Fabienne E. Poulain
Principal Investigator

Dr. Poulain is  originally from France and obtained her PhD from the University Paris 6-Pierre et Marie Curie,  studying  the roles of microtubule-regulating proteins stathmins in neuronal morphogenesis. She became convinced that  observing axon growth directly in the embryo in vivo would provide invaluable insights on how axons integrate different signals  from the environment to navigate properly. She  joined  the laboratories  of Drs. Chi-Bin Chien  and Joseph Yost at the University of Utah  to study the roles of Heparan sulfate proteoglycans in axon guidance in vivo in zebrafish.  Her work  led  to  the development of new approaches to study  the role of selective axon degeneration in development and in the context of neurodegenerative disorders.

​Olivia Spead
Graduate student

Olivia Spead obtained her B.S. in Biology from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, with minors in chemistry and neuroscience. Getting involved in research as an undergraduate convinced her to pursue a PhD in neurosciences. She recently joined the Poulain lab, where she is studying the roles of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in axon guidance and degeneration during development. 

Tine Verreet
Post-doc

Tine Verreet obtained her PhD in developmental neurobiology from the the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium, where she studied the early- and long-term effects of low-dose ionising radiation exposure during mouse brain development. Passionate about neurobiology research, Tine came to the United States as a post-doc to have a new experience and work with the zebrafish as a new model for studying nervous system development. In the Poulain lab, Tine is investigating the roles of mitochondrial dynamics in axon guidance and developmental degeneration.

Cory Weaver
Post-doc

Cory Weaver obtained in PhD in cellular neurobiology from the Purdue University in Indiana. His graduate work focused on characterizing the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in neurodevelopment in zebrafish. Cory established the zebrafish as a new vertebrate model in his graduate lab as well as new powerful techniques such as the CRISPR/Cas9 system to study the function of genes involved in ROS synthesis. With his strong knowledge and expertise in hands, Cory is now studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for dystonia-16, a devastating locomotor disease.

Izlen Peksenar
Undergraduate

Izlen Peksenar is a senior at the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, where he is earning a Major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Izlen aims to attend medical school after he graduates. In the lab, he is studying how certian genes might be involved in nervous system development and the etiology of dystonia.  ​