Our Team
Xilma Ortiz-González, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator
Orcid
Dr. Xilma Ortiz-Gonzalez is a physician-scientist clinically specializing in pediatric neurology at CHOP. Her clinical practice focuses on neurogenetics, taking care of children with ultra-rare neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Her research interests focus on the molecular mechanisms that underlie neurodegeneration, particularly the role of mitochondrial dysfunction. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Puerto Rico (CUC), followed by MD/Ph.D. training at the University of Minnesota. She moved to Philadelphia for pediatric neurology training and has remained at CHOP/UPenn since.
For clinic information, see CHOP physician profile, for TBCK/Epilepsy genetics clinical visits, reach out to our ENGIN team to help schedule or reach CHOP Neurology at 215-590-1719.
Jesús Tintos-Hernández, PhD
Research Associate
Dr Tintos completed his PhD in genetics in Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. He joined the CMEM at CHOP as a post-doctoral fellow and is now a research scientist in the OG lab. He is an expert in all things IPS, mitochondria, and cake baking.
Charis Ma
Undergraduate Student (UPenn)
"Hi! I’m Charis, an undergraduate at Penn studying Biology, interested in understanding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and discovering treatments for these diseases. When I’m not in the lab working with our TBCK zebrafish model, or cells, and learning Spanish through osmosis, I enjoy painting and some easy hiking, helping with A/V at church, volunteering as a campus EMT, and attempting to bake!"
Marco Flores-Méndez, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
"I am Postdoc in the lab, working on TBCK and how its deficiency leads to neurodegeneration using IPSC-derived neurons and zebrafish as models. My favorite technique is western blot. I like cooking, dancing, skiing, climbing, and hiking. I enjoy hanging out with friends and playing board games with them. I love to eat and my favorite food is enchiladas."
Leonardo Ramos-Rodríguez, BS
Graduate Student (NGG)
"I am a graduate student of the Neuroscience Graduate Group at the University of Pennsylvania. My dissertation is on understanding how mutations in the core autophagic proteins affect axonal integrity. To study this, I work with mutations that cause a disease known as Beta-Propeller associated neurodegeneration."
Miosotis Alicea-Delgado, BS
Graduate Student (UPenn)
"I am a grateful first-generation student from Puerto Rico living an adventure in Philadelphia. I love spending time with my family and friends, going to the beach and doing outdoor activities. In terms of research, I want to understand pathological aspects of the brain using cellular and molecular approaches, specifically, the role of the endolysosomal pathway in neurons."
Alvaro Donoso, MD
Research Associate
Dr Donoso joined the lab to expand our clinical research studies. He is now a busy family practice resident but continues to provide bilingual support for our clinical research, as needed, remotely.
