Current Scholars

Fatima Zahra Karkoub is a junior at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Women’s College where she studies biology on the pre-medical track with aspirations of becoming a physician scientist in the in the field of neurology. This past summer, under the direction of Dr. Carlo Colantuoni and Dr. Audrey Knight, her research focused on harvesting gene expression data from research on the central nervous system’s function in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) and understanding cognitive impairments associated with the infection.

Edian Cuevas is a junior at the University of Puerto Rico pursuing a major in Biology. As a John Hopkins NeuroPhyte Scholar during this summer 2020, she conducted an independent research project under the mentorship of Dr. Brett M. Morrison. Her research focused on the Role of Schwann cells P2X4R contributing to HIV gp120-induced painful neuropathy by releasing ATP from lysosomes altering DRG neurons in vivo. She wants to obtain a M.D/Ph.D. and continue her graduate studies at John Hopkins University.

Catalina is a junior at The University of Maryland College Park where she’s majoring in biology with specialization in neurobiology and physiology. She’s currently doing research with Dr. Amanda Brown. Their lab focuses on HIV and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). During the summer of 2020, Catalina focused on the relationship of HIV-1 Tat protein and NLRP3 inflammasome in microglia.

Hannah Greaves is a senior at Lafayette College where she studies biology and psychology. This is her second summer in the Brown Lab under the direction of Dr. Amanda Brown. Although her previous research with Dr. Brown examined the ability of HIV-1 to establish and maintain reservoirs within macrophages/microglia, she has spent this past summer evaluating the role of Heat Shock Protein (HSP-90) stress response in HIV-1 and HIV associated comorbidities. Following graduation from Lafayette, she is planning on attending an accelerated nursing program designed for students who have a bachelor’s degree in a field than nursing. She hopes to be able to combine her interest in nursing and her passion for research in her professional career.