About Our Lab

Sam Buchanan

Laboratory Technician

Education: M.S., Department of Biochemistry, Rush University

I joined the Arispe lab in April 2020 with nine years of experience in research, 4 of those years being at Northwestern. Previously I graduated from Rush University with a Masters Degree in Biochemistry, my thesis focusing on intervertebral disc degeneration. I have worked on a variety of research projects including cervical cancer microRNA profiling, clinical informatics, and extensive IHC while working at the NU Mouse Histology Core (MHPL). I'm currently working on mouse retina imaging and quantification.

Vanessa González

Sr. Program Coordinator

Education: B.A. Political Science, UCLA

I've worked with Dr. Arispe and her laboratory research group since 2017, providing administrative support in various areas. As the main administrative point of contact for the Vascular Biology T32, I organized monthly seminars with external speakers and tracked students' progress and compliance with the training program requirements. Currently, I serve as the NAO for the Leducq ReVAMP Network.

Snezana Mirkov

Research Lab Manager

 

Education: M.S., Biochemistry, University of Novi Sad, Serbia

I transferred to the Arispe Lab as a Research Lab Manager in March 2020 after 4.5 years of working for the Department of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University. There I used to manage the research lab with the focus in brain tumor microenvironment. Prior to employment at Northwestern University I worked for 13.5 years as a Senior Research Technologist at The University of Chicago in a lab investigating pharmacogenetic of anticancer agents and drug-drug interactions. My current role in the Arispe lab involves managing daily operations, training new personnel, maintaining animal colonies and IACUC protocols, conducting experiments, just to name a few. My goals are to gain insights into molecular mechanisms underlying vascular development in both physiological and pathological conditions, become proficient in new technologies and provide additional support to our lab by applying my past research experience.

Ana Mompeón Campos, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Education: B.S., Biology, University of Valencia, Spain; M.S., Ph.D., Physiology, University of Valencia, Spain

I obtained my doctoral degree in Physiology from the University of Valencia in Spain in 2019. As a graduate student, my work focused on the role of circulating microRNAs in acute myocardial infarction and endothelial cell function. I also contributed to a research project focusing on the effects of estrogen in the regulation of endothelial-derived mediators and age-associated vascular dysfunction. It was at that time that I had the opportunity to collaborate abroad and I decided to re-direct my future training towards the interface between vascular and tumor biology. Along these lines, I chose to move to the US to advance my career in the area of vascular and cancer biology by joining the Arispe Lab at Northwestern in February 2020. As a postdoctoral fellow, over the last year I have become committed to advancing our understanding of the molecular cross-talk between endothelial and tumor cells during metastasis. My current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that result in vascular malformations and angiosarcomas.

Publications

Hilfenhaus, G., Mompeón, A., Freshman, J., Prajapati, D., Hernandez, G., Freitas, V.M., Ma, F., Langenbacher, A.D., Mirkov, S., Song, D., Cho, B., Goo, Y.A., Pellegrini, M., Chen, J., Damoiseaux, R., and Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2021. A high-content screen identifies drugs that restrict tumor cell extravasation across the endothelial barrier. Cancer Res. 81(3): 619-633. PMCID: PMC7916904.

For a full list of publications, visit Ana Mompeon's google scholar profile here.

Milagros Romay, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Education: B.S., Microimmunology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics (MIMG), UCLA; Ph.D., MIMG Program, UCLA

As a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Luisa Iruela-Arispe, my research focuses on understanding the function of the gene NOTCH3 in vascular smooth muscles and how NOTCH3 dysregulation contributes to the development of the familial stroke disorder Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL).  As a graduate student at the University of California – Los Angeles, my research focused on utilizing systems genetics approaches to identify novel contributors to cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure. During my training, I acquired extensive experience in molecular biology, systems biology, and bioinformatics. As a trainee in the Arispe lab, my research project has further enhanced my skillset in molecular biology and bioinformatics while expanding my knowledge of cell signaling and imaging in the context of vascular biology.

