Our Team
Principal Investigator
Zhuhao Wu, PhD
zhuhao.wu@mssm.edu
Zhuhao obtained a PhD in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, working on cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating the initial sensory circuitry assembly using Drosophila genetics in Dr. Alex Kolodkin’s laboratory. During his postdoc at the Rockefeller University with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, he further studied how brain circuitries are precisely formed under guidance signaling regulations, and how they may get disrupted in mutant and injury. To facilitate studying complex biological tissues and neural structures, he developed advanced tissue clearing and imaging techniques (iDISCO, iDISCO+, and Adipo-Clear) to visualize fine molecular and anatomical patterns in large intact organs. He set up his lab at Mount Sinai in 2019, continuing both technical development and biological exploration to reveal the secretes of brain development and disease.
After work, Zhuhao enjoys bouldering with friends, and now jogging in the park.
Kasey Bowyer | Research Assistant
kasey.bowyer@mssm.edu
Kasey graduated as a Neuroscience major from Princeton University in 2021. While at Princeton, he worked as a research assistant in the Princeton Center for Health and Wellbeing where he managed large health and NJ pollution data sets. Additionally, he explored the role that certain visual effects play in online sensory motor integration in his senior thesis. Kasey joined the Wu lab in the summer of 2021 and is excited to be playing an active role in the advancements of neural imaging techniques. He is looking forward to the evolution of whole, human brain imaging and its applications in unlocking many of the mysteries surrounding neurodegenerative diseases. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends, reading, painting, and exploring the city.
Ansa Malik | Research Assistant
ansa.malik@mssm.edu
Ansa graduated from Kennesaw State University with a major in biology and a minor in mathematics. During her undergraduate career, she investigated the developmental effects of both lorazepam and cannabis in developing zebrafish embryos. Ansa joined the Wu Lab in January 2022 and is eager to learn how to optimize the delipidation and clearing processes for various brain tissue. In her spare time, she likes to play lacrosse, paint, and do arts & crafts.
Shang Mu | Assistant Professor
shang.mu@mssm.edu
Shang had his PhD in engineering from University of Florida bridging medical imaging with the mechanics of human joints, and was a technical lead at developing the Stryker/Mako orthopedic hip replacement surgical robots in Ft Lauderdale, FL. Transitioning into neuroscience, at MIT and Princeton University he worked with Prof. Sebastian Seung on petabyte-sized electron-microscopic image datasets and high throughput neuron (and organelle) 3D reconstructions, and studied properties, connectomes and classification of retinal neurons and brain cells in general. Shang counted (computationally, of course) the number of cells in a full fruit fly brain and established that to be 133,000. Plus, there are close to a hundred types of neurons in your retina!
Shang is an adventurous skier and hiker but would pick water sports in a heartbeat over either, and is apparently regarded by some of his friends to take good photos.
Vrinda Saxena | Research Associate
vrinda.saxena@mssm.edu
Vrinda has completed a residency in Psychiatry and was a practicing psychiatrist in India before moving to New York City. She joined the lab in early spring, 2022 to pursue her research interests in neuroscience and eventually plans to do a residency from NYC. She is keen on working in advancement of neuroimaging techniques in neurodegenerative disorders and ultimately wants to work in a way that impacts patient wellbeing.
In her free time, she likes to go for runs, hikes and explore new activities. She also carves miniatures out of chalk and plays the 100 stringed Persian instrument Santoor!
Ava Shipman | Research Assistant
ava.shipman@mssm.edu
Ava completed her undergraduate studies at Wellesley College, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in English. After graduation, she worked in the Kiraly Lab at Mount Sinai researching the gut-brain axis on neuropsychiatric disorders. She joined the Wu lab in May 2022, and is interested in learning tissue clarifying techniques and using them to image whole brains with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. She is passionate about mentorship, especially in science and academia, and partakes as a mentor for high schoolers and undergrads at the Science Mentorship Institute. In her spare time, Ava enjoys running in the park, playing soccer, and exploring the city.
Wei Wang, PhD | Postdoctoral Fellow
wei.wang2@mssm.edu
Wei received her BS in biological sciences and biotechnology from Tsinghua University, China. She then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and got her MS in Genetics. Later, Wei trained with Dr. Stephen Baylin at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute for her PhD in Human Genetics, studying the role of epigenetics in tumorigenesis. She joined the lab in May 2019 to study the dynamics of neural structures during neural development and degeneration.
