Marina grew up in Lima, Peru and moved to the US after completing her B.Sc. in Biology at the National Agrarian University “La Molina”. For her PhD, she used zebrafish to study collective cell migration in the lab of Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski, first at the University of Utah and later at the Stowers Institute. She then moved to the NIH and joined the lab of Dr. Brant Weinstein, starting her postdoctoral work characterizing and studying the meninges in zebrafish. In 2023, she joined the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Utah, where she continues her research on the meninges as an Assistant Professor.

When outside the lab Marina enjoys walking, dancing and spending time with her family and friends. Although cooking is not something she likes to do daily, she will make sure she feeds you amazing homemade Peruvian food if you come visit!

Melanie was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. She began her scientific career as an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, where she worked in Kelly Monk's lab studying myelination in zebrafish. Following her graduation from WashU in 2015, she continued her training first as a research technician in Takeshi Egawa's lab studying lymphocyte lineage decisions, then as a research assistant in Lavinia Sheets' lab modeling noise damage in the zebrafish lateral line. Melanie moved to Salt Lake City to begin her graduate studies at the U in 2022 and has been living her best life ever since then!

Since joining the lab, Melanie's research has focused on understanding the roles of a unique leptomeningeal cell population (fluorescent granular perithelial cells, FGPs) in promoting meningeal angiogenesis. 

When she's not at the bench, Melanie can be found playing with her corn snake Fettucine (Fetty for short), hiking or camping somewhere in the mountains, in front of a sewing machine making excessively over-the-top outfits, or dancing her heart out at a concert (wearing one of the excessively over-the-top outfits, of course).

Adi is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and graduated from The University of Alabama in 2022 with a B.S. in biology and a minor in Spanish. Following graduation, Adi pursued a post-baccalaureate position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Jeremy Day's lab. Here she studied the neurobiology of motivated and learned behavior, while also investigating the neural substrates of addiction. Now at the U, Adi is glad to be away from the Southern humidity and excited to work with a new (to her) model organism.

Adi's project focuses on characterizing ependymin-expressing cells (EPDs), a distinct population localized to the leptomeninges. Adi is investigating the molecular and genetic features of these cells, along with their developmental origins. Her project also explores how disruption of EPDs through injury or disease impacts key neurodevelopmental processes.

Outside of her love for science, Adi enjoys watching and listening to documentaries (especially true crime), making "okay-ish" pottery, and napping with her cat, Miso. 

Allison grew up in Casper, WY, and attended the University of Wyoming for her bachelors. After graduating in 2022, she packed a U-Haul up and moved to Maryland; here, her passion for developmental biology blossomed under the mentorship of Dr. Katherine Rogers as an NIH postbac. Allison’s research focused on characterizing a suite of optogenetics tools capable of modulating cell signaling when exposed to blue light.

Upon joining the lab, Allison has been investigating the development of a unique meningeal perivascular macrophage (fluorescent granular perithelial cell, FGP) in zebrafish and the roles of the mannose receptor in sequestering pathogens and clearing the cerebral spinal fluid.

Beyond her scientific pursuits, Allison considers herself to be a collector of random hobbies, recently taking up watercolor painting, aerial yoga, and line dancing! She loves finding new gluten and dairy free recipes to try and hopes to one day own two corgis (named Toast and Butter, ironically).

Jasmin is a biology student interested in genetics, developmental biology, and all things that glitter. One of the things she values most about being in the lab is the opportunity for mentorship from fabulous and experienced researchers. Through studying meningeal development and pathogen response in zebrafish, she will also continue to build her research skills while gaining insight into the scientific process. Outside the lab, Jasmin love to be in the sun, either dancing around or reading a book and plays plenty of videogames when time allows.