Girgenti Lab

Meet our team

Principal Investigator

My research over the past 8 years has focused on postmortem studies of human brain in PTSD and related complex behavioral disorders. I’m a molecular neuroscientist interested in functional genomics and big data approaches to understanding molecular signatures of neuropsychiatric disease. I live on a horse farm in southwest Connecticut with my wife and two kids.

Google Scholar

Research Scientists

Catharine Duman, PhD

Associate Research Scientist

I use immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging in post-mortem human brains to investigate neuronal proteins that might be important to PTSD and depression. My previous work focused on developing and implementing methods for morphological analysis of dendritic spines and synaptic proteins in rat brains. I love the outdoors and when not at the microscope, I hope to be on a bike or planting trees.

Mario Skarica, MD

Associate Research Scientist

Rosemarie Terwilliger

Research Associate

Alexa-Nicole Leverington

Research Associate

As a research associate I am a jack-of-all-trades, but most of the projects I have been involved with investigate Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I perform molecular and behavioral studies and am learning more about genomics. When I have free time I like to hike, snowboard, rock climb, play guitar, and the list goes on.

Postdocs

Jiawei Wang, PhD

Postdoctoral Associate

I apply computational analysis to multiomics data of psychiatric disorders to elucidate their molecular mechanisms, especially MDD and PTSD. Outside of work, I enjoy playing squash and getting close to the nature.

Xiaoke Duan, PhD

Postdoctoral Associate

I use bioinformatics approaches to analyze PTSD samples, with a focus on ATAC and Hi-C data. My research aims to explore chromatin accessibility and 3D genome organization to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying PTSD.

Xiaoqiang Shi, PhD

Postdoctoral Associate

I use computational methods to investigate the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders by integrating multi-omics data. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and playing basketball.

PhD Students

John Lee Soto-Vargas

PhD Candidate

Netanya Dennis

PhD Candidate

I am interested in the effect of stress and PTSD on the Central and Peripheral nervous system using genetics and pharmacology. Outside of the lab, I enjoy reading, trying new foods, knitting and traveling.