('26) and Siena Brazier ('26) participated in the 2026 Pawtucket Brain Fair here in RI. This event is a great opportunity to share neuroscience research with the broader community, including children and families.

2026 Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium

March 14, 2025. Students Carly Immerman ('26) and Reagan Dennett ('26) were selected to represent Providence College at the Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium in New York City. They presented our work investigating how voluntary running impacts the cerebellar pathology and behavior of mice lacking the PTEN protein in Purkinje cells.

Special Seminars in Rare Neurogenetic Disorders Series Hosted by the CTN

November 10, 2025. Dr. Soto Reyes had the honor of being invited by the Center of Translational Neuroscience at Brown University to give a talk as part of the Special Seminars in Rare Neurogenetic Disorders Series.  

2025 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference

October 30 – November 1, 2025.  This year, D. Santiago Betancourt-Trompa ('27) presented a poster at the 2025 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference in Columbus, OH.

Soto Lab Publication in PLOS One 

September 5, 2025. Six PC-Biology students contributed to this publication: first author Caroline E. Murray, David S. Betancourt-Trompa, Michael S. Martinez, Julia M. Carson, Will C. Remillard, and Kayla B. Fordyce.

Soto Lab members presented at the 2025  RI-SURS

July 2025.  At the end of the summer, Grace Belt ('27) and Lauren Bedford ('26) presented a poster at the RI SURS conference at URI in Kingston, RI. 

Soto Lab Publication in Scientific Reports 

July 8, 2025. Nine PC-Biology students contributed to this publication: Izabella M. Espinal-San Miguel, Ana V. Rodriguez, Ursula M. Peña, Kiley E. Flynn, Will C. Remillard, Siena R. Brazier, Natalia I. Anderson, Aidan J. Clark, and Tiffany A. De Varona.

Seventh Annual Dr. Samuel M. Nabrit Conference for Early Career Scholars

June 5-6, 2025. Dr. Soto Reyes had the honor of presenting a poster and a flash talk at the Seventh Annual Dr. Samuel M. Nabrit Conference for Early Career Scholars at Brown University, Providence, RI.

End of the 2024-2025 Academic Year Lab Picture

May 2025.  It was raining, so we had to take the picture inside. This year's graduates are Izabella Espinar-San Miguel, Ursula Pena, Ana Rodriguez, Caroline Murray, Michael Martinez, Julia Carson, and Kayla Fordyce. Thanks for your great work and contributions to the lab!

2025 NEURON Conference

April 26, 2025. This year, Dr. Soto Reyes and Kathryn Ditrano ('25) attended the NEURON Conference at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.  Kathryn presented a poster about how exercise impacts metabolic signaling in PTEN-deficient Purkinje cells. 

2025 ASBMB Conference

April 12–15, 2025. Students Caroline Murray ('25) and D. Santiago Betancourt-Trompa ('27) presented a poster at the ASBMB Conference in Chicago, IL.

  2025 Pawtucket Brain Fair

March 22, 2025. Students Carly Immerman ('26), Siena Brazier ('26), Reagan Dennett ('26), and Kathryn Ditrano ('26) participated in the 2025 Pawtucket Brain Fair here in RI. This event allowed us to share neuroscience research with the broader community, including children and families.

2025 Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium

March 11, 2025. This year, student Caroline Murray ('25) was selected to represent Providence College at the Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium in New York City. She presented our work investigating how NPC1 deficiency affects microglia postnatal development.

NSF IOS CAREER Principal Investigators Meeting

November, 2024. As an NSF CAREER award recipient, Dr. Soto Reyes presented our research at the NSF IOS CAREER Principal Investigators Meeting in Washington, DC. A great opportunity to meet other CAREER awardees and to interact with NSF program officers and directors.

PC Sigma Xi Research Honor Society Fall Symposium

October 15, 2024. Cameron Petrelli ('26) and Aidan Clark ('26) presented a poster at the PC Sigma Xi Research Honor Society Fall Symposium. They worked on a project investigating how NPC1 deficiency affects the enteric nervous system.

Soto Lab members attended the 2024 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference

October 31-November 2, 2024.  This year, Izabella Espinar-SanMiguel ('25), Ana Rodriguez ('25), Ursula Pena ('25), and D. Santiago Betancourt-Trompa ('27) presented a poster at the 2024 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference in Phoenix, AZ. 

NeuroBoston Fall 2024 Symposium

October 18, 2024. Dr. Soto Reyes, Lindsay Walsh, Caroline Murray ('25), and Michael Martinez ('25) attended and presented a poster at the NeuroBoston Fall 2024 Symposium. 

Fall 2024 Biology Speaker Series

October 10, 2024.  Dr. Soto Reyes gave a presentation about our research as part of the Fall 2024 Biology Speaker Series.

Soto Lab members presented at the 2024  RI-SURS

July 26, 2024.  At the end of the summer, Caroline Murray ('25) and D. Santiago Betancourt-Trompa ('27) presented a poster at the RI SURS conference at URI in Kingston, RI. 

