People

Mary Jo LaDu, Ph.D.

Lab Staff

Student Research Associates

Mary Jo LaDu, Ph.D.

Position: Professor

Training: BA History, Grinnell College

PhD Physiology, University of Illinois at Chicago

Post Doc Pathology, University of Chicago

Lab Focus: Understanding increased AD risk in APOE4 females.

Response to COVID-19: https://vimeo.com/412895544

2017 UIC IGNITE Campaign: https://vimeo.com/250495470

2016 UIC College of Medicine Innovation Award: https://vimeo.com/184856761

Lab Staff

Name: Jason York

Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Degree: PhD Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Research Focus: Genetics and behavior of the EFAD mice in response to the universal biological variables of AD.

Name: Ana Carolina Valencia Olvera

Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Degree: PhD Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Research Institute UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico

Research Focus: Development of a mechanistic biomarker for AD in human plasma including oligomeric Aβ and modulation of the plasma lipoprotein profile.

Name: Deebika Balu

Position: Research Assistant Professor

Degree: PhD Biological Sciences (Neurobiology Program), University of Illinois at Chicago

Research Focus: Neuroinflammation in the EFAD mice in response to the universal biological variables of AD.

Juan Maldonado Weng

Degree: BSc General Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Cayey

Program: GEMS - Anatomy and Cell Biology

Thesis Title: The effects of the universal biological variables of AD on the gut microbiome.

Student Research Associates

Name: Shreya Magesh

Major: Honors College, Biological Sciences

Future Plans: Degree in medicine

Name: Clare Mielczarek

Major: Honors College, Neuroscience

Future Plans: Degree in medicine

Name: Maitri Shah

Major: Honors College, Biological Sciences

Honors/Grants: GPPA Medicine Program

Future Plans: Use the growing understanding of immune factors in pregnancy and placental development to determine reasons for pregnancy rejection, mechanisms to prolong at-risk pregnancies, and ways to transfer this knowledge to other medical needs, such as organ transplantation.

Name: Josh Clark

Major: Honors College, Biological Sciences

Honors/Grants: GPPA Pharmacy Program

Future Plans: Optimize infant survival by synthesizing human milk, capturing all its components and properties, and individualizing it to the characteristics of the infant’s mother.