Janet Xu | Research Assistant
janet.xu@mssm.edu
Janet completed her undergraduate studies at Manhattanville College, majoring in biochemistry. Prior to joining the lab, she worked on a research project focused on identifying potential biomarkers for concussion. She joined the Wu lab in March 2021 and is interested to understand how the brain functions in healthy and injured populations using imaging techniques. In her free time, she enjoys running and exploring new places to eat in the city with friends.
Alumni
Salwa Najmi | Undergraduate Researcher
Salwa Najmi was studying at the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter double majoring in Biochemistry and Arabic Language and Culture. In her time in the Wu Lab from 2019-2020, she contributed to the processing, imaging, and analysis of biological tissues, particularly the brain, in hopes of better understanding neural structures. This past summer, she worked with Dr. Micaela Elvira Martinez in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University on digitizing and analyzing data from the NYC Department of Health on the racial and ethnic disparities of the COVID-19 public health crisis. As an aspiring physician, she hopes to combine her interests in science with her passion for patient advocacy in future research projects. She will be attending the Icahn School of Medicine following her undergraduate studies.
Yanyan Guo | Visiting Masters Student
Yanyan was a visiting student from Southeast University in Nanjing, China. Building on her undergraduate studies in applied mathematics completed at Shandong University of Science and Technology, she is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Technology with a focus on Computer Vision. At her home institution, she researches automated neuron reconstruction under the guidance of Prof. Hanchuan Peng at the SEU-Allen Joint Center. She joined the Wu Lab from February 2020 to January 2021. Here, she worked on building an advanced image processing and data analysis pipeline for the whole mouse brain.
Razna Ahmed | Undergraduate Researcher
Razna Ahmed was a Yalow Scholar at Hunter College pursuing a major in Human Biology and minors in Chemistry and German. Razna was a member of the Wu Lab from June, 2019 to April, 2021, during which time she performed processing, sectioning, imaging, and analysis of biological tissues, mainly mouse and marmoset brains. Her goal was to better understand neural structures and their functions to define how they dictate human behavior and health. In her free time, Razna enjoys reading, writing, and playing the guitar.
Anna Kolstad | Research Assistant
Anna joined the Wu Lab in 2018 after completing her undergraduate studies at Princeton in electrical engineering. During her time in the Wu Lab, Anna led the development of our monoclonal antibody-based proteomic atlas and used imaging approaches to map the architecture of central and peripheral neural systems in multiple collaborative research projects. Anna left the lab in spring of 2021 to pursue MD/PhD training at the University of Rochester.
Jiacheng Guo, MS | Associate Researcher
Jiacheng obtained his MS in Computer Science and Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the Wu Lab in 2020. Following his interest in 3D imaging techniques and computer vision technology, he worked on 3D imaging of cleared brain, data processing, and analysis. Jiacheng left the lab in early 2022 to join a cloud-based IT company in San Francisco.
Natalya Krutovska | Undergraduate Researcher
natalya.krutovska14@myhunter.cuny.edu
Natalya was an undergraduate studying on behavioral neurobiology at Hunter College. As a research intern, she aimed to deepen her understanding of the development and disruption of neural circuits. Her ultimate goal is to be able to impact the lives of patients through translational neuroscientific research. During her time in the lab from 2019 to 2022, Natalya had been working on the antibody validation project and the DDX3X syndrome collaborative study with Dr. Silvia De Rubeis lab. Natalya has continued her research explorations back at the Tri-Institutional area in NYC. In her free time, she enjoys exploring national parks and studying different languages.
Esme Tian | Post-Bacc Researcher
tt2252@nyu.edu
Esme was a pre-med post-bacc student at New York University. She did her undergraduate at Emory majoring in Economics and Mathematics. Upon graduation, Esme worked as an investment banking analyst at BNP Paribas, following her college economics and French studies. After realizing her real interest in medicine, Esme became a post-bacc student and joined the Wu Lab in 2020. From 2020 to 2021, She had helped with brain tissue cleaning, sectioning, and image processing. Esme is continuing her research in NYU Neurology. In her free time, Esme likes watercolor painting, piano, and Rubik’s cube.
