Our Team

David Irwin, MD

Dr. Irwin is a cognitive neurologist, clinical core leader at the Penn FTDC, co-PI of the Lewy Body Dementia Association Research Center of Excellence at Penn, and PI of the Penn Digital Neuropathology Laboratory. He previously trained as a postdoctoral fellow at both the Penn FTDC under Dr. Murray Grossman and the Penn Center for Neurodegenerative Disease research under Dr. John Trojanowski where he had dual training in cognitive neurology and neuropathology/biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease. This blend of experiences in cognitive neurology and neuropathology led to the unique translational approach of the Penn DNPL. Dr. Irwin continues to evaluate and treat patients at the Penn FTDC. Dr. Irwin enjoys time with his wife and two small children who have taught him birding and gardening. He also enjoys fishing at the Schuylkill River each spring.

Daniel Ohm, PhD

Dan completed his PhD in Neuroscience at Northwestern University investigating the cellular and pathologic determinants of MRI-based cortical atrophy in the aphasic variant of Alzheimer's disease. Dan is currently interested in identifying the most vulnerable brain regions and cell types to abnormal protein deposits known as tau inclusions and TDP-43 inclusions. Dan develops new digital methods to quantify changes to the arrangement and quantity of neurons and axons (cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitecture) in postmortem brain regions to understand how microscopic patterns of disease relate to macroscopic functional networks, cognitive decline, and in vivo biomarkers. When not in lab, Dan enjoys being outdoors and finding new mountains to hike with his friends and family.

Sanaz Arezoumandan, MD

Sanaz received her MD from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Before joining DNPL in 2020, she conducted research on animal models of Alzheimer's disease and TDP-43 proteinopathy. Sanaz is interested in studying tau pathology in AD and related dementias. To gain an understanding of cellular vulnerabilities and temporal progression of tau pathology, she is investigating post-translational modifications of tau and neurofibrillary tangle maturation in postmortem brain tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. Outside of research, Sanaz enjoys running and spending time with family and friends.

Sheina Emrani, PhD

Sheina received her PhD in Clinical Psychology, with a focus in neuropsychology, at Rowan University in 2021. She then completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, at the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital. Her research focused on early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and vascular contributions in ADRD. She assisted with clinical trials and saw patients for neuropsychological evaluations. Moving forward, her research goals include understanding the interplay between tau and vascular pathologies as well as in-depth examinations of the relationships between clinical syndromes of ADRD and neuropathology.

Winifred Trotman

Noah Capp

Noah joined the lab in December 2020; he has spent his career as an engineer solving complex problems relating to various public health challenges. Noah graduated from Temple University with a B.S. in Computer Engineering in 2019. During this time, he worked at the NEDC lab at Temple, developing autonomous seizure detection systems. Noah is working to improve the lab’s data processing capabilities, creating algorithms and methods to measure various characteristics in our IHC slides. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer and running and is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.
 

Eric Teunissen-Bermeo

Eric completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Drexel University, where he engaged in astrophysics research through the application of advanced deep learning methodologies for the pupose of finding cosmic voids. After joining the lab in May 2022, he is now helping to develop cutting-edge machine learning and computer vision tools for neuropathology analysis. In his free time, Eric enjoys playing the guitar, listening and discovering new music, trying out new foods, and spending time with his loved ones.

Alejandra Bahena

Alejandra Bahena graduated from UPenn in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Chemistry. Alejandra has contributed to various projects since joining the lab in 2019, including investigations of locus coeruleus and GABAergic neuron vulnerability in FTLD. Currently, her work focuses on ex vivo MRI-guided histology studies within the lab, and she has played a key role in optimizing our brain banking pipeline, from MRI acquisition to tissue processing, staining, and quantification. Beyond her work in the lab, Alejandra enjoys listening to audiobooks and taking walks around Philly.

Parham Pouladvand

Philip Sabatini

Bridget Loja Patino

Bridget is a second-year premedical undergraduate student majoring in neuroscience at Penn. She joined our lab as an intern in the Imaging Neurodegeneration Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (IN-SURE) program in 2021 and has continued to work in our lab during the school year. Bridget has contributed to organizing thousands of specimens in our wet lab. Her current focus combines machine learning and digital histology to identify glial morphometric differences. Bridget has learned diverse analytic techniques and aspires to understand the biological basis of the variety of FTLD phenotypes. Her interactions with experts in their field have reaffirmed her passion for medicine, driving a future career as a physician.