Publications

Ma, F., Hernandez, G.E., Romay, M., Iruela-Arispe, M. 2021. Single-cell RNA sequencing to study vascular diversity and function. Curr Opin Hematol. 28(3): 221-229. PMID: 33714967.

Romay, M.C., Toro, C., Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2019. Emerging molecular mechanisms of vascular dementia. Curr Opin Hematol. 26(3):199-206. PMID: 30883434

Shirali, A.S., Romay, M.C., McDonald, A.I., Su, T., Steel, M.E., Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2018. A multi-step transcriptional cascade underlies vascular regeneration in vivo. Scientific Reports. 8(1):5430. PMID: 29615716 PMCID: PMC5882937

Mack, J.J., Mosqueiro, T.S., Archer, B.J., Jones, W.M., Sunshine, H., Faas, G.C., Briot, A., Aragón, R., Su, Y.T., Romay, M.C., McDonald, A.I., Kuo, C., Lizama, C.O., Lane, T.F., Zovein, A.C., Fang, Y., Tarling, E.J., de Aguiar Vallim, T.Q., Navab, M., Fogelman, A.M., Bouchard, L.S., Iruela-Arispe., M.L. 2017. NOTCH1 is a mechanosensor in adult arteries. Nature Communications. 8(1): 1620. PMID: 29158473 PMCID: PMC5696341

Annmarie Dominguez

Graduate Student Researcher

Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Santa Cruz; Graduate Student, Driskill Graduate Program (DGP), Northwestern University

I joined the Arispe lab in the summer of 2021, shortly after completing a rotation in the lab. I worked with Joceyln to study the effects of chromatin distribution in aortic endothelial cells of mice in regions experiencing different types of flow. I am currently completing an internship over the summer with Oak Ridge National Lab, where I am helping characterize the microbiome of Populus trees using metagenomic tools. I am looking forward to building my computational skills over the summer and joining the group in person again in the fall.

Aryana Famili-Youth

Medical Scientist Trainee (MD 1)

Education: B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Brown University; Medical Scientist Training Program, MD Year 1, Pre-PhD

I joined the Arispe Lab in the fall of 2022 after completing a rotation in the summer of 2022. During my undergrad at Brown, I completed an honors thesis on defining pro-metastatic states with features of osteoarthritic disease processes in breast and pancreatic cancer by utilizing collagen type 10 and its associated coexpression networks. I then spent two years researching the oncolytic potential of various avian paramyxoviruses in the García-Sastre Lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. I am broadly interested in how the interactions between the tumor and its products and microenvironment contribute to cancer metastasis and immune evasion.

Publications

Javaheri, A., Bykov, Y., Mena, I., García-Sastre, A., and Cuadrado-Castano, S. (2022). Avian paramyxovirus 4 antitumor activity leads to complete remissions and long-term protective memory in preclinical melanoma and colon carcinoma models. Cancer Res. Commun. 2, 602–615. doi:10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-22-0025

Katiannah Moise

Graduate Student Researcher

Education: B.A., Molecular Biology, Pomona College; Graduate Student, Driskill Graduate Program (DGP), Northwestern University

I am an upcoming second year student that mainly studied the protein components of the eggshell of the C. elegan embryo. A big worm nerd! I did a summer rotation in the research lab of Arispe working with Jocelyn on  assessing cytoskeleton remodelling in the presence of flow of cellular monolayers of different confluencies. Right now, I am the first official Northwestern graduate student of the Arispe lab and I am studying the pathways and proteins associated with ligands BMP and TGF-B on acetylation of microtubules and cell shape/elongation of endothelial cells under flow.

