Bashaw Lab

Greg J. Bashaw, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience
 gbashaw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

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Greg completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University in the lab of Bruce Baker. His thesis research investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of X chromosome dosage compensation in Drosophila. He found that the master splicing regulator Sex-lethal inhibits the formation of the dosage compensation complex in female flies through translational repression of the Male-specific lethal 2 gene (Msl-2). From Stanford, Greg moved across the bay for a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental neurobiology in the lab of Corey Goodman at UC Berkeley. In the Goodman lab, Greg began his studies of the molecular mechanisms that control axon guidance in the embryonic Drosophila CNS. His work in the Goodman lab focused on the signaling mechanisms downstream of the conserved axon guidance receptors Frazzled and Robo. He showed that differential attractive and repulsive responses are encoded in receptor cytoplasmic domains and identified several signaling components that act downstream of the Robo receptor to regulate axon repulsion. Greg started his lab at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001 where he is currently a Professor of Neuroscience.

Neelima Vaddadi
Postdoctoral Fellow
 Neelima.Vaddadi@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Neelima completed a bachelors in life sciences and biochemistry at St. Xavier's College Mumbai, India, and a master’s by Research in Neuroscience at University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. She then did her PhD in Neuroscience at McGill University (MNI), Canada where she studied the role of cell adhesion proteins in axon guidance and dendrite pruning in the mouse olfactory system. In her free time Neelima loves singing and jamming with musically inclined friends, playing board games, and trying out different flavors of ice cream. In the lab, she is interested in understanding mechanisms regulating dendritic complexity in drosophila and what regulates the expression Ndfip in the mouse spinal cord.

Camila Barrios-Camacho, Ph.D
Penn PORT Postdoctoral Fellow
 Camila.BarriosCamacho@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Camila completed her BA in Philosophy and in Biology at Grinnell College, where she was a Posse Foundation scholar. Following her tenure as an AmeriCorps Urban Education Fellow, she was PREP scholar in Abe Palmer's lab at the University of Chicago where she studied the epistatic effects of the Akita mouse mutant allele on physiological and behavioral phenotypes in a panel of F1 mice. She then completed her PhD in Jim Schwob's lab at Tufts University, where she studied the activation of the dormant neural stem cells of the olfactory epithelium. As a postdoc in the Bashaw lab, she is studying how the ICD of the Fra receptor orchestrates the transcriptional networks involved in axonal midline crossing. Outside of lab, she enjoys cultivating her fermentation hobby, trying new hot sauces, playing board games, exploring the world on her bike, and spending time with her dog BamBam.

Olivia Fish
Graduate Student CAMB (G&E)
 Olivia.Fish@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Olivia graduated from the University of Alabama in May 2019 with a BS in biology and a BA in dance. She performed undergraduate research in Dr. Laura Reed’s lab, where she studied the evolution of toxin tolerance in mushroom feeding species of Drosophila. After graduation, Olivia
worked as a post baccalaureate trainee in Dr. Kelly Ten Hagen’s lab at the National Institutes of Health. Here, she used single-cell RNA sequencing on Drosophila salivary glands to study the mechanisms by which heavily glycosylated proteins are secreted. In the Bashaw lab, Olivia is developing projects relate to axon guidance receptor regulation and signaling.

Sarah Gagnon
Graduate Student CAMB (DSRB)
 sgagnon@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Sarah earned her BSc and MSc in cell biology from McGill University, Canada, where she studied intracellular trafficking and small RNAs in C. elegans. She then moved to Philly and made the jump to flies to pursue her interest in developmental biology and axon guidance. Her thesis work investigates how axons change their responsiveness to midline-derived cues as they approach, cross, and grow away from the midline.

Maya Hale
Graduate Student CAMB-DSRB
 Maya.Hale@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Maya earned her BS and BA at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research explores the molecular mechanisms of axon guidance in the mammalian central nervous system. More specifically, she is investigating the regulation of Robo receptors via E3 ubiquitin ligase-mediated degradation in the developing spinal cord and during the development of the corpus callosum.

Kelly Sullivan
Graduate Student CAMB-DSRB
 kellysul@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Kelly did her undergraduate studies at Tufts. Her thesis work is exploring the regulation of repulsive axon guidance receptors during axon guidance at the midline. In particular, she is investigating intracellular trafficking mechanisms that control Robo receptor surface expression.

Chloe A. Potter
Lab Manager/Senior Research Specialist
 Chloe.Potter@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Chloe earned her undergraduate degree in Animal Sciences from Cornell University. Since then, she has worked with the mouse model in ophthalmology and developmental biology research labs before coming to the University of Pennsylvania. She is excited to apply her technical knowledge to neuroscience and develop new skill sets as well as help maintain a well functioning, proficient laboratory.

Ashlee Propst
Research Specialist
 Ashlee.Propst@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Ashlee graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in biochemistry and neuroscience. While at UNC, she worked in a biophysics lab studying macromolecular crowding and protein stability. She then transitioned to a role at a biotech start-up investigating the use of PROTACs in agriculture, in which she worked on projects researching the ubiquitin-proteasome system for targeted protein degradation.

Joshua Kouassi

Joshua Kouassi earned his BA in Political Science with a focus in Environmental Inquiry at Penn State University Park, PA. Following graduation, Joshua’s passion for equitable learning and STEM education led him to become an Outreach Coordinator for the Perelman School of Medicine working under the BioEyes Project in tandem with the Bashaw Lab. In the lab Joshua simulates the modules, coordinates the outreach schedule, and prepares the necessary resources for successful class experimentation.