Rossignol Lab Members
Julien Rossignol
Principal Investigator
Julien grew up in France. He holds degrees in cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics and neuroscience from the University of Nantes and the University of Orleans in France. As a faculty member in the College of Medicine, Julien leads a team of undergraduate and graduate students and medical students working to deliver cell therapy and genomic editing to the brain through human-made dendrimer molecules. The approach could apply to treatment for conditions such as stroke, glioblastoma, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.
Bhairavi Srinageshwar
Research Associate
Bhairavi grew up in Chennai, India. She received her bachelor’s degree in genetic engineering from SRM University, Chennai and completed a one-year research/work experience in the Clinical Genetics lab at Christian Medical College, Vellore. Bhairavi is currently working on dendrimer based gene and drug delivery for Huntington’s disease, glioblastoma multiforme and stroke.
Darren Story
Research Associate
Darren Story completed his doctoral degree at Central Michigan University in Applied Experimental Psychology. He then worked on postdoctoral research at Michigan State University. Darren has returned to Central Michigan University to continue his postdoctoral research focusing on behavioral neuroscience and translational medical research treating neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease.
Nadia Allahyarzadeh
Graduate Student
Nadia grew up in Iran. She received her bachelor's degree in cellular and molecular science, biotechnology from Higher Education Institute of Rab-Rashid, Iran. She also received her master’s degree in cellular and molecular science, genetics from the Islamic Azad University of Tabriz, Iran. She is currently a doctoral student in neuroscience at Central Michigan University. Nadia is currently working on dendrimer-based gene and drug delivery for glioblastoma.
David Doyle
Graduate Student
David grew up in Linden, Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree in biology from Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2018 and matriculated at Central Michigan University's College of Medicine in 2020. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in neuroscience, with a specific focus on Huntington's disease and the use of GM1 ganglioside. He also works on projects related to aging and progesterone.
Osheen Dubey
Graduate Student
Osheen grew up in Gwalior, India. She has a master’s degree in industrial microbiology and a bachelor’s degree in zoology, botany and chemistry from India. She is currently a graduate student in the biochemistry, cell and molecular biology program. She is working on the effectiveness of dendrimer-based siRNA delivery in cells in comparison to RNAimax siRNA delivery to knock down specific genes.
Lucas Garmo
Graduate Student
Lucas is from Farmington Hills, Michigan. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wayne State University in 2019 and matriculated at Central Michigan University's College of Medicine in 2021. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in neuroscience with a specific research interest in the optimization of certain treatment delivery systems within neuroinflammatory conditions. His current investigations include the delivery of treatments using dendrimer nanoparticles utilizing models of both spinal cord injury and glioblastoma.
Kayla Kisthardt
Graduate Student
Kayla grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with a minor in philosophy from Bucknell University. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in experimental psychology. Kayla is working with other graduate students on the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease - induced by the insulin cell toxin, streptozotocin (STZ) - with the anti-diabetic drug, liraglutide (LIR).
Negin Mojarradlangroudi
Graduate Student
Negin grew up in Iran and has completed both a bachelor’s degree in anesthesia nursing and a Master of Science in Physiology from the Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. She has conducted research on spinal cord injuries and neuropathic pain at the Physiology Research Center at Iran University of Medical Sciences. In addition to her academic achievements, Negin has worked as a nurse anesthetist in hospitals for five years and passed a two-year internship at the Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Currently, Negin is working on combinational treatments for spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease and neurodegenerative diseases.
Arjun Poudel
Graduate Student
Arjun grew up in Nawalparasi, Nepal. He received his bachelor's degree in physical therapy from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health and Sciences in Bangalore, India. After working as a physical therapist he came to Central Michigan University to receive his master's degree in health services administration and is currently a graduate student in neuroscience. Arjun is currently working with other graduate students on their projects with stroke and dendrimer nanomolecules.
Claire Noe
Undergraduate Student
Claire grew up in Grand Blanc, Michigan. She is an undergraduate student pursuing a double major in neuroscience and psychology. She is currently involved in research focused on using gene therapy and dendrimer nanomolecules for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Kayla Reed
Undergraduate Student
My name is Kayla. I am an undergraduate student at CMU and am applying to medical school in 2024. I enjoy volunteering within the community and taking part in many campus activities. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends as well as hiking and working in the Neuroscience lab.
Sara Schwind
Undergraduate Student
Sara grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. She is a junior at Central Michigan University with a double major in neuroscience and psychology. She is currently involved in research focused on enhancing recovery after stroke.
Anusha Uprety
Undergraduate student
Anusha Uprety was born in Kathmandu, Nepal. Anusha is majoring in neuroscience (clinical health concentration) and psychology (mental health concentration). Currently, Anusha is working on IL-10 delivery in a neuroinflammation mouse model using PAMAM dendrimers and delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 Plasmid in hypoxic adult rat primary astrocytes using PAMAM dendrimers to convert the astrocytes into neuroblasts. Besides these two projects, Anusha is also actively involved in the projects of graduate students such as the delivery of progesterone and CRISPR/Cas9 as a treatment for stroke rat model using PAMAM dendrimers, multi-model treatments for Spinal Cord Injury, and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's disease.
Past and present volunteers from the College of Medicine
- Elizabeth Nisper
- David Doyle
- Garrett Richardson
- Nathanial Bartosek
- Bradley Miller
- Joshua Richmond
- Firas Shalabi
- Maria Florendo
- Alex Figacz
- John Sturgis
- Anthony Dils
- Thomas Fagan
- Joseph Zhou
- Rachel Kim
- Michael Fana
- Eric Kuhn
- Joseph Hellrung
- Harrison Schurr