Our Team
Principal Investigator
Zhuhao Wu, PhD
zhuhao.wu@mssm.edu
Zhuhao obtained a PhD in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, working on cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating the initial sensory circuitry assembly using Drosophila genetics in Dr. Alex Kolodkin’s laboratory. During his postdoc at the Rockefeller University with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, he further studied how brain circuitries are precisely formed under guidance signaling regulations, and how they may get disrupted in mutant and injury. To facilitate studying complex biological tissues and neural structures, he developed advanced tissue clearing and imaging techniques (iDISCO, iDISCO+, and Adipo-Clear) to visualize fine molecular and anatomical patterns in large intact organs. He set up his lab at Mount Sinai in 2019, continuing both technical development and biological exploration to reveal the secretes of brain development and disease.
After work, Zhuhao enjoys bouldering with friends, and now jogging in the park.
Kasey Bowyer | Research Assistant
kasey.bowyer@mssm.edu
Kasey graduated as a Neuroscience major from Princeton University in 2021. While at Princeton, he worked as a research assistant in the Princeton Center for Health and Wellbeing where he managed large health and NJ pollution data sets. Additionally, he explored the role that certain visual effects play in online sensory motor integration in his senior thesis. Kasey joined the Wu lab in the summer of 2021 and is excited to be playing an active role in the advancements of neural imaging techniques. He is looking forward to the evolution of whole, human brain imaging and its applications in unlocking many of the mysteries surrounding neurodegenerative diseases. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends, reading, painting, and exploring the city.
Ansa Malik | Research Assistant
ansa.malik@mssm.edu
Ansa graduated from Kennesaw State University with a major in biology and a minor in mathematics. During her undergraduate career, she investigated the developmental effects of both lorazepam and cannabis in developing zebrafish embryos. Ansa joined the Wu Lab in January 2022 and is eager to learn how to optimize the delipidation and clearing processes for various brain tissue. In her spare time, she likes to play lacrosse, paint, and do arts & crafts.
Shang Mu | Assistant Professor
shang.mu@mssm.edu
Shang had his PhD in engineering from University of Florida bridging medical imaging with the mechanics of human joints, and was a technical lead at developing the Stryker/Mako orthopedic hip replacement surgical robots in Ft Lauderdale, FL. Transitioning into neuroscience, at MIT and Princeton University he worked with Prof. Sebastian Seung on petabyte-sized electron-microscopic image datasets and high throughput neuron (and organelle) 3D reconstructions, and studied properties, connectomes and classification of retinal neurons and brain cells in general. Shang counted (computationally, of course) the number of cells in a full fruit fly brain and established that to be 133,000. Plus, there are close to a hundred types of neurons in your retina!
Shang is an adventurous skier and hiker but would pick water sports in a heartbeat over either, and is apparently regarded by some of his friends to take good photos.
Vrinda Saxena | Research Associate
vrinda.saxena@mssm.edu
Vrinda has completed a residency in Psychiatry and was a practicing psychiatrist in India before moving to New York City. She joined the lab in early spring, 2022 to pursue her research interests in neuroscience and eventually plans to do a residency from NYC. She is keen on working in advancement of neuroimaging techniques in neurodegenerative disorders and ultimately wants to work in a way that impacts patient wellbeing.
In her free time, she likes to go for runs, hikes and explore new activities. She also carves miniatures out of chalk and plays the 100 stringed Persian instrument Santoor!
Ava Shipman | Research Assistant
ava.shipman@mssm.edu
Ava completed her undergraduate studies at Wellesley College, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in English. After graduation, she worked in the Kiraly Lab at Mount Sinai researching the gut-brain axis on neuropsychiatric disorders. She joined the Wu lab in May 2022, and is interested in learning tissue clarifying techniques and using them to image whole brains with neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. She is passionate about mentorship, especially in science and academia, and partakes as a mentor for high schoolers and undergrads at the Science Mentorship Institute. In her spare time, Ava enjoys running in the park, playing soccer, and exploring the city.
Wei Wang, PhD | Postdoctoral Fellow
wei.wang2@mssm.edu
Wei received her BS in biological sciences and biotechnology from Tsinghua University, China. She then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and got her MS in Genetics. Later, Wei trained with Dr. Stephen Baylin at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute for her PhD in Human Genetics, studying the role of epigenetics in tumorigenesis. She joined the lab in May 2019 to study the dynamics of neural structures during neural development and degeneration.
