Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (PSTP)

Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology Dr. Forcelli’s website Dr. Forcelli’s profile
paf22@georgetown.edu
202-687-7825
Office: NRB W214
Education: Ph.D. (Neuroscience), Georgetown University, 2011
Current Research:  Research in the laboratory focuses on the neural circuitry underlying seizure propagation, complex behaviors, and the pharmacological treatment of neonatal seizures. We use a combination of approaches ranging from biochemistry and histology to neurophysiology (in slice and in intact animals) to behavioral monitoring and circuit manipulation (pharmacological, optogenetic, chemogenetic) to neuroimaging.

Professor, Oncology, Pharmacology & Medicine
Dr. Wellstein’s website
Dr. Wellstein’s profile
Anton.Wellstein@georgetown.edu
202-687-3672
Office: E311A, New Research Bldg
Lab: E311 New Research Building
Education: M.D./Ph.D. (Clin. Chemistry/Pathology) J.Gutenberg-University, Mainz/Germany
Current Research: Dr. Wellstein trained as an MD & PhD (Pharmacology) in Germany and then on a sabbatical at NCI/NIH to study growth factor signaling in breast cancer in Marc E Lippman’s lab. He was then recruited to the faculty of Georgetown University in the Departments of Pharmacology and Oncology, where he is a tenured Professor. His lab discovered that the receptor for the growth factor pleiotrophin is ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) and defined the role of secreted binding proteins for FGF (FGFBPs) in cancer, physiology, and development. Dr. Wellstein’s work is focused on tumor / stromal interaction with a particular emphasis on the activity of FGFs and the pleiotrophin/ALK signaling pathways. His major interest is in mechanisms of cancer invasion and metastasis. His laboratory studies cellular, molecular and biochemical signal transduction mechanisms in vitro as well as in tumors, transgenic and knockout animal models and clinical samples. Published >170 papers.

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Rebekah Evans

Research Interests: Neurodegeneration, Basal ganglia circuitry, exercise and motor learning

Education: North Carolina State University, B.S., Biological Sciences – Molecular, Cellular, Developmental, 2022

About: Lindsey is conducting her thesis research focused on understanding how exercise modulates circuitry and activity in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), a brainstem structure involved in motor learning. Lindsey uses a plethora of techniques including stereotaxic surgeries, two-photon calcium imaging, whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, and optogenetics. In conducting these experiments, Lindsey hopes to uncover how exercise alters circuitry and activity within the PPN, and ultimately it will provide more insight into the role that exercise plays in enhancing motor learning and in neuroprotection.

Rotations:

Dr. Tingting Wang

Dr. Rebekah Evans

Dr. Kathy Sandberg / Dr. Aline de Souza

Thesis Advisors: Dr. Tinatin Brelidze, Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Research Interests: Ion channels, Neuropharmacology

Education: University of California, Davis, B.S., Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, 2022

About: At the University of California, Davis, Clementine worked in Dr. Ricardo Maselli’s lab studying an AAV9-mediated gene therapy on mice with Choline Acetyltransferase deficiencies, which is one possible cause for presynaptic Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes. From there, she joined the Pharmacology & Physiology Ph.D. Program at Georgetown, and decided to do her thesis work in Dr. Tinatin Brelidze’s lab. The Brelidze lab studies ion channels, specifically KCNH channels, a family of potassium-selective voltage-gated ion channels that are expressed in the heart and brain. Clementine focuses her research on the KCNH4 channel, and uses biochemistry techniques, fluorescence-based methods, and zebrafish as an animal model.

Rotations:
Dr. Tinatin Brelidze

Dr. Gerard Ahern

Dr. Sreejith Nair

Thesis Advisors: Dr. Ludise Malkova, Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Research Interests: Neuropharmacology, Psychopharmacology, Primatology, Social Neuroscience

Education: Miami University, B.A., Psychology & Journalism – Biopsychology, 2017; Chicago School of Professional Psychology, M.A., Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2021

About: Carleigh’s undergraduate research was conducted under the mentorship of Terri Messman PhD at Miami University, investigating the relationship between specific traumatic experiences and the development of Hoarding Disorder. Additionally, she contributed to research studying the impact of traumatic life experiences on emotion regulation. Carleigh also worked as a post-baccalaureate research fellow for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 2020 to 2022 in the Section on Behavioral Neuroscience under Yogita Chudasama PhD. Here, she investigated the effects of dopaminergic and adrenergic agents in decision-making and impulsivity. Carleigh’s thesis work, conducted under the supervision of Ludise Malkova PhD and Patrick Forcelli PhD, explores the effects of focal and systemic pharmacological modulation on social behavior.

Rotations:
Dr. Alexey Ostroumov

Dr. Ludise Malkova

Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Research Interests: Neurodegeneration

Education: Princeton Universit, B.S. Molecular Biology

About: Dave is an MD-PhD student in the Forcelli Lab as a part of the IPN. Broadly, he is interested in neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and the pathogenesis of disease in the CNS. In the Forcelli Lab, he researches the contribution of senescent cells to the development of multiple forms of epilepsy, using techniques ranging from electrophysiology to behavior tests. When he isn’t in the lab, Dave spends his time winning pub trivia, baking, or hanging out with his wife, Chris, and his dog, Chip.

