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George Z. Mentis, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator 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.
Associate 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.
Associate 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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Jahnavi Simhadri, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Jahnavi completed her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Northeastern University, in Boston, USA, Germany in May 2025, studying GIRK channels to better understand common and rare epilepsies under the mentoring of Dr Diomedes Logothetis. She also holds a Masters degree (Aug2022) studying the site of action of urea based activators of GIRK channels. She joined the Mentis Lab in November 2025 and her current studies focus on the characterization of the intrinsic properties of ventral spino-cerebellar tract neurons during early development. In addition, she will identify synaptic targets from VSCT neurons to other spinal interneurons. |
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Jiaxing Wang, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Jiaxing completed his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Univ of Tennessee Health Science Center in August 2024, screening and evaluating small molecule compounds and utilizing the most promising candidate as a tool molecule for target validation of TRPC3 in Alzheimer's disease models. He joined the Mentis Lab in September 2024 and his current studies focus on understanding the cellular and neuronal circuit mechanisms involved in the neurodegeneration in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by using morphological assays as well as electrophysiological techniques including EMG and tension recordings from adult mouse models of ALS. |
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Rachel Stingel, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Rachel was awarded a PhD in Interdisciplinary Biosciences & Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University (May 2026). She joined the Mentis Lab in July 2026. Her studies will be focused on the molecular and cellular mechanisms following epidural electrical stimulation in SMA mice. She will utilize anatomical, physiological and behavioral assays to assess the benefits of long term epidural stimulation in mouse models of SMA. She will also collaborate closely with Dr Capogrosso's group from Univ of Pittsburgh who are involved in epidural stimulation of SMA patients. |
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Lucy Liang, Ph.D.
Post-doctoral Research Scientist Lucy completed her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh in July 2026, studying spinal sensory modulation through GABAergic spinal interneurons and corticospinal inputs, in both healthy and stroke contexts, in non-human primates. She joined the Mentis Lab in September 2026, and her current studies focus on characterization of the intrinsic properties of ventral spino-cerebellar tract (VSCT) neurons during early development using intracellular electrophysiology. In addition, she will identify synaptic targets from VSCT neurons to other spinal interneurons, and ultimately combine anatomical, physiological, and behavioral assays to assess the cruciality of VSCT rhythmogenic properties for locomotor behavior. |
Graduate & Undergraduate students
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Paul Holzer
Medical Student, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany Paul is a medical student from Ruhr University, Germany and has joined the Mentis Lab as an ICEP student for one year. He joined the Mentis Lab in Sept 2025. Paul is interested in studying the anatomical features of ventral spinocerebellar tract (VSCT) neurons with particularly emphasis on their connectivity via their axon collaterals. In addition, he will be studying how VSCT neurons respond to various pathological conditions such spinal cord injury, ALS, SMA and other movement disorders. Paul is working closely with Dr Nicolas Delestree in the Mentis Lab. |
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Paul Schwarze
Medical Student, Univ of Vienna, Austria Paul is a medical student from Univ of Vienna, Austria and has joined the Mentis Lab as an ICEP student for one year. He joined the Mentis Lab in Aug 2026. Paul is interested in studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He will work together with Dr Jiaxing Wang (also in the Mentis Lab) to learn several physiological assays including CMAP and EMG as well as anatomical assays combined with behavioral assays using the SOD1-G93A mouse model of disease. |
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Gabriel Kohn
Medical Student, Univ of Leipzig, Germany Gabriel is a medical student from Univ of Leipzig, Germany and has joined the Mentis Lab as an Visiting International student for a short 3 months internship. Gabriel is spending a year in Dr Christian Simon's lab in Leipzig and joined the Mentis Lab in Aug 2026. Gabriel is interested in learning certain functional assays employed in the Mentis Lab, including whole cell patch-clamp from spinal neurons as well as in vivo EMG recordings from hindlimb muscles in mouse models. He will also advanced his knowledge and experience in advanced confocal microscopy. He will work together with Dr Danny Florez-Paz on SMA mouse models and with Dr Jiaxing Wang (both in the Mentis Lab) on ALS mouse models. |
Technical team
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Antigoni Lekka
Lab Manager Antigoni joined the Mentis Lab in September 2024. She holds a Masters degree in Applied Biology and Biotechnology from University of Athens, Greece. Her main responsibilities include maintenance of the mouse colonies, genotyping and different biochemical assays used in the Lab. She is also involved in some of the immunohistochemical assays coupled with confocal microscopy in different projects in the lab. |
Lab Alumni
Estelle Drobac, PhD, Medical doctor, Paris, France
Emily Fletcher, PhD, Group Leader, Perth Children Hospital, Australia
Christian Simon, PhD, Group Leader, University of Leipzig, Germany
Maria de Lourdes "Lulu" Martinez Silva, PhD, Group Leader, CINVESTAV, Mexico
Sara Ebrahimi Nasrabady, MD. PhD, Research Fellow in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Nandhini Sivakumar, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Michigan
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
JoonHyung Park, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at Penn
Emily Fletcher, PhD, Group Leader, Perth Children Hospital, Australia
Christian Simon, PhD, Group Leader, University of Leipzig, Germany
Maria de Lourdes "Lulu" Martinez Silva, PhD, Group Leader, CINVESTAV, Mexico
Sara Ebrahimi Nasrabady, MD. PhD, Research Fellow in Psychiatry, Columbia University
Nandhini Sivakumar, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Michigan
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
JoonHyung Park, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow at Penn
Mentis Lab photo Aug 2026
Mentis lab photo Dec 2025
Mentis lab photo Jan 2025
Mentis lab photo Dec 2023
Mentis lab photo June 2023
Mentis lab photo March 2021
Mentis Lab photo Aug 2019
Mentis Lab photo Dec 2016
Mentis Lab photo Feb 2014