Danielle Pi

Medical Scientist Trainee (G2)

Education: B.S., University of Pennsylvania; Medical Scientist Training Program Student, MD Year 3, PhD Year 2

I joined the Arispe Lab in the summer of 2021 after completing a summer rotation in 2020. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and studied intestinal malabsorptive diseases using an organoid model at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, before joining the Medical Scientist Training Program at Northwestern. I am broadly interested in the mechanisms that underlie vascular development and regeneration that can be potentially harnessed for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Alan Poe

Medical Physician Trainee (MD 2)

Education: B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; Student, Feinberg School of Medicine, MD year 2

I joined the Arispe lab in the fall of 2021 as a part of the Area of Scholarly Concentration (AOSC) program. For my undergraduate training, I studied biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University with a focus on translational cell and tissue engineering. There, I researched the molecular mechanisms of age-related vascular stiffening and hypertension. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms driving vascular development and disease to develop therapeutics to treat and prevent conditions associated with vascular dysfunction. Currently, I am studying the effects of cytokines released during COVID-19 infection on endothelial cells.

Jocelyn Salvador

Graduate Student Researcher

Education: B.S., Biomedical Engineering, UC Irvine; Graduate Student, Driskill Graduate Program (DGP), Northwestern University

I began my PhD studies in the Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology program at UCLA and am now a PhD student in the Driskill Graduate Program at Northwestern. I graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in biomedical engineering (B.S.) and then worked as a post-baccalaureate fellow in Dr. George E. Davis' lab where I focused on microtubule dynamics during endothelial morphogenesis using 3D matrices. I am interested in EC mechanobiology especially in the context of fluid shear stress, and in the Arispe lab I am able to combine my interests and expertise to study endothelial cytoskeletal dynamics and necessary post-translational modifications that occur under flow conditions in vitro and in vivo, as well as creating 3D bioprinted models to study mechanobiology in the vessel wall. 

Publications

Salvador, J., Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2022. Nuclear Mechanosensation and Mechanotransduction in Vascular Cells. Front Cel Dev Biol. 10. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.905927. 

Salvador, J.*, Hernandez, G.E.*, Ma, F., Abrahamson, C.W., Pellegrini, M., Goldman, R., Ridge, K.M., and Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2022. Transcriptional evaluation of the ductus arteriosus at the single-cell level uncovers a requirement for vimentin for complete closure. ATVB.
*equal contribution

Hernandez, G.E., Ma, F., Martinez, G., Firozabadi, N.B., Salvador, J., Juang, L.J., Zhao, P., Lopez, D.A., Ardehali, R., Beaudin, A.E., Kastrup, C.J., Pellegrini, M., Flick, M.J., Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2022. Aortic intimal resident macrophages are essential for maintenance of the non-thrombogenic intravascular state. Nat Cardiovasc Res. 1:67–84

Hannah Sunshine

Visiting Scholar, Graduate Student Researcher (UCLA)

Education: B.S., Cell & Developmental Biology, CSU Fullerton; Graduate Student, Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology (MCIP) Program, UCLA; Visiting Scholar, Northwestern University 

Prior to graduate school, I worked for three years at a small Biotech company in Irvine, California, isolating and studying human pancreatic islets of Langerhans. I joined the UCLA Arispe Lab in spring of 2016 while pursuing a PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology. There, I studied various factors that affect vascular endothelial homeostasis through the modulation of Notch signaling. Currently, I study molecular mechanisms involved in reprogramming quiescent endothelial cells to undergo neovascularization at the newly relocated Arispe Lab at Northwestern.