Janet Xu | Research Assistant
janet.xu@mssm.edu
Janet completed her undergraduate studies at Manhattanville College, majoring in biochemistry. Prior to joining the lab, she worked on a research project focused on identifying potential biomarkers for concussion. She joined the Wu lab in March 2021 and is interested to understand how the brain functions in healthy and injured populations using imaging techniques. In her free time, she enjoys running and exploring new places to eat in the city with friends.
Alumni
Salwa Najmi | Undergraduate Researcher
Salwa Najmi was studying at the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter double majoring in Biochemistry and Arabic Language and Culture. In her time in the Wu Lab from 2019-2020, she contributed to the processing, imaging, and analysis of biological tissues, particularly the brain, in hopes of better understanding neural structures. This past summer, she worked with Dr. Micaela Elvira Martinez in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University on digitizing and analyzing data from the NYC Department of Health on the racial and ethnic disparities of the COVID-19 public health crisis. As an aspiring physician, she hopes to combine her interests in science with her passion for patient advocacy in future research projects. She will be attending the Icahn School of Medicine following her undergraduate studies.
Yanyan Guo | Visiting Masters Student
Yanyan was a visiting student from Southeast University in Nanjing, China. Building on her undergraduate studies in applied mathematics completed at Shandong University of Science and Technology, she is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Technology with a focus on Computer Vision. At her home institution, she researches automated neuron reconstruction under the guidance of Prof. Hanchuan Peng at the SEU-Allen Joint Center. She joined the Wu Lab from February 2020 to January 2021. Here, she worked on building an advanced image processing and data analysis pipeline for the whole mouse brain.
Razna Ahmed | Undergraduate Researcher
Razna Ahmed was a Yalow Scholar at Hunter College pursuing a major in Human Biology and minors in Chemistry and German. Razna was a member of the Wu Lab from June, 2019 to April, 2021, during which time she performed processing, sectioning, imaging, and analysis of biological tissues, mainly mouse and marmoset brains. Her goal was to better understand neural structures and their functions to define how they dictate human behavior and health. In her free time, Razna enjoys reading, writing, and playing the guitar.
Anna Kolstad | Research Assistant
Anna joined the Wu Lab in 2018 after completing her undergraduate studies at Princeton in electrical engineering. During her time in the Wu Lab, Anna led the development of our monoclonal antibody-based proteomic atlas and used imaging approaches to map the architecture of central and peripheral neural systems in multiple collaborative research projects. Anna left the lab in spring of 2021 to pursue MD/PhD training at the University of Rochester.
Jiacheng Guo, MS | Associate Researcher
Jiacheng obtained his MS in Computer Science and Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before joining the Wu Lab in 2020. Following his interest in 3D imaging techniques and computer vision technology, he worked on 3D imaging of cleared brain, data processing, and analysis. Jiacheng left the lab in early 2022 to join a cloud-based IT company in San Francisco.
Natalya Krutovska | Undergraduate Researcher
natalya.krutovska14@myhunter.cuny.edu
Natalya was an undergraduate studying on behavioral neurobiology at Hunter College. As a research intern, she aimed to deepen her understanding of the development and disruption of neural circuits. Her ultimate goal is to be able to impact the lives of patients through translational neuroscientific research. During her time in the lab from 2019 to 2022, Natalya had been working on the antibody validation project and the DDX3X syndrome collaborative study with Dr. Silvia De Rubeis lab. Natalya has continued her research explorations back at the Tri-Institutional area in NYC. In her free time, she enjoys exploring national parks and studying different languages.
Esme Tian | Post-Bacc Researcher
tt2252@nyu.edu
Esme was a pre-med post-bacc student at New York University. She did her undergraduate at Emory majoring in Economics and Mathematics. Upon graduation, Esme worked as an investment banking analyst at BNP Paribas, following her college economics and French studies. After realizing her real interest in medicine, Esme became a post-bacc student and joined the Wu Lab in 2020. From 2020 to 2021, She had helped with brain tissue cleaning, sectioning, and image processing. Esme is continuing her research in NYU Neurology. In her free time, Esme likes watercolor painting, piano, and Rubik’s cube.
Laboratory of Neural Systems, Structures and Genetics
Zhuhao Wu, PhD
zhuhao.wu@mssm.edu