REC Scholar 2024

Dr. Gengsheng Chen is a Senior Scientist in the department of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her PhD in Computational Biophysics at University of Missouri, Columbia, which was followed by a three year T-32 postdoc training in Genetic Epidemiology. She has been working with Dr. Benzinger since 2018, where she is focused on how baseline and longitudinal biomarkers predict cognitive decline for individuals with early stage Alzheimer disease. She is also studying brain network using graph theory and works with Dr. Benzinger as well as Dr. Cruchaga to investigate genetic risk factors for Alzheimer disease progression.

• Email: allisonchen@wustl.edu

Dr. Eva Klinman is an Instructor in Neurology and works in the lab of Dr. Andrew Yoo. She completed her neurology residency and fellowship in movement disorders at WashU. During her PhD at UPenn she studied organelle transport and microtubule motor proteins in an ALS system. In the Yoo lab, she is studying the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction and cytoskeletal disarray to the onset and progression of neurodegeneration. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her puppy (Midna), her 30+ freshwater fish, and painting fun designs on her nails.

• Email: eklinman@wustl.edu

Dr. Tom Lin is an instructor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, working with Dr. Benjamin A. Garcia. He completed his PhD research in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Tennessee and postdoc training in Chemical Proteomics at the University of Pennsylvania. His primary research focuses are the discovery, biological functions, and therapeutical potentials of posttranslational arginylation using chemical, proteomic, and biochemical approaches. One of his main projects is to unveil the roles of arginylation in the progression of tauopathies and Alzheimer disease.

• Email: zongtao@wustl.edu

Dr. Emily Willroth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. She investigates how components of psychosocial wellbeing (e.g., life satisfaction, sense of purpose, social connection) vary and change across time, both in the short-term from moment-to-moment and in the long-term across the adult lifespan. She applies insights from this research to examine links between psychosocial wellbeing and important health outcomes in middle and older adulthood, such as cognitive decline, dementia, and stroke.

• Email: emily.w@wustl.edu