We are currently recruiting graduate students! Please e-mail Dr. Tsai-Yi Lu if you’re interested in joining us!
Yen-Chen Liu
Lab Specialist
Yen-Chen graduated from National Taiwan Normal University with a B.S. degree in Life Science. Before joining the Lu Lab, Yen-Chen worked as a research assistant at Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University Hospital. Both are prestigious research institutes in Taiwan. Yen-Chen has gained experience in research projects studying GABA responses in early nervous system development, the tauopathy in Alzheimer’s disease, and beta oscillation in Parkinson’s disease. Yen-Chen is now focusing on OPCs and studying the interaction and homeostasis of oligodendrocyte lineage cells in Alzheimer’s disease.
Casey Bauchle
Ph.D. Candidate
Casey graduated from IUPUI with B.S. degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology in 2017. He then worked at the University of Iowa as a research assistant studying the metabolic underpinnings of insulin secretion before matriculating to UVA in 2020. In the Lu Lab, Casey is now researching reactive OPCs in Alzheimer’s disease and the mechanisms of synaptic pruning by OPCs in development. When not in lab, you’ll find him playing soccer, out with friends, or practicing his competitive yoyo tricks.
Berenice Almaguer
Ph.D. Student
Berenice graduated from Palomar Community College in 2020 with an AA in Italian, an AS in Math and Science, and an AS-T in Biology. While at Palomar, she was a Bridges to the Baccalaureate Scholar and was encouraged to pursue a PhD. She transferred to California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and graduated from there in 2023 with B.S. degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. While at CSUSM, Berenice was a Beckman Scholar and later a McNair Scholar. Before matriculating to UVA, she gained research experience in Dr. Julie Jameson’s immunology lab where she studied the relationship between skin-resident gamma delta T cells and the NP1R+ neurons during wound repair; she was also in Dr. Kang Du’s inorganic chemistry lab where she redesigned binucleating ligands to engender magnetic double exchange in mixed-valent diiron complexes. In the Lu Lab, Berenice is studying how oligodendrocyte lineage cell homeostasis is disrupted during aging and degenerative diseases. When not in the lab, you can find Berenice reading, writing, traveling, exercising, and drinking tea!