Brikha R. Shrestha, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Affiliate Faculty, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Brikha grew up in Nepal and attended Brown University, where he studied Neuroscience, wrote for The Critical Review, and conducted research on the development of dendritic spines in the mouse hippocampus. He then earned a PhD in Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University studying molecular regulation of dendrite morphogenesis in Drosophila. As a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, he studied molecular diversity of auditory sensory neurons and uncovered an intriguing phenomenon of postnatal plasticity in their cellular identities. Molecular genetic frameworks underlying neuronal form and function have been his longstanding interests and continue to shape his research goals. Brikha loves to spend time outdoors, exploring hiking trails and bike paths all over New England.
Pierrick Bordiga, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Université d’Aix-Marseille
Pierrick has had a longstanding interest in synaptic plasticity, particularly in the context of sensory systems. Previously, he combined molecular, histological, and behavioral analyses to study synaptic damage and repair in vestibular and auditory systems across multiple rodent models. In our lab, Pierrick combines calcium imaging and next-generation genomics to chart cellular and molecular mechanisms that underpin plasticity of neuronal identities in the inner ear.
Lauren Celardo
Student Research Assistant (Bioinformatics)
B.A. candidate in Computational Biology, Cornell University
Lauren is broadly interested in applying computational tools in biomedical research and also has a specific interest in understanding auditory processing and human deafness.
Allison Shan
Research Assistant
B.A. in Neuroscience, Swarthmore College
During her undergraduate years, Allison conducted research on place cells and reward cells in the hippocampus to understand how the hippocampus processes goal-related information in spatial contexts. With a long-term aspiration to attend medical school, she holds a special interest in treatments and therapies aimed at addressing deafness. Allison grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and loves to run and spend time enjoying nature.
Benjamin Tibbetts
Student Research Assistant (Neuroscience)
B.S. candidate in Biopsychology, Tufts University
Ben is interested in studying the molecular development and diversification of Type I SGNs, as well as how this process could be disrupted due to disease. Outside of the lab, Ben enjoys playing the violin, hiking, writing poetry, and growing bromeliads.
Jiqing (Jacqueline) Zhu
Data Science Specialist, 2021-2022
Transitioned to: Genomic Data Scientist at Alector Therapeutics in San Francisco, CA
Amer Mansour
Research Assistant, Summer 2022
Currently a medical student at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
Jenny Jin
Data Science Specialist, Master's thesis research student, 2022-2023
Transitioned to: Data Scientist at Abiomed in Danvers, MA
