Lab Members
Orna Issler, PhD
Assistant professor
Institute of Translational Neuroscience
Department of Neuroscience and Physiology
Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine
NYU Langone Health
Dr. Orna Issler earned her BA in Biology and Psychology from Tel-Aviv University in Israel, and her MSc and PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel from the Department of Neurobiology. During her graduate work in the laboratory of Alon Chen, she studied microRNAs in stress, anxiety, and depression. For her post-doctoral training, she joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in the Neuroscience department in the laboratory of Eric Nestler. There she expanded her interests to studying the role of long noncoding RNAs in mood disorders, focusing on sex-specific targets. For her research, Dr. Issler won multiple awards, including the ISPG Gershon Paper of the Year Award, the Leon Levy Fellowship, and the NARSAD Young Investigator Award. Collectively, Dr. Issler's expertise is in studying the role of noncoding RNAs in neuroscience, combining genome-wide assays and gene-to-behavior approaches to achieve real translational impact.
Maya is a postdoctoral researcher at NYU Langone studying the sex-specific roles of non-coding RNAs in stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions, including depression, attention, and memory disorders. She has a background in pain neuroscience, with her doctoral research focused on microglia-mediated synaptic remodeling and its role in anxiety-like behaviors in a mouse model of acute pain. Her research interests broadly include uncovering new, non-opioid ways to treat pain, often guided by Rumi’s line, ‘The cure for pain is pain’.
Nicolò Carmelo Mangraviti earned a BSc in Biotechnology and an MSc in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Sapienza University of Rome. He then moved to Maastricht University in the Netherlands for his PhD, where he studied cardiovascular diseases and characterized a series of lncRNAs involved in cardiac hypertrophy. After completing his PhD, he worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University, focusing on the role of lncRNAs in cancer. He later decided to embark on a new adventure with Prof. Issler, investigating the molecular functions of lncRNAs in psychological disorders such as depression and phantom pain. Outside the lab, he enjoys playing the piano and teaching improvisational theater.
Tyrique Richardson is a PhD student in the Neuroscience program at NYU. He earned a B.A. in Biochemistry and Psychology from Earlham College. Before joining NYU, Tyrique worked as a research assistant at the Mayo Clinic, where he investigated the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders, focusing on mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction. In collaboration with Dr. Robert Froemke, he explores transcriptional, epigenetic, behavioral, and synaptic plasticity changes in maternal brains from gestation through the postnatal period. His future research aims to identify biomarkers and investigate the potential trans-generational effects of postpartum depression, including its relationship to neurodevelopmental disorders."
Catherine Leckie is a PhD student in the Neuroscience program at NYU. She previously earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining NYU, she worked as a research assistant at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, where she investigated the epigenetic effects of environmental stress factors on oligodendrocyte function and the implication of these effects in psychological disorders. Catherine’s research interests broadly include gene-environment interactions in neuropsychiatric disorders, with a focus on the epigenetic mechanisms of stress resilience.
Apolline Savarit earned her BS in Biology from the Université of Bordeaux, and her MS in Neuroscience from the Aix-Marseille Université in France. During her internship at the Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives (Aix-Marseille Université), in collaboration with Boarding Ring, she studied the effectiveness of the Seenetic VR® in alleviating motion sickness. For her second graduate internship, she joined the laboratory of Jack Tsao in the Department of Neurology of NYU Langone Health to study phantom phenomena, particularly in spinal cord-injured patients. She pursued in the same laboratory as an Assistant Research Scientist and is now excited to be our lab manager.
Shambhavi Joshi is a senior at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in Colonization and Epigenetics. She has previously worked at the Chiosis Lab at MSK, where she helped develop an app to study the Epichaperome. She is excited to learn more about how physiological distress can have epigenetic consequences, and she hopes to connect that to her studies at Gallatin.
Juliette Yang is in her second year at NYU earning a BS in Neural Science and a minor in Math and Computer Science. As a high school student, she volunteered as a counselor for a national teen hotline, dealing with issues from breakups to suicide. She is excited to combine her passions of science and mental health and is grateful to be expanding her education in the Issler Lab.
Megha Rameshkumar is currently a sophomore pursuing a BS in Neural Science and a minor in Global Public Health at NYU. She has previous experience in medical consultation at Rutgers University’s Global Tuberculosis Institute, where she worked directly with physicians and institute staff to improve accessibility and efficiency of TB treatment, particularly among low socioeconomic areas. She is excited to pursue multi-disciplinary research combining neuroscience and mental health.