Eirene Markenscoff-Papadimitriou, PhD, Principal Investigator

Eirene joined Cornell University in August of 2022 and is a member of the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).  She is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Eirene received a BA from Harvard College and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco. During her PhD research,with Stavros Lomvardas she studied the gene regulatory mechanisms underlying the sense of olfaction. She conducted her postdoctoral research with John Rubenstein and Matt State at the University of California, San Francisco, where she researched the genetic causes of autism spectrum disorder, and discovered regulatory elements active during human brain development that may be impacted by genetic variants linked to autism.  Eirene has been awarded the SFARI Bridge to Independence Fellowship and the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience. Eirene’s CV

Katie Bonefas, Postdoctoral Scholar

I grew up in Arlington, Texas, where I spent most of my time thinking about art, science, and what shapes us into who we are. I pursued my love of genomics and the brain at the University of Texas at Austin, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience. I then moved up north to the University of Michigan, where I earned my PhD in Neuroscience with Dr. Shigeki Iwase. During my graduate training, I melded my interests in gene expression, memory, and cell identity to explore the misexpression of germline (sperm and egg) genes in the brain with loss of chromatin regulators. In my work with Dr. Papadimitriou, I aim to investigate novel genomic mechanisms governing neuron-specific functions by exploring the role of germline and transposon-derived genes in neurodevelopment. When I’m not in the lab you can find me reading a good book, knitting a sweater, making surrealist art, and enjoying the outdoors.

Tasha Mariano, Graduate Student

I’ve spent a majority of my childhood living in Southern California then moved up north to attend the University of California, Davis majoring in Genetics and Genomics. As an undergrad, I worked in Dr Andrew Whitehead’s lab. Following this, I became a technician for the Sequencing Core at Davis and then as an NIH PREP scholar in the lab of Dr. Megan Dennis. My research experience ranges from population genetics to optimizing high-throughput library preparation assays to characterizing the phenotypic effect of human-specific duplicated genes. Currently, I am co-advised by Dr. Cedric Feschotte and Dr. Eirene Papadimitriou, where my project integrates transposable elements and neurodevelopment. I aim to better understand the role of a transposase derived gene, POGZ, in regulating chromatin organization and its impact in the brain. In my free time I enjoy training my dog, playing tennis, reading a good book, and rediscovering my love for the violin!

Jaime Croft, Graduate Student

I’m originally from Minneapolis, MN, but I lived in Atlanta, GA for the majority of my life. There I attended Oglethorpe University, where I studied Biopsychology and Gender Studies, with a concentration in Public Health. I then went on to tech in the Lee Lab at UMASS Lowell studying the influence of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of histone modifications on aging in C. elegans. My current research involves ion channel gene regulation during development. Specifically, when, how, and why a neuron expresses specific ion channel genes, and what happens to this decision when the regulation of these genes is disrupted. When I’m not in the lab I like to try different types of art, but I always return to painting. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, thrifting and antiquing, and any form of being outdoors when it’s warm out.

Katya Williams, Graduate Student

I grew up outside Scranton, Pennsylvania, and spent my childhood planting gardens and wondering how the plants grew so differently. In eighth grade, I learned about DNA, and my desire to learn how the molecule that encodes the instructions to build every living thing works led me to pursue a career in molecular biology. I received my bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, where I worked in the lab of Dr. Brittany Adamson designing a prime editing-based system to discover a DNA mismatch repair-inhibiting drug. In graduate school, my focus has shifted from changing the sequence of nucleotides to the interactions between DNA sequence motifs – namely, how enhancers interact with gene promoters. As a Ph.D student in Genetics, Genomics, and Development, I am jointly advised by Dr. Eirene Markenscoff-Papadimitriou and Dr. John Lis to investigate enhancer activation during embryonic brain development using nascent transcription mapping. When I’m not in lab, you can find me playing oboe in the community orchestra, hiking Ithaca’s beautiful trails, or playing with my cat.

Jared Klein, Undergraduate Student

Jared (he/they) is an undergraduate research assistant completing his senior year. They are a Biological Sciences major concentrating in Neurobiology & Behavior. He is from New York, NY and plans on going back to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. Over the 2024-25 year, he will be working on his senior thesis, examining the role of Lphn3 in neurodevelopment.

Aindri Patra, Undergraduate Student

Hi! I’m Aindri, and I’m a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Class of 2025, double majoring in College Scholar and Biological Sciences. I’m interested in understanding how to improve care for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders by understanding the genetics of development.