Rotations:

Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Dr. Italo Mocchetti

Dr. Jeffrey Huang

Thesis Advisor: Anna Riegel, Dr. Chunling Yi

Research Interests: Cancer Pharmacology, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Education: University of Maryland, Biochemistry

About: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, with metastasis playing a significant role. Rohith’s thesis project proposes to investigate the mechanism of action underlying TEAD inhibitors (TEADi) effects in triple-negative breast cancer through direct effects on the tumor and stroma along with how they could be used as potential adjuvant therapy to current standard of care therapeutics. This research will be important to assess clinical relevance of TEADi and provide further insight into metastatic breast cancer mechanisms leading to new molecular targets for future breast cancer therapies.

Rotations:

Dr. Ludise Malkova

Dr. Anna Riegel

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Kenneth Kellar

Research Interests: Neuropharmacology, Synaptic Plasticity, Translational Science

Education: University of Medical Sciences of Havana (UCMH), MD, 2012; State University of New York at Buffalo, MS, Pharmacology and Toxicology, 2022

About: After completing his medical school training, Reniel gained experience in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and earned his MS in Pharmacology and Toxicology from SUNY at Buffalo in 2022, where he conducted research under the guidance of Dr. Samir Haj-Dahmane. His work focused on employing electrophysiology and optogenetics to investigate how endocannabinoid signaling modulates synaptic plasticity in circuits associated with reward-negative processing. Currently pursuing his PhD at Georgetown University under the mentorship of Dr. Kellar, Reniel’s research is centered on exploring the role of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) in animal models of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Rotations:

Dr. Daniel Pak

Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Dr. Kenneth Kellar

Thesis Advisors: Dr. Rebekah Evans and Dr. Kathleen Maguire-Zeiss

Research Interests: Electrophysiology, Neurodegeneration, Neuropharmacology, Synaptic Plasticity

Education: Northeastern University, B.S., Behavioral Neuroscience, 2014; Georgetown University, M.S., Pharmacology, 2019

About: Megan’s thesis research focuses on dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), a population known to degenerate in Parkinson’s disease. She studies the characteristics of SNc subpopulations and the differential effects of muscarinic activation on these neurons, primarily utilizing ex vivo patch clamp electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry.

Before entering the PhD program, Megan worked for Seracare Life Sciences in their Product Development and Custom Manufacturing teams, producing custom reference materials for diagnostic testing. While completing her Master’s, she worked with Dr. Dan Pak developing new GFP and Luciferase-based assays for understanding the roles of Alzheimer’s Disease risk factors APP and tau. As an undergraduate, Megan worked at Harvard Medical School with Dr. David VanVactor studying the role of microRNA’s in neuromuscular development in Drosophila melanogaster. She also worked in the Laboratory for Neurogenomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital under Dr. Clemens Scherzer contributing to the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Biomarker Study.

Rotations:
Dr. Rebekah Evans
Dr. Tingting Wang

Thesis Advisor: Dr. Tinatin Brelidze Dr. Anton Wellstein

Education: Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, B.Sc., Pharmaceutical Science, 2019

About: After graduating from the University of Freiburg in Germany in 2019, Joos participated in a post-baccalaureate research program at the National Institutes of Health. Here, he researched genetic risk factors associated with Parkinson’s Disease using genotyping technologies and bioinformatic approaches. In 2021, Joos started his Ph.D. at Georgetown University and joined Dr. Brelidze’s lab. Currently, he is researching the Ether-a-go-go 1 (EAG1) potassium channel, a voltage-dependent ion channel. While typically the expression of this channel is almost exclusively in the brain, the EAG1 channel has been shown to be overexpressed in many cancers. His current projects focus on how the EAG1 channel contributes to tumor progression, as well as characterizing several EAG1 channel modulators as potential cancer therapeutics.

Rotations:
Dr. Mark Burns
Dr. Anton Wellstein
Dr. Kathleen Maguire-Zeiss
Dr. Tinatin Brelidze

Thesis Title: Currently pre-thesis

Education:
University of Seattle, BS;
Georgetown University, MS in Integrative Neuroscience

Thesis Title: Currently pre-thesis

Mentor: Daniel Pak

Education: 
The University of Maryland – Baltimore County, BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The University of Iceland – Háskóli Íslands, MS in Medical Life Sciences

ejw68@georgetown.edu

Thesis Research: I use behavioral and molecular techniques to understand the acute and chronic outcomes of anti-seizure drugs on brain development
Advisor: Dr. Patrick Forcelli

Research Interests:
neurodegeneration, neurotoxicity, neuroinflammation, neuropharmacology

Education:
Morehouse College, B.S. in Biology, 2017

Prior Research: Eric graduated from Morehouse College with a B.S. in Biology in 2017. During his undergraduate matriculation he joined the lab of Dr. Kennie Shepherd where he studied the effects of fumaric acid (FA) on cell induced toxicity and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in a Parkinson’s Disease mouse model. Following graduation, Eric participated in the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at the University of South Carolina where he worked under the supervision of Dr. Marlene Wilson. His project focused on using a combination of molecular techniques to characterize acetylcholinesterase (ACHE) levels in subjects previously tested for fear extinction. Eric started his PhD at Georgetown University in 2018 and has several ongoing projects. He is currently examining the toxicity profiles of next-generation anti-seizure medications (ASMs) on brain development, and his doctoral thesis investigates the underlying mechanisms of how early life inflammation influenes anti-seizure medication associated toxicities.

Rotations:
Dr. Gerard Ahern
Dr. Tingting Wang
Dr. Patrick Forcelli