Paola Giusti-Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Giusti-Rodriguez earned her BS in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras. She completed her PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology at Harvard University, where her doctorate research focused on studying the molecular basis of neurodegeneration. Her postdoctoral research was conducted at UNC Chapel Hill, where she studied antipsychotic side effects through mouse populations.
Luz M. Porras, Ph.D
Post Doctorate Fellow
Dr. Porras obtained her PhD in Genetics at the University of Barcelona-Spain, where she focused on programming and machine learning, developing pathogenic predictors. Her focus has been on experimental laboratory, particularly in molecular and cell biology. One of her contributions in the lab include the standardization of protocols for bioinformatic genetic analysis.
Adrian Concepcion
Undergraduate Research Assistant &
Hazardous Waste Manager
Adrian is a third year undergraduate student double majoring in Biology and Sociology on the Pre-Med track. He is the lab's hazardous waste manager and is working on several lab projects, including the COVARIS Pilot, cell culturing and differentiation into neurons, and the RDT project with mice. After graduating, he plans to go to medical school and specialize in cardiothoracic surgery.
Elizabeth Wright
Undergraduate Research Assistant & Bioinformatician
Elizabeth is a 4th-year undergrad at UF majoring in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience with minors in bioinformatics and statistics. Prior to joining the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab in January 2024, she worked with Dr. Nancy Padilla-Coreano and Dr. Shreya Saxena utilizing machine-learning methods to understand the neural circuits governing social behavior. In the Giusti-Rodriguez lab, Elizabeth develops and implements bioinformatics tools to examine RNA-seq and SNP data. She plans to pursue a PhD in neuroscience starting in Fall 2025.
Christian Williams
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Christian Williams is a second-year Health Science major on the Pre-Med track. He is currently involved with some of the lab's significant projects, one being single-cell split pool recognition. In addition to being a researcher, he is part of the University of Florida's competitive Speech and Debate team, traveling to places such as Nashville, Tennessee, and Rome, Georgia, to compete in national tournaments. After completing his undergraduate degree, he plans to get admitted into top medical schools through an MD or MD/Ph.D. program, with neurology as a top specialty choice.
Alicia Gleacher
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Alicia is a Pre-Health Biology student at the University of Florida in her second year. She is also involved in another research project through CUR's ENY2890C course, currently using metabarcoding to analyze biodiversity in Gainesville's microlepidoptera. She is maintaining some of the social media presence of the lab, as well as helping with general upkeep and wet-lab duties.
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Catia Machy
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Catia is a senior biology major minoring in bioinformatics at UF. She is from Hollywood, Florida, and transferred from Broward College. Her role in the lab is to assist with utilizing bioinformatics to process data for the lab. She plans to pursue a career in research, especially in neuroscience and human microbiomes.
Alumni
Gabriel A. Iglesias Maldonado
Gabriel worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from early 2022 to October 2024 as a Laboratory Manager and an Undergraduate Research Assistant.
Gabriela Martinez
Gabriela worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from February 2022 to August 2024 as an Undergraduate Research Assistant.
Rachel Eloy
Rachel worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from August 2023 to August 2024 as an Undergraduate Research Assistant.
Chelsey Leveque
Chelsey worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from August 2023 to August 2024 as a Post-Bacc Student.
Isabelle Rodriguez
Isabelle worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from January 2022 to June 2024 as an Lab Manager, Lab Technician, and Undergraduate Research Assistant.
Emily Val Tulio
Emily worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from Summer 2022 to June 2024 as a Lab Technician and Undergraduate Research Assistant.
Julian Tobon
Julian worked at the Giusti-Rodriguez Lab from January to October 2022 as a Lab Technician and Undergraduate Research Assistant.