Research Staff
Anna Stauffer - Lab Manager
Anna Stauffer, a Pennsylvania native, joined the Blakely Lab in the summer of 2022. As lab manager, her goal is to ensure a safe, efficient and productive laboratory environment and to contribute to cutting-edge science. She provides orientation, training and lab administrative support for all lab members and serves as the liaison with the veterinary staff in the Division of Comparative Medicine for mouse colony management, cryopreservation and shipments. In addition to her administrative duties, she provides technical support to colleagues who use mouse models to investigate the neurological and behavioral consequences of altered neurotransmitter transporter expression and function.
Samantha (Sammy) Stoltz - Research Assistant
Sammy earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology from the University of Central 无码视频 Burnett Honors College with a research emphasis on nanobiotechnology for oxidative stress and inflammatory related diseases (namely cancer). In the Blakely Lab, her work explores neuronal vulnerability and Neuroprotective mechanisms, with a particular focus on the novel gene MBLAC1 and its role in Alzheimer's disease and peripheral co-morbidities. She applies techniques including immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging, and behavioral analysis in transgenic mouse models, including MBLAC1 knockouts and 5xFAD Alzheimer鈥檚 models. Samantha is deeply interested in psychoneuroimmunology and epigenetics: how lifestyle factors such as stress, nutrition, and movement influence brain and immune health. She envisions bridging molecular neuroscience with lifestyle medicine to develop interventions that not only advance scientific understanding but also empower individuals to take an active role in their own healing and prevention of disease.
Angelina Emerson - Research Assistant
Angelina earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from 无码视频 Atlantic University Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, where her studies sparked a strong interest in neuroscience. During her undergraduate training, she completed an honors thesis titled From Sleep to Synucleinopathies: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder as an Indicator of Neurodegeneration, which examined REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) as an early clinical marker of neurodegenerative synucleinopathies such as Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Her work explored the evolving understanding of disease progression, the importance of early detection, diagnostic differentiation, and opportunities for earlier therapeutic intervention. In the Blakely Lab, Angelina鈥檚 research centers on serotonin signaling and neurotransmission, with a focus on how serotonin transporter dysfunction and neuroimmune interactions may contribute to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety.