![]() |
Kristen Zuloaga, PhD
Associate Professor Director, Graduate Studies, DNET co-Director, Postdoctoral Development Program Kristen joined the Department of Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics (DNET) at Albany Medical College in February 2017. Kristen obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2011 and has been trained by leaders in the fields of neuroendocrinology (Dr. Robert Handa), cerebral vascular physiology and cerebral ischemia (Dr. Nabil Alkayed and Dr. Rayna Gonzales), aging and neurogenesis (MacArthur Fellow Dr. Sally Tempe). She has served as both Council member and Education co-Chair for the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences and currently serves on the Editorial Board for Biology of Sex Differences, Scientific Advisory Board for the Albert Research Institute for White Matter and Cognition, and is a standing member of the Chronic Dysfunction & Neurodegeneration (CDIN) study section for NIH. She is deeply committed to mentorship and is Co-Founder/Co-Director of the NY Capital Region Postdoctoral Development Program and Director of Graduate Studies in DNET. She has received funding at every stage of her career including her current NINDS R01, NIA U01, Alzheimer's Association AARG, and 11 other current or previous grants (NIH and multiple foundations). |
Charly Abi Ghanem, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Charly joined the Zuloaga Lab in August 2019. He received his PhD in Neuroscience from University of Paris-Saclay in France where he studied the role of the androgen receptor in sexual dimorphism and repair of myelin. Charly's current work focuses on the effects of menopause (in females) or androgen loss (in males) on white matter damage and inflammation in various forms of dementia. He has given numerous talks (OSSD, ISTAART PIA day, Steroid & Nervous System meeting and more) and won several awards from OSSD (best poster and travel awards). In 2022, he was elected as trainee member of the OSSD council and his work is funded by a Postdoctoral Fellowship from BrightFocus. |
Kasey Belanger-Mayer, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Kasey joined the Zuloaga Lab in January 2022. She received her PhD in Physiology from The Medical College of Georgia where she studied sex differences in immune cell activation in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Kasey's current workin the Zuloaga lab will focus on neurovascular interactions of Alzheimer’s disease risk genes. |
Olivia Gannon
Graduate Student Olivia joined the Zuloaga Lab in January 2018. Prior to joining the lab, Olivia was a technician in the Molecular and Cellular Physiology Dept at AMC. Olivia's main project focuses on determining the effect of menopause on VCID and assessing the therapeutic potential of brain-specific estrogen. Olivia's work is funded by an NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship. Olivia has received numerous other awards including a predoctoral fellowship from American Heart Association, a professional development award from Society for Neuroscience, travel awards (American Physiological Society, Alzheimer's Association, and Organization for the Study of Sex Differences) and awards from AMC including Excellence in Poster Presentations (2020, 2021) and the Dean's Certificate and Prize for Excellence in Extramural Research Activities (2020, 2021), and the Graduate Student Florence Hasteline Best Poster Award at from the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences. |
Lisa Robison, PhD
Collaborator/Tenure-track Assistant Professor, Nova Southeastern Univ Lisa joined the Zuloaga Lab as a postdoc in August 2017. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Stonybrook University where she studied how lifestyle factors, such as exercise, affect Alzheimer's disease progression. In 2020, Lisa became an Assistant Professor at Stetson University but continues to be a close collaborator with the Zuloaga Lab. Lisa's current work focuses on sex differences in the effect of chronic high fat diet in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and mixed dementia. Lisa has been an invited speaker at numerous conferences, such as the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences and Alzheimer's Association International Conferences. In 2020, she won the prestigious Elizabeth Young New Investigator Award from the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences. She is currently at Nova Southeastern University as a tenure-track Assistant Professor, where she opened her own lab in Fall 2021. She has already received her first grants as a PI from the American Heart Association and a fundable R03 score at NIH. |