Arlotta Lab | HSCRB

Investigating the biology of neuropsychiatric disorders

Researchers in the Arlotta laboratory are committed to making meaningful contributions to the study of neuropsychiatric disorders. We are based mainly in the Sherman-Fairchild building on Harvard’s Cambridge campus. We also carry out work a the Stanley Center of the Broad Institute.

Paola Arlotta, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator (PI)

Dr. Arlotta is interested in understanding the molecular laws that govern the birth, differentiation and assembly of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that controls how we sense, move and think. She integrates developmental and evolutionary knowledge to investigate therapies for brain repair and for modeling neuropsychiatric disease.

Postdoctoral Fellows and Affiliates

Noelia Antón-Bolaños, Ph.D.

Noelia Antón-Bolaños completed her graduate studies at the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche.

Michael Borrett, Ph.D.

Michael Borrett obtained his PhD in neurodevelopment and stem cell biology at the University of Toronto. He currently studies human brain organoids in the context of autism spectrum disorder.

Daniela Di Bella, Ph.D.

Postdoc Daniela Di Bella is a member of the Pew Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences.

Nuria Dominguez Iturza, Ph.D.

Nuria Dominguez-Iturza obtained her PhD in Neurosciences at the University of Leuven, investigating molecular mechanisms underlaying neurodevelopmental disorders.

Irene Faravelli, M.D., Ph.D.

Irene Faravelli completed her Medical Degree and Neurology residency at the University of Milan. She is interested in studying cortical organoids as a model for neurodevelopment and neurological diseases.

Rahel Kastli, Ph.D.

Rahel Kastli completed her PhD at the University of Zurich, studying circuit formation of cortical interneurons. She is interested in using organoids to better understand neurodevelopmental disorders.

Tyler Faits, Ph.D.

Tyler is a Computational Scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, having earned his PhD from Boston University. He uses single cell sequencing technologies to study neurodevelopment in mouse and organoid models.

Michal Lipinski, Ph.D.

Michal Lipinski completed his graduate studies at the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche.

Marta Montero Crespo, Ph.D.

Marta Montero Crespo completed her PhD at the Cajal Institute, studying the synaptic organization of the human hippocampus and its alterations in Alzheimer’s disease. She is interested in understanding the ultrastructural features of human neurodevelopment.

Igor Nikolskiy, Ph.D.

Igor Nikolskiy completed his PhD at the Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University in St Louis.

Milagros Pereira Luppi, Ph.D.

Milagros Pereira Luppi completed her PhD at Northwestern University.

Abhishek Sampath Kumar, Ph.D.

Abhishek completed his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (Berlin), studying the role of developmental regulators during mouse embryogenesis at single-cell resolution. He is interested in using brain organoids to decode the mechanisms underlying cell fate acquisition and maintenance during human cortical development.

Rafaela Sartore, Ph.D.

Ashwin Shetty, Ph.D.

Ashwin Shetty is a postdoctoral fellow at HSCRB and at the Broad Institute. He obtained his Ph.D. in developmental neuroscience from Tata Institute of Fundamental research in Mumbai.

Sebastiano Trattaro, Ph.D.

Sebastiano Trattaro completed his PhD in system medicine at the European School of Molecular Medicine in Milan, where he specialized in disease modelling through induced pluripotent stem cells. He is interested in using brain organoids to understand the molecular features of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Ana Uzquiano, Ph.D.

Ana obtained her Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology from the Sorbonne University in Paris, studying cortical development and associated malformations.

Anqi Wei, Ph.D.

Anqi is a Computational Scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She obtained her Ph.D. degree from Clemson University with specialization in Bioinformatics and genomic data science.

Staff Scientists

Juliana Brown, Ph.D.

Juliana Brown is a staff scientist and grant writer who brings her critical insights to every project in the lab.

Ph.D. Candidates

Zeke Benshirim

Zeke is interested in developing alternatives to animal research. He studied at Harvard College before entering the Ph.D. program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences.

Sebastian Morales

Sebastián Morales Vélez is a PhD student in the molecules, cells, and organisms (MCO) program. He completed his B.Sc. (biochemistry) and M.Sc. (chemistry) at McGill University.

Visiting Researchers

Technical Staff

Sophia Andreadis

Sophia completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience & Behavior at Wesleyan University before joining the Arlotta Lab.

Noah Kozub

Noah graduated from Providence College in 2022 with a B.S. in Biology, where he worked in the Austriaco Lab studying Parkinson’s Disease in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Currently, Noah works with human brain organoids as a tissue culture technician in the Arlotta Lab.

Sarah Tropp

Sarah completed her Bachelor of Science (Honors) in molecular biology at the University of Toronto.

Faculty Assistant

Laura Veronica Chavez

Laura Chavez is the administrative and operations assistant. She helps with events and other administrative tasks, as well as assisting the Arlotta lab.

Lab Manager

Zachary Trayes-Gibson

Zachary Trayes-Gibson joined the Arlotta Lab from Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was a laboratory manager. Before MGH, he was a research assistant in Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He studied biological sciences at the University of Chicago.