Publications

McDonald, A.I., Shirali, A.S., Aragón, R., Ma, F., Hernandez, G., Vaughn, D.A., Mack, J.J., Lim, T.Y., Sunshine, H., Zhao, P., Kalinichenko, V., Hai, T., Pelegrini, M., Ardehali, R., and Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2018. Endothelial Regeneration of Large Vessels is a Biphasic Process Driven by Local Cells with Distinct Proliferative Capacities. Cell Stem Cell. 23(2):210-225. PMID: 30075129 PMCID: PMC6178982 

Mack, J.J., Mosqueiro, T.S., Archer, B.J., Jones, W.M., Sunshine, H., Faas, G.C., Briot, A., Aragón, R., Su, Y.T., Romay, M.C., McDonald, A.I., Kuo, C., Lizama, C.O., Lane, T.F., Zovein, A.C., Fang, Y., Tarling, E.J., de Aguiar Vallim, T.Q., Navab, M., Fogelman, A.M., Bouchard, L.S., Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2017. NOTCH1 is a mechanosensor in adult arteries. Nature Communications. 8(1): 1620. PMID: 29158473 PMCID: PMC5696341

Sunshine, H., Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2017. Membrane lipids and cell signaling. Curr Opin Lipidol. 28(5): 408-413. PMID: 28692598 PMCID: PMC5776726

Cyrus Abrahamson

Undergraduate Student

Education: Undergraduate Student, Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University

I joined the Arispe Lab in the winter of 2020 and am an undergraduate majoring in Neuroscience at Northwestern. I am working with Jocelyn on 3D bioprinting blood vessels and looking at the impact of blood flow.

Publications

Salvador, J., Hernandez, G.E., Ma, F., Abrahamson, C.W., Pellegrini, M., Goldman, R., Ridge, K.M., and Iruela-Arispe, M.L. 2022. Transcriptional evaluation of the ductus arteriosus at the single-cell level uncovers a requirement for vimentin for complete closure. ATVB.

Yashoswini Chakraborty

Undergraduate Student

Education: Undergraduate Student, Biology Department, Northwestern University

I joined the Arispe lab in the fall of 2022 and am an undergraduate at Northwestern University, studying Biology and Global Health. I am currently working with Danielle to study large vessel development using the aorta as a model. 

Lourdes Garcia Ortega

Visiting Scholar - Graduate Student

I am a 4th-year PhD student in Rui Benedito’s lab in Madrid (Spain). I am working on how Notch signalling impacts aorta and periaortic tissue. I joined the Arispe lab for a short-stay in 2023 Spring motivated by the aorta system projects and Notch pathway expertise the group has.

Sophia Johnston

Bachelor of Science Graduate

Education: B.S. Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, UCLA

I joined the Arispe lab in the summer of 2022 after graduating a year early from UCLA. I am currently working with Ana to study the molecular pathways and mechanisms that yield vascular malformations, during my gap year before applying to either medical school or graduate school.

Aya Masri

Undergraduate Student

Education: Undergraduate Student, Biological Sciences Department, and Business Institutions Department, Northwestern University

I joined the Arispe Lab in the Fall of 2022, and am an undergraduate student studying Biological Sciences and Business Institutions at Northwestern University. I am currently working with Annmarie to study the transmembrane protein and transcription factor, Notch-1, and how it mediates mechanosensing in endothelial cells.

Aarya Mehta

Undergraduate Student

Education: Undergraduate Student, Biological Sciences Department, Northwestern University

I joined the Arispe Lab in the Winter of 2022, and am an undergraduate student studying the Biological Sciences at Northwestern University. I am currently working with Katiannah in studying BMP signalling and its downstream signaling pathways that regulate microtubule organization in endothelial cells and are necessary in development of proper blood vessels.

Chloe Symons

High School Student

Education: Student, Lane Tech High School

I joined the Arispe Lab in the summer of 2022 as an intern in one of Northwestern's summer research programs, and I am a senior at Lane Tech High School here in Chicago. I am working with Hannah on her research about the molecular pathways that influence endothelial cell growth in the process of vascularization.

Andrew Wang

Undergraduate Student

Education: Undergraduate Student, Biology Department, Northwestern University

I joined the Arispe lab in the fall of 2022 and am an undergraduate majoring in biology at Northwestern. I am currently working with Millie to study the impact of regional diversity on vascular abnormalities and diseases.