Andersen Lab

Dr. Andersen received her PhD from the Department of Biological Chemistry in the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received additional research training in the Department of Neurogenetics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Prior to arriving at the Buck Institute, Dr. Andersen held a faculty position in the School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Andersen has published more than 170 scientific papers and holds three current patents. She has been recognized for her research with a Parkinson’s Pioneer Award from the National Parkinson’s Foundation, a Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging, and a senior scholarship from the Ellison Medical Foundation. She was elected a fellow of the Society for Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine in 2013. She currently serves on the scientific advisory board for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Biology of Aging Program, on the editorial board of e-Neuro (Journal of Neuroscience’s e-journal), as a member of the Brookdale Institute on Aging, and as a council member for the Society of Neurotoxicity. Dr. Andersen has extensive experience working with both biotech companies and medical foundations, including Roche, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the National Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, and the American Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.

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  Nicholas Bergo  Research Assistant

  Nick Bergo recently joined the Andersen Lab in July 2023. He received his bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara in biochemistry, molecular biology and spent two years in the biotech industry working for Harpoon Therapeutics, a clinical stage immunotherapy company, and Lycia Therapeutics, a preclinical stage company pioneering therapeutics for extracellular protein degradation, where he assisted with the cloning and expression of biologics to support ongoing drug discovery and development programs at both companies.

  NBergo@buckinstitute.org

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  Manish Chamoli, PhD  Visiting Scientist

  Manish obtained his integrated master’s degree in biotechnology and then pursued a PhD in aging biology at the National Institute of Immunology in India. His early work focused on dietary restriction and the molecular pathways involved in extending lifespan and healthspan. Currently, his research centers on understanding the role of cellular quality control mechanisms in aging and age-related neurodegeneration, specifically by discovering new therapeutic interventions targeting dysfunctional cellular quality control during aging. He has significantly contributed to the field, publishing over 30 peer-reviewed articles, including in top-tier journals Nature Aging, Science, Cell Metabolism, Nature Communications, and PNAS. Manish was supported by a three-year fellowship award from the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation.

  MChamoli@buckinstitute.org

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  Shankar Chinta, PhD  Visiting Scientist

  Shankar Chinta earned his Ph.D. in neurochemistry from NIMHANS, India. As a postdoctoral fellow at Buck Institute, he investigated the molecular mechanisms contributing to cell death in Parkinson's disease, utilizing innovative transgenic mouse models developed in Dr. Andersen's laboratory. Currently, Shankar holds a faculty position at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Touro University California and serves as a visiting scientist at the Buck Institute. His current research focuses on unraveling the intricate relationship between inflammation and the onset and progression of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, with a primary emphasis on Alzheimer's disease (AD).

  SChinta@buckinstitute.org

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  Sahiba Dogra  Postbaccalaureate Researcher

  Sahiba recently graduated from Saint Mary's College of California with a bachelor's degree in Biology and a minor in Data Science. She has researched the role of ATPIF1 in mitophagy at SENS Research Foundation and has explored the effects of traffic-related air pollution on the onset of Alzheimer's Disease with her advisor at Saint Mary's. She is excited to further investigate mitochondrial dysfunction in the context of neurodegenerative disease at the Andersen lab. Outside the lab, she enjoys cross-stitching, sewing earrings, crocheting, and going for walks.

  SDogra@buckinstitute.org

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  Varunya Kattunga  Research Associate

  Varunya completed her Bachelor's degree in microbiology at UC Santa Barbara before pursuing a Master's in biomedical science at Charles R. Drew University. Her research at CDU focused on investigating the effects of novel small molecule drugs in triple-negative breast cancer, work that earned recognition through an American Cancer Society Grant. With a dedicated commitment to addressing health disparities and promoting equity through research and science, she approaches every project with passion and purpose.

  VKattunga@buckinstitute.org

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  Alexander Kifle  Research Associate

  Alex is from the North Bay, born and raised in Santa Rosa, CA. He attended Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to UC Davis. Although Pre-Med, Alex received a degree in economics due to his passion for mathematics and learning about how the world functions. In the Summer of 2022, after nearing completion of a Postbacc, Alex began an internship in the Andersen lab at the Buck Institute under Dr. Georgia Woods. After the internship, he accepted a position as a Research Associate in the Andersen lab. By primarily focusing on immunohistochemistry, Alex studies the effects of Urolithin A on Alzheimer’s Disease and the 3xTg Mouse Model. Alex hopes to gain valuable experience from his research before applying to medical school in Spring of 2024. In his free time, Alex enjoys watching and playing sports, including his new obsession, golf.

