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George Z. Mentis, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator Associate Professor in Pathology and Cell Biology (in Neurology) Member Faculty of Motor Neuron Center at Columbia University |
Post-doctoral Research Scientists
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Nicolas Delestree, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Nicolas completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, France in June 2015, working on the cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in mouse models of disease. He joined the Mentis Lab in July 2015 and his current studies involve studies of synaptic dysfunction from descending pathways to the spinal cord (with emphasis on serotonergic transmission) in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Nicolas is a Fellow from the Association Francaise contre les Myopathies (AFM). |
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Danny M. Florez-Paz, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Danny completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Neuroscience Institute of Alicante, Spain in June 2016, studying the electrical and mechanical properties of proprioceptive neurons in mice. He completed a 2 year postdoctoral study with Ellen Lumpkin at Columbia University studying the role of extracellular matrix in mechanical transduction in cutaneous touch receptors. He joined the Mentis Lab in March 2019 and his current studies involve studies of sensory-motor refinement mediated by the classical complement pathway during normal development, as well as synaptic dysfunction of proprioceptive synapses in mouse models of spinal muscular atrophy. |
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Nandhini Sivakumar, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Nandhini completed her Ph.D. in Sensory and Motor Neuroscience from Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, from Georg-August University in Gottingen, Germany in May 2016, studying the synergistic SNARE modulators of neurotransmission. She completed a postdoctoral study in the Zeilhofer Lab at University of Zurich characterizing the spinal cord interneurons releasing the neuropeptide GRP responsible for the propagation of pruriception in mice. She joined the Mentis Lab in March 2019 and her current studies focus on the modulation of potassium channels in motor neuron firing during normal development and in the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy. |
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Lourdes Martinez-Silva, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Lulu completed her Ph.D. in Biophysics and Neuroscience from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) in Mexico City, Mexico in November 2014, studying the electrophysiological representation of scratching central pattern generator in the cerebellum. She completed a postdoctoral study in the Zytnicki Lab at Paris Descartes University studying the excitability of motor neurons and its relationship with denervation in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She joined the Mentis Lab in May 2019 and her current studies focus on understanding the cellular and neuronal circuit mechanisms involved in the locomotor central pattern generator in mice. |
Graduate students
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JoonHyung Park
Ph.D. candidate Joon entered the Ph.D. program in Pathobiology at Columbia University in September 2018. He holds a Bachelors Degree from University of Pennsylvania majoring in Biological Basis of Behavior. After a few months rotation in the Mentis Lab in 2019, Joon joined the Mentis Lab in September 2019. He will be studying the cellular changes in motor neuron properties in different mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. |
Technical team
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John G. Pagiazitis
Lab Manager and Ph.D. candidate John joined the Mentis Lab in October 2012. He holds a Bachelors degree in Biology from Long Island University. John has also enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece in December 2016. His studies are focused on the influence of descending pathways on motor neuron output during early postnatal development and its potential changes during the course of the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy. In addition, he is also responsible for providing technical support, as well as assist in the conduction and analysis of behavioral assays in animal models. |
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Geo Ables
Lab Technician B Geo joined the Mentis Lab in September 2020. He holds a B.Sc. in Biology from St. John’s University, NY in 2019. His main responsibilities include maintenance of the mouse colonies, genotyping and different biochemical assays used in the Lab. He is also involved in some of the behavioral studies in different projects in the lab. |
Lab Alumni
Estelle Drobac, PhD, Medical student, Paris, France
Emily Fletcher, PhD, Junior Group Leader, Perth Children Hospital, Australia
Christian Simon, PhD, Junior Group Leader, University of Leipzig, Germany
Sara Ebrahimi Nasrabady, MD. PhD, Research Fellow in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Anna Janas, MD. PhD, Pediatric Neurology, Stanford University
Joshua Chalif, MD. PhD, Resident in Neurosurgery, Harvard University
Aleksandra Vukojicic, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at Eli Lilly
Emily Fletcher, PhD, Junior Group Leader, Perth Children Hospital, Australia
Christian Simon, PhD, Junior Group Leader, University of Leipzig, Germany
Sara Ebrahimi Nasrabady, MD. PhD, Research Fellow in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Anna Janas, MD. PhD, Pediatric Neurology, Stanford University
Joshua Chalif, MD. PhD, Resident in Neurosurgery, Harvard University
Aleksandra Vukojicic, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at Eli Lilly
Mentis lab photo March 2021
Mentis Lab photo Aug 2019
Mentis Lab photo Dec 2016
Mentis Lab photo Feb 2014