2024 Summer Team!

May-August 2024. This past summer, one new student joined the lab: David Betancourt-Trompa (Santi) ('27). The team for this summer also included Izabella Espinar-SanMiguel ('25), Ana Rodriguez ('25), Ursula Pena ('25), Caroline Murray ('25), and Michael Martinez ('25). Along with our research assistant, Lindsay Walsh, we had another productive and fun summer!

End of the 2023-2024 Academic Year Lab Pictures

May 2024.  This year, the Soto Lab had  three graduates: Will Remillard, Kiley Flynn, and Natalia Anderson. Thanks for your work and contributions to the lab.

Soto Lab members presented at the 2024 NEURON Conference

April 11, 2024. Dr. Soto Reyes, Julia Carson ('25), Kayla Fordyce ('25), Michael Martinez ('25), and Will Remillard ('24) attended the NEURON Conference at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT.  Julia and Kayla presented a poster, while Will presented his second blitz at this conference!

Soto Lab members presented at the Cell Bio 2023 ASCB|EMBO meeting

December 2–6, 2023. Dr. Soto Reyes, Lindsay Walsh, and Kiley Flinn ('24) attended and presented a poster at the Cell Bio 2023 ASCB/EMBO meeting in Boston, MA.

Soto Lab Publication in PLOS One 

November 30, 2023. Two PC-Biology students contributed to this publication, first author Collin Macleod (’23), and Lucianne Rivera-Rosario (’23). 

PC Sigma Xi Research Honor Society Fall Symposium

November 22, 2023. Julia Carson ('25) and Kayla Fordyce ('25) presented a poster at the PC Sigma Xi Research Honor Society Fall Symposium.

Soto Lab members attended the 2023 Society for Neuroscience Conference

November 11–15, 2023.  Will Remillard ('24) and  Michael Martinez ('25) attended and presented a poster at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual meeting, Neuroscience 2023, in Washington DC. 

Soto Lab members attended the 2023 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference

October 26–28, 2023. Providence College students Ana Rodriguez ('25) and Julia Carson ('25) had the great opportunity to attend and present a poster at the 2023 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference in Portland, OR.

2023 Summer Crew!

May-August 2023. This past summer, five new students joined the lab: Izabella Espinar-SanMiguel ('25), Ana Rodriguez ('25), Ursula Pena ('25), Kiley Flinn ('24), and Michael Martinez ('25). Along with our research assistant, Lindsay Walsh, we had a productive and fun summer!

End of the 2022-2023 Academic Year Lab Pictures

May 2023.  This year, the Soto Lab had  six graduates: Lucianne Rivera-Rosario, Tiffany De Varona, Alex Ramos, Collin MacLeod, Mary Boghos, and Hayden Lens. We are grateful for your work and contributions to our lab projects.

Blitz presentation by Will Remillard at NEURON conference

April 23, 2023. Will Remillard ('24) presented a blitz titled  "Elucidating the effects of NPC1 deficiency in the postnatal development of mouse cerebellar microglia," at the NEURON Conference in Quinnipiac, CT.

Soto Lab Publication in Scientific Reports 

April 06, 2023. Four PC-Biology students contributed to this publication: Collin Macleod (’23), Mary Boghos (’23), Hayden Lens (’23), and Alex Ramos (’23).

2023 Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium

March 2023. Students Mary Boghos ('23) and Hayden Lens ('23) were selected to represent Providence College at the Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium in New York City. They presented the poster "Genetic disruption of metabolic balance in mouse cerebellar neurons causes deficits in the postnatal development of their dendritic tree and mouse motor skills."

Soto Lab members presented a poster at the 2023 ASBMB Conference

March 2023. Students Collin MacLeod ('23) and Alex Ramos ('23) presented the poster "Neurodevelopmental deficits precede Purkinje cell loss in a mouse model of Niemann-Pick Type-C disease" at the Discover BMB Conference in Seattle, WA.

Soto Lab members attended the 2022 SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference

October 27-29, 2022. Dr. Soto Reyes and 12 Providence College students had the great opportunity to attend the SACNAS NDiSTEM 2022 conference in San Juan, PR. Soto Lab members Alex Ramos (’23), Tiffany De Varona (’23), and Lucianne Rivera (’23) were part of the group of students that attended this conference. This conference is the largest multidisciplinary and multicultural STEM diversity event in our nation. The conference includes research presentations, professional development sessions, and an extensive Graduate School & Career Expo Hall.

NSF-CAREER Award transfer approved and NIH-R15 Grant Renewal awarded 

August-September, 2022. Dr. Soto Reyes has been awarded a renewal of the NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA/R15) to continue her research on how NPC1 deficiency impacts postnatal development of cerebellar Purkinje cells and microglia. In addition, the National Science Foundation has approved the transfer of her CAREER award to Providence College, allowing her to further investigate the role of metabolic signaling in Purkinje cell development.

Dr. Soto Reyes started her lab at Providence College

July 1 to September 1, 2022. Dr. Soto Reyes joined Providence College in July 2022, at a time when her laboratory space was still under construction and appeared unlikely to be completed before the start of the fall semester. Nevertheless, the pace and quality of the work were remarkable, and the Soto Lab was fully operational and ready for students on the very first day of classes in September.