  AKifle@buckinstitute.org

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  Zachary Mayeri  Research Associate

  Having previously worked for Professor Daniela Kaufer on a disease model for age related memory loss and Alzheimer’s Disease at UC Berkeley, Zachary is excited to join Professor Julie Andersen and her staff. They aim to study the cellular mechanisms of aging with a focus on the pathways involved with mitochondrial dysfunction and its relationship to neurodegenerative disease. In his free time Zachary likes to exercise, go on hikes, attend live music concerts and engage with other scientists.

  zmayeri@buckinstitute.org

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  Shona A. Mookerjee, PhD  Research Scientist

  Dr. Mookerjee received her PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Rochester. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the Buck Institute until 2013, when she took a faculty position at Touro University California and an adjunct faculty position at the Buck Institute. She teaches in the Department of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Touro and conducted research in the Brand lab, where she also trained undergraduate and graduate students. Her work is focused on understanding the energetic budgeting of cells and the ways in which energy production and consumption affect cellular behavior in health, disease, and aging. Current projects include the role of ATP production in cellular differentiation and transformation and the characterization of the pathways that consume ATP during these processes. Dr. Mookerjee is also a lecturer in the Bioenergetics Master Class led by David Nicholls and Martin Brand.

  SMookerjee@buckinstitute.org

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  Anand Rane  Lab Manager & Senior Research Associate

  Anand is from Mumbai, India, and received a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Louisiana Tech University. He has been involved in basic scientific research in the Andersen lab over the past 12 years and has been working to understand the neuropathology underlying Parkinson’s disease to uncover both novel treatments and cures for the disorder. He is the co-author of 22 publications. Anand’s most recent independent research project involved identifying inhibition of the heat shock protein co-chaperone p23 as a novel therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease.

  ARane@buckinstitute.org

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  Minna Schmidt  Visiting Scientist

  Minna attended Brandeis University, where she received a bachelor’s degree with honors in chemical biology in 2013. She subsequently completed her master’s degree in chemistry at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 2015, as well as received her PhD from the joint Buck-USC Biology of Aging program in 2021. Minna’s current focus involves the study of exercise mechanisms in effecting changes to alpha-synuclein protein aggregation, a neuropathological hallmark of PD, by utilizing cell culture and C. elegans worm models.

  MSchmidt@buckinstitute.org

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  Cynthia Siebrand  PhD Student, USC-Buck Biology of Aging Program

  Cynthia holds a bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a master's degree in Drug Innovation from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Her research experience includes studying DNA damage and the unfolded protein response in aging, nutrient sensing and longevity, and phospholipid remodeling pathways in neural stem cells during aging. She worked as a research associate at UCSF, focusing on immune evasion of senescent cells. Cynthia is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the biology of aging at the USC-Buck joint program, aiming to develop innovative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

  CSiebrand@buckinstitute.org

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  Chaska Walton, PhD  Research Scientist

  Chaska received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Barcelona, Spain, in 2013. He then did a Master in Neuroscience while working as a research intern at the department of Psychobiology at the University of Barcelona, where he studied cognitive enhancement by glutamatergic receptor modulator compounds in rat models of aging. He continued his education at the CSIC/Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, where he completed his PhD in molecular bioscience in 2018, investigating neuronal cell division in mouse long-term primary neurons.

  CWalton@buckinstitute.org

One of the interests of the lab lays in studying how different Aβ aggregates can induce cellular senescence in brain cells. In the video, a 3D reconstruction of immunocytochemistry for neuron marker (MAP2, violet), astrocyte marker (GFAP, green), and amyloid beta markers for oligomers A11 (turquoise) as well as monomers, oligomers, protofibrils, and mature fibrils MOAB2 (red).

Amyloid beta (Aβ) is a fragment of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and is the major constituent of senile plaques, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as well as other toxic aggregates such as oligomers and protofibrils. Aβ aggregates are thought to trigger a cascade of events that lead to clinical AD years to decades after they first appear. How this cascade works is still a mystery to science and understanding it may hold the key to stopping AD. At the Andersen lab we think Aβ aggregates trigger a process called cellular senescence. Cellular senescence is routinely studied outside the brain as an oncosuppressive mechanism. When unchecked, cellular senescence is thought to be a driver of aging and age-related disease. Unlike the vast majority of organs, the brain is not equipped to resolve cellular senescence, making it susceptible to the accumulation of senescent cells for years. At the Andersen lab we are researching a cellular senescence as a normal physiological process taking place in the wrong place: a “a failure in the design” that may ultimately result in AD.