People

Dena B. Dubal, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist, Professor of Neurology at UCSF, and the David A. Coulter Endowed Chair in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease. She completed neurology residency, chief residency, and fellowship training in dementia at UCSF. Her laboratory investigates mechanisms of longevity, brain resilience, and female biology that promote healthy aging, advance women’s brain health, and protect against neurodegenerative disease. Her team discovered that the longevity factor klotho enhances brain function and made foundational discoveries revealing how the X chromosome shapes female resilience to aging and disease, opening new avenues for understanding women’s health and developing therapies. Her discoveries are published in leading journals, including Nature, Nature Aging, and Science Advances, and featured in the the New York Times, The Economist, and NPR. Her honors include the UCSF Chancellor’s Award for the Advancement of Women, NIA/AFAR Paul Beeson Award, Glenn Award, Grass Award, and Neuroendocrine Research Award, and she has held leadership roles with the American Neurological Association, JAMA Neurology, JAMA Women’s Brain Trust, Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, and Weill Institute for Neurosciences.

Claire earned her M.Sc. in Pharmacology and Physiology from King’s College London and her Ph.D. from the Open University UK, conducting research at the Roskamp Institute on lipid metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Her research identified early changes in lipid metabolism associated with AD pathology and APOE genotype. As a postdoctoral fellow in the Dubal lab, she investigates the aging kidney-brain axis and the longevity factor klotho to identify circulating factors and mechanisms of inter-organ communication that promote cognitive resilience. Outside the lab, Claire enjoys reading, nature walks, and exploring delicious foods with friends and family.

Jillybeth Burgado Carattini is a postdoctoral fellow in the Dubal lab investigating how the X chromosome influences brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and female brain resilience. She earned her Ph.D. in Dr. Nicola Allen’s lab at the Salk Institute, where she studied astrocyte contributions to Alzheimer’s disease. Her earlier research at the CDC and Emory University spanned infectious disease surveillance, metabolism, stress, and sex differences in brain health. Passionate about mentorship and expanding opportunities for underserved communities, Jillybeth also enjoys camping, hiking, traveling, and spending time with family.

Beril Erdogdu is a BCBI Postdoctoral Fellow between UC Berkeley and UCSF whose research focuses on developing computational and statistical approaches to understand how transcriptomic regulation shapes human brain development, aging, and disease. At the Dubal lab, she aims to build predictive models of neurodegenerative disease based on cell-free DNA.

Uday received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Chicago. He then joined the M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Rochester, where he completed a dissertation in neuroscience. He used electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and computational tools to show how amyloid beta pathology disrupts the activity of neuronal populations in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Today, as a research-track psychiatry resident at UCSF, Uday is working to understand how parent-of-origin mosaicism in the X-chromosome shapes vulnerability to mental illness.

Outside of research and patient care, Uday enjoys cooking, running, watching movies, and reading books about history.

Lauren earned dual B.A. degrees in English and Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley before joining the Dubal lab as a research associate, where she developed her interest in sex differences in neurologic disease. She subsequently entered the MD/PhD program at Washington University in St. Louis, where her doctoral research in Dr. Josh Rubin’s lab revealed sex differences in glioblastoma radiation sensitivity mediated by p21 and cellular senescence. Now a neurology resident at UCSF, Lauren has returned to the Dubal lab to investigate how pathogenic tau alters X chromosome gene regulation and influences female resilience to neurodegeneration. Outside the lab and hospital, she enjoys reading fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries, solving jigsaw puzzles, and hiking with her dog.

Francesca received her B.A. in Neuroscience from Boston University where she used electrophysiology to study learning and memory in Dr. Howard Eichenbaum’s lab. She then moved to Edmund Hollis’ lab at Burke Neurological Institute to evaluate the role of corticospinal neurons in motor learning and spinal cord injury. In the Dubal lab, she is studying the role of the X-chromosome in cognitive aging and neurodegenerative disease.

Outside of the lab, Francesca enjoys hiking, playing board games, video games, and reading.

Lina received her B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, where she studied glucocorticoid function in beige adipocytes. She is currently a student in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology program at UCSF. Currently, her research focuses on investigating liver-derived factors, their interactions with the hippocampus, and how these interactions influence brain aging and cognitive function.

Outside of lab, Lina enjoys cycling, going to concerts, and trying new restaurants in San Francisco.

Nilla Sivakumar is a graduate student in the Dubal Lab studying how the X chromosome is regulated in aging male and female brains. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with minors in history and biomedical research from UCLA, where she studied estrogen-sensitive neurons of the hypothalamus under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie Correa. She previously worked in the lab of Dr. Zachary Knight, studying the brainstem’s control of appetite. Outside of lab, she can be found haunting local libraries and movie theaters.

Veronika grew up in Portland, OR, but moved to the East Coast to earn her BS and MS degrees at George Washington University, where she studied Aβ and tau pathology in aged mammalian brains in Dr. Chet Sherwood’s lab. After graduating, she joined Dr. Jessica Tollkuhn’s lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where she used a mouse model of menopause to study how hormone depletion affects gene programs in the brain. Now in the Dubal lab, she is co-mentored by Dr. Ryan Corces at the Gladstone Institutes. Her project focuses on understanding differences between the maternal and paternal X chromosomes in the aging brain.

Dan Wang received her MD in Pediatrics from China Medical University and her MS in Clinical Laboratory Science from San Francisco State University. Before joining the Dubal Lab, she worked at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, where she studied alcoholism. Her research interests include investigating sex differences in neurodegenerative diseases and understanding the role of Klotho in health and disease. Outside the lab, she enjoys camping, hiking, and sewing.

Chen earned her bachelor’s degree in Preventive Medicine from the School of Medicine at Wuhan University of Science and Technology and later obtained her master’s degree in public health from the Beijing Institute of Medicine. Before joining the Dubal Lab, she worked at the Center for Disease Control in Tai’an City, China. Her research interests include aging, sexual dimorphism, and neurodegeneration, with a particular focus on animal behavior and molecular biology. She is also eager to expand her knowledge and develop new research skills and techniques. In her spare time, Chen enjoys cooking, shopping, and spending time playing with her lovely sons.