CDPA Leadership
Executive Board
Gaby Baniulyte, Ph.D.
President
University of Albany, SUNY
Dr. Gaby Baniulyte is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Morgan Sammons at the University at Albany, SUNY, where she works on understanding the rules of promoter-enhancer architecture in p53-mediated gene regulation using NGS and high-throughput assays. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University at Albany, SUNY and Wadsworth Center, studying the regulation of premature transcription termination in bacteria in the lab of Dr. Joe Wade.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Baniulyte enjoys exploring the outdoors, and experimenting with bread recipes and avocado plants.
Charly Abi-Ghanem, Ph.D.
Secretary and Treasurer
Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical College
Dr. Charly Abi-Ghanem is a postdoctoral fellow at Albany Medical College with Dr. Kristen Zuloaga. He joined the Zuloaga Lab in August 2019, where he focuses on the effects of menopause (in females) or androgen loss (in males) on white matter damage and inflammation in various forms of dementia. He received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Paris-Saclay in France where he studied the role of the androgen receptor in sexual dimorphism and repair of myelin.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Abi-Ghanem enjoys hanging with his dog Spyro or tending to his plants in the house, garden, and aquarium. He also enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and skiing.
Twitter: @AG_Charlz
Sol Torruella, Ph.D.
Communications Specialist
Neural stem cell Institute
Dr. Sol Torruella-Gonzalez obtained her PharmD from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and worked as a pharmacist before deciding to pursue a career in biomedical research. In 2022, she received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She began her studies in spinal cord injury (SCI) repair using the frog, Xenopus laevis, under the guidance of Dr. Juan Larrain. Her thesis work characterized the expression of the Cornifelin protein during metamorphosis and in response to SCI. Sol joined Dr. Hill’s laboratory at the NSCI in May 2022 as a postdoctoral associate. Her work seeks to test a pharmacological treatment to promote recovery after spinal cord injury, beginning with rodent preclinical SCI models. Sol’s long-term goal is to develop therapeutic strategies that improve tissue regeneration and promote recovery in SCI patients.
Outside of the lab, Sol enjoys reading, writing, hiking, and dancing.
Twitter: @SolTorruella
Maitiú Marmion, Ph.D.
Events coordinator
University of Albany, SUNY
Maitiú Marmion, PhD graduated from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland in 2018 with a B.A. in Microbiology before completing a PhD program in the University College Dublin, Ireland in 2023. Currently, he is working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Andam Lab at the University at Albany – SUNY, where he is assessing the population genomics of food-related and emerging human pathogens using bioinformatic approaches.
Outside the lab, Maitiú loves sports, animals and energetic things.
He is very excited to be involved in the CDPA this year!
Institutional Representatives
Varun Bavda, Ph.D.
Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health
Dr. Varun Bavda is a Postdoctoral Research Affiliate at the Paczkowski laboratory. He earned his M.Sc. in Biotechnology from ARIBAS, S.P. University, Gujarat, India in 2014. Later, he joined the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal, India and received his Ph.D. in Life Sciences in 2021 with Dr. Vikas Jain. During his Ph.D., he mainly studied the role of lytic cassette proteins of bacteriophage infecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He moved to Albany, NY in 2022 and joined the Paczkowski lab to expand his interest and experience in quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using his skills as microbiologist and molecular biologist, Varun further wants to understand the ecosystem of P. aeruginosa and M. abscessus co-infection in the cystic fibrosis patient’s lungs environment.
Outside the lab, Varun likes to do gardening, cooking and enjoy CDPA outings around the Albany.
Twitter: @varunr68
Sol Torruella, Ph.D.
Neural Stem Cell Institute
Dr. Sol Torruella-Gonzalez obtained her PharmD from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and worked as a pharmacist before deciding to pursue a career in biomedical research. In 2022, she received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She began her studies in spinal cord injury (SCI) repair using the frog, Xenopus laevis, under the guidance of Dr. Juan Larrain. Her thesis work characterized the expression of the Cornifelin protein during metamorphosis and in response to SCI. Sol joined Dr. Hill’s laboratory at the NSCI in May 2022 as a postdoctoral associate. Her work seeks to test a pharmacological treatment to promote recovery after spinal cord injury, beginning with rodent preclinical SCI models. Sol’s long-term goal is to develop therapeutic strategies that improve tissue regeneration and promote recovery in SCI patients.
Outside of the lab: Sol enjoys reading, writing, and knowing new places in Albany and its surroundings.
Twitter: @SolTorruella
Salima Lalani, Ph.D.
Albany Medical College
Dr. Lalani is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Michael DiPersio where she is also working with a Neurologist, Dr. Allen Gerber. She is researching the role of enteroviruses in the etiology of Type 1 diabetes in a physician-scientist collaborative project, as well as studying how specific integrins work in cancers and wound healing. Dr. Lalani secured her Ph.D. in virology and antiviral therapeutics from Sunway University, Malaysia, with a focus on functional insights in the host and virus-targeted antiviral agents against Enterovirus-A71.
Outside the Lab:
Dr. Lalani loves reading and enjoys teasing her child (playfully) in every way possible!
Twitter: @LalaniSalima1
Role currently open!
Rennselaer Polytechnical Institute
The Institutional Representative for RPI is responsible for keeping the postdoctoral scholars at RPI up-to-date with CDPA happenings.
This position is currently open for election. If you are a postdoctoral researcher at RPI and interested in serving as your institutional representative, contact us!
Role currently open!
University of Albany, SUNY
The Institutional Representative for University of Albany is responsible for keeping the postdoctoral scholars at SUNY up-to-date with CDPA happenings.
This position is currently open for election. If you are a postdoctoral researcher at Suny and interested in serving as your institutional representative, contact us!
Director
Kate Tubbesing, Ph.D.
Neural Stem Cell Institute
Dr. Kate Tubbesing is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Sally Temple at the Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI). Her current research focuses on endo-lysosomal pathway regulation in brain endothelial cells. Originally from Maryland, she lived in New Orleans prior to completing her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from SUNY Oneonta. She worked in pharmaceutical manufacturing quality control labs before joining Margarida Barroso’s lab at Albany Medical College. In 2020, Dr. Tubbesing defended her Ph.D. in Biomedical Research from Albany Medical College. She is passionate about bioimaging and the regulation of iron and endocytic processes in health and disease.
Outside of the lab, Dr. Tubbesing is an advocate for work-life balance and tries to follow her own advice. She loves raising her two children and several pets with her husband Max. She enjoys camping, hiking, kayaking, and local farmer’s markets.
Twitter: @